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By Chris Kemlo, Dylan Hefflinger & PBR Ontario Staff
Ontario Scouting Director / Editor in Chief

Every week we will take a look into players from past PBR Ontario events and provide current updates of where they are and how they have been doing. We will highlight their past and what they were like during their high school and club team career.

Interested in attending a PBR Ontario event? Check out our schedule by clicking here.

Ontario Insider: Where Are They Now?

College Ranks

Max Hewitt, INF, 2016
School: Connors State Junior College
Past: Ontario Blue Jays

The Present

Hewitt has absolutely torched the pitching in the NJCAA division 1 ranks so far this year as he leads his team and the entire NJCAA in batting average as he is hitting .561 in 25 games this year. The smooth hitting left-hander has 46 hits on the year with nine doubles, two home runs, and maybe most impressive, only two strikeouts in 82 at-bats. With an OBP of .647, the freshman has seemed to of found a home at Connors State.

The Past

As a high schooler, Hewitt continued to improve every year we saw him, at every showcase he attended and every game that we scouted. Originally a catcher, Hewitt decided to stay an extra year which turned out to be a great decision. He finished ranked as the 31st overall prospect in the 2016 class, and along with the tools he possessed, the compete factor, makeup, and baseball IQ were big reasons to the success he had, and continues to have at the college level.

Ryan Rijo, 1B, 2016
School: New Mexico Junior College
Past: Ontario Blue Jays

The Present

Rijo is currently hitting .378 with three home runs and 27 RBI’s in 23 games for New Mexico to go along with 12 doubles so far this season. The first baseman with juice in his bat has continued where he left off his high school career, punishing baseballs and being one of the main offensive contributors on his team. In the lineup for every game so far this season, Rijo is eighth over in the country with his 12 doubles and usually finds himself in the clean up position. He has taken his success on the high school level and seems to have not skipped a beat upon his arrival in New Mexico. 

The Past

One of the top performers from our first ever Top Prospects Games where he put on a show in batting practice, Rijo was faced with a tough task in taking over for Marlins first round pick Josh Naylor at first base and the middle of the order for his club team the Ontario Blue Jays. He always showed the capability to hit for power, what some may not remember was the way he could find the barrel and make consistent contact while he was in Ontario. He was the 19th overall prospect in the province when all said and done and the highest ranked first baseman in his class. He was one of the top hitters in the province, a CPBL all-star, and one of the toughest outs in the province. Never a question of the power, Rijo really stepped up his senior year in high school.