By: Chris Kemlo
PBR Scouting Director 

The second annual Tournament 12 showcase baseball tournament at Rogers Centre looks to highlight the best Canadian amateur players with college eligibility. Eight teams will represent the Canadian provinces and PBR has all the coverage.

TOURNAMENT 12 AT ROGERS CENTRE - GAME THREE

The last scheduled game of the day featuring Ontario’s top talent was the 6:00 pm game between the Futures team and the Atlantic team.

The Futures team suffered a loss earlier this morning against highly touted Ontario Green, and looked to bounce back against an Atlantic team that consists of players from Canada’s east and west coasts.

On the mound for the Futures was 6-foot, 175-pound, 2017 right-handed pitcher Tyler Whalen from the Great Lake Canadians organization. Whalen worked four solid innings for the Futures team, striking out five while limiting the Atlantic to only two base hits.

Whalen was consistently 79-81 with his fastball, which saw him run it up to 82 on the gun. Whalen complemented his fastball by demonstrating good feel for his curveball. Given his clean, loose arm action, Whalen should have no problem fine tuning this into a legitimate weapon down the road. 

Following Whalen on the hill was 6-foot-3, 160-pound, left-handed pitcher Matt Jones. Jones was able to work around command issues in the sixth inning which saw him walk four, with two clean innings in the fifth and seventh. Jones was able punch out seven Atlantic hitters over his three innings, giving up one hit, while walking four.

The 2016 uncommitted southpaw saw his fastball reach 86 on the gun, while he consistently sat between 80-83. Jones best pitch was his breaking ball. He showed good rotation with some late bite, and was able to execute the curveball to put hitters away. Jones was anywhere between 65-69 with his breaking ball, and flashed a few changeups at 70-72 that in limited viewing, looked as if it could be a quality pitch.

At the plate for the Futures, it was basically a coming out party for Cooper Davis. Davis ended up 3-4 with a stolen base, RBI, and two runs scored, one being the game winning run on Luke Van Rycheghem bases loaded single in the bottom of the seventh.

Davis showed everyone exactly what he did yesterday on scout day. A plus runner who can put the ball in play to all fields, allowing his tools to take over and not get out of his comfort zone. He doubled through the hole on the left side on a hit and run, then laid down a beautiful bunt in the bottom of the seventh to load the bases with no one out. The 2017 grad is the type of player that makes you not want to leave your seat when he’s involved because you’re afraid that you might miss something that makes your jaw drop.

Along with Davis, another prospect who has raised some eyebrows is 6-foot-3, 210-pound, 2016 left-handed hitting catcher Van Rycheghem. Also a part of the Ontario Blue Jays organization, Van Rycheghem had a day at the plate as well as behind the dish.

Besides driving in the game winning run, Van Rycheghem did a fantastic job being the general for the Futures team. He made a tough play on a ball in front of the plate to record an out at first, and ended up going 2-4 on the day. Van Rycheghem has the arm and actions to be a quality catcher and with his frame and strength, the chance to have power from the left side.

NEXT UP

The Futures team takes their 1-1 record up against British Columbia orange at 10:30 am. 2016 grad Hunter Spoljaric will get the ball in game three.