OTTAWA - Baseball Canada announced the Junior National Team roster which will be making its way to Orlando, Florida at Disney’s Wide World of Sports complex for the Spring Training Camp from April 15th to 25th.
32 players have been invited to the spring camp, including highly touted prospects for the 2010 MLB First Year Player Draft in June Evan Grills (Whitby, ON), Evan Rutckyj (Windsor, ON), Kellin Deglan (Langley, BC), Steve McKinnon (Duncan, BC) and Rowan Wick (North Vancouver, BC).
The junior team will hold daily practices while in Florida as well as play eight games against Major League Baseball affiliated teams.
“This camp will allow our coaching staff the opportunity to evaluate all players in a highly competitive environment,” says Greg Hamilton, Baseball Canada’s Director of National Teams and manager of the Junior National Team. “The strides taken at this camp will better prepare our team for success internationally at future competitions, including the upcoming World Junior Championship.”
The annual Spring Training camp is part of a two year process beginning in late 2008 toward establishing a club for the 2010 World Junior Championship which will take place in from July 23rd to August 1st in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
10 players included on the spring roster are from Ontario, while another 10 hail from British Columbia. Québec has seven natives of the province represented while Alberta has three players attending the camp. Saskatchewan and Manitoba each have one player on the roster.
For the players, the training camp will not only offer them the chance to represent their country while improving their skills but will also provide plenty of exposure, as several college and professional scouts will use the training camp as an opportunity for talent evaluation.
