OTTAWA-With College Baseball season and Spring Training about to kick-off, here is an update on where eight Junior National Team graduates from 2011 will be playing this season.
Three players, who helped Canada to a second-place finish at the 2011 COPABE 18U World Qualification Tournament in Colombia, are set to begin their freshman season south of the border, while five players will be heading to Spring Training for the first time with their respective MLB clubs.
College/University:
Jake Hansen (Fort Macleod, AB) – Pensacola Junior College
Left-hander Jake Hansen was a force coming out of the JNT bullpen at the qualifier in Colombia last fall. Hansen didn’t allow a run in five innings of work and earned a save in a key win over host Colombia, which clinched a spot in the 2012 IBAF 18U World Championship. Hansen was selected by the New York Mets in the 2011 MLB Draft, but chose to attend Pensacola JC in Florida where his season is already underway. Pensacola JC is off to a 9-5 start and Hansen has thrown 12 1/3 innings in 3 games and has struck out 13. You can follow Jake’s season by clicking HERE.
Brendan Hendriks (Cochrane, AB) – University of San Francisco
Hendriks, the only graduating member of the 2011 JNT heading to a four-year Division 1 program, will begin his freshman season as a member of the University of San Francisco ‘Dons’. Hendriks, a 2011 draft selection of the Philadelphia Phillies, is the only Canadian listed on the Dons roster and will look to make an impact in the West Coast Conference that features powerhouse programs San Diego, Gonzaga and Pepperdine. Hendriks hit .300 in Colombia both as a DH and first baseman. You can follow Brendan’s season by clicking HERE.
Skylar Janisse (Maidstone, ON) – San Jacinto Junior College
Janisse was a key member of the JNT pitching staff in Colombia and so far is making an impression on the campus of San Jacinto Junior College in Texas, the same school that Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte pitched for. Through 2 starts on the mound, the right-hander is 1-1 with 1.64 ERA. Janisse, a 2011 draft choice of the New York Yankees, has thrown 11 innings and struck out 11 batters. You can follow Skylar’s season by clicking HERE
Pro:
Five players that signed with the MLB club that drafted them last June will head to Spring Training next month as they begin their professional careers.
Tom Robson (Ladner, BC) became the highest Canadian selected in 2011 when the Toronto Blue Jays made him a 4th round pick. Robson starred for the JNT as a 17 year-old when Canada finished 4th at the 2010 IBAF World Junior Championship in Thunder Bay. He will be joined at the Blue Jays Spring Training facility in Dunedin, Florida by fellow BC native Justin Atkinson (Surrey, BC). Atkinson, who the Jays took in the 26th round, got his feet wet in professional baseball last summer with 43 at-bats in the Gulf Coast League where he hit .279 including 3 doubles and a triple.
Another player from the west-coast, Dustin Houle (Penticton, BC), will be heading to Spring Training in Arizona with the Milwaukee Brewers. Houle was drafted as a catcher even though he played third base with the JNT in Colombia. The right-handed hitter was drafted in the 8th round of last June’s draft making him the second highest Canadian to go.
Right-hander Jesen Dygestile-Therrien (Montréal, QC) was drafted by the Philadelphia Phillies in the 18th round and later signed with the club. Dygestil-Therrien heads to an organization that already features Canadians Pete Orr, Phillippe Aumont, Tyson Gillies and Ethan Stewart along with National Team Coach Ernie Whitt, a US citizen, as the organizations Roving Catching Instructor.
Speaking of catcher’s, Justin Marra (Toronto, ON), a 15th round pick of the Chicago Cubs will participate in his first Spring Training at the Cubs facility in Mesa, Arizona.
