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Draft Recap - Canadian High School Selections

June 10, 2019
Chris Kemlo
Ontario Director of Scouting

With the 3 day frenzy, known as the MLB amateur draft now come and gone, we take a look at what transpired, who went where, those who will trade in the amateur tags and begin their professional career, and the others whose college coaches have a slight hidden smile as they expect their recruits to end up on campus.

We’ve said it before, and those who have been involved one way or another with the MLB draft can tell you, it is the most unpredictable draft out of all the major sports. College commitments, draft pools, slot money, signing bonuses; there is so much that goes into a pick, your average baseball fan might be more confused than a cat that barks.

In total, there was 25 Canadian players drafted, with 12 high school players taken, and broken down with six from Ontario, three from Quebec, two from Alberta and Eli Saul the lone high school selection from BC.

Heading into the draft, Dasan Brown, the speedy centre-fielder from the Ontario Blue Jays and Texas A&M commit was our top Canadian, and he stayed there as early in the 3rd round, his hometown Toronto Blue Jays made him the 88th selection overall.

Following Brown, was Adam Macko from Alberta. The smooth and polished left-hander out of Vauxhall Academy was a 7th round selection by the Seattle Mariners. The Purdue commit has continued to develop his game, strength, and velocity every year, while having two off-speed  pitches that can turn into average to above average. Brown and Macko were the only day 2 selections.

Kicking off day 3, TJ Schofield-Sam was the first HS prospect off the board as he went in the 12th round to the Oakland Athletics. He was then followed by the 3 Quebec prospects, in left-hander Antoine Jean going the Minnesota Twins in the 17th, catcher and TCU commit Raphael Pelletier went to the Texas Rangers in the 25th round and outfielder Jean Christoph-Masson went to the Blue Jays in the 26h round.

 

Eli Saul, the big 6-foot-5 right-hander out of BC and Sacramento State commit was the second Canadian HS taken by the Rangers as he went in the 29th round. Two selections later, the Blue Jays took his Junior National teammate Owen Diodati 867th overall. Another Ontario catcher in Ryan Leitch was taken in the 30h round by the Cincinnati Reds.

Three more players were taken to round out the HS Canadian selections with LHP and UCF commit Keegan Pulford-Thorpe going to the San Diego Padres in the 33rd round. Thomas Little, the second left-hander taken from Vauxhall went to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 33rd while Ontario infielder and Kentucky commit Jaden Brown went to the Washington Nationals in the 40th round.

From the high school side, guys that typically get drafted high are very prone to sign. We fully expect Dasan Brown, Macko, and Schofield to sign and come to terms with their respective professional organizations.

Antoine Jean, the polished lefty with a high upside when it comes to his stuff is a bit of a tricky one. The Twins have been heavily involved with Canadians over the past couple years, and the selected Canadians in round 17-19 this year. Jean had just recently committed with Alabama of the SEC, so he will have some decisions to make.

Both Pelletier and Masson have another year of HS eligibility as they are commits for the 2020 season and five out of the remaining 6 draftees are committed to 4 year schools. We’ve already heard from Diodati and Pulford-thorpe that they will be arriving on campus. We expect Leitch, Jaden Brown, and Saul to do the same. Thomas Little is committed to Northern Oklahoma Enid, who just recently won the NJCAA D2 National Championship, so he will have enticing offers on both sides to choose from.

With another year in the books, and more Canadians getting ready to enter the professional ranks, we take a second to breath, relish the accomplishments by so many across our great country, finish off the rest of summer and continue to build and prepare for the upcoming 2020 class.

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