Baseball showcase in New Lowell

By Vince Trama

This past Sunday, Smith Brothers Baseball Central in New Lowell hosted their first annual College, University and Major League Baseball showcase.

There were 50 players in attendance to showcase their baseball talents in front of three Major League Baseball scouts and five colleges and universities from Canada and the U.S. The players came from as far away as Ottawa, Sudbury and Windsor, as well as much local talent.

The three scouts represented the Colorado Rookies, the Kansas City Royals and the Milwaukee Brewers. The schools in attendance were University of Toronto, Seneca College, Durham College, Humber College and Delta College in Michigan.

All of the players in attendance were excited to show off their skills and they didn’t disappoint! The players showed maturity beyond their years and the coaches and scouts were blown away by the talent crops that were present.

The day kicked off with pitchers and catchers. The pitchers’ velocities were clocked for all the different types of pitches in their arsenal. After all the pitchers had blasted their hardest pitches at the catchers, it was the catchers’ turn to show off their pop times.

After the pitchers and catchers wrapped up, we welcomed our positional players to start the batting practice portion of the showcase. Once everyone had a chance at batting practice, the players wasted no time getting stretched out to put their foot speed to the test in the timed 90-yard run.

The last scheduled portion of the showcase was the infield and outfield throws. Players were hit ground balls and were forced to mimic throws to second base or to the cut-off. The infielders and outfielders showed off their accuracy and velocity trying to throw out imaginary base runners.

The event was capped off with coaches and scouts speaking to the players who were eligible to attend their schools next year, as well as to younger players about the importance of developing their skills to achieve the next level.