Jonathan Waltenbury (Bowmanville, Ont.) continued his hot spring training campaign with Baseball Canada’s National Junior Team prospects, Tuesday, going 2-for-3 an 11-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians at Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida.
Waltenbury is now 6-for-11 with one run scored and two RBI in his last three spring training games against the Indians and the Houston Astros.
“He’s a good hitter. He’s a guy that projects to be a good power hitter down the road,” said National Junior Team Head Coach Greg Hamilton. “He’s got real good bat speed, generates a lot of extension on his swing and has very good plate discipline.”
Canada’s lone run came in the bottom of the ninth when Shayne Willson (Surrey B.C.) pulled a solo shot to left field in a game where Canadian hits were sparse. Leslie Williams (Scarborough, Ont.) and Tyson Gillies (Langley, B.C.) were the only two other Canadian prospects to record a hit.
After committing nine errors in their first two spring training games, the Canadians now seem to have settled in defensively, playing two consecutive games without a miscue in the field.
“That’s the benefit of being down here and having access to facilities where you can work on these things,” said Hamilton. “When you have some young guys like we do you have to get them to slow the game down a little bit as opposed to speeding up when the game is faster. We’ve managed to understand that concept a little bit better over the last two games and we’re not forcing things. As a result we’re improving, which is what you want to see.”
Canadian starter Sheldon McDonald (Spruce Grove, Alta.) threw three good innings for the Canadians, striking out two batters while giving up three runs on five hits. After David Francis (Mississauga, Ont.) gave up eight runs behind five walks and six hits over the next 2.1 innings, Cory Hall (Regina, Sask.) shut down the Indians the rest of the way to close the game. Hall, the only Saskatchewan-born player at spring training was spectacular, striking out three batters and allowing only one hit over 3.2 innings of work.
“He’s a strike thrower that has a solid, heavy fastball and he pounds the strike zone,” said Hamilton of the 6’2” right-hander. “He’s a competitive kid, he’s not afraid to go after people and he’s willing to attack hitters. He really simplifies the process.”
Canada’s next spring training match-up comes Wednesday evening against Stetson University. Game time is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. EST.
