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Best of the West: Day 2/3 Quick Hits I

May 5, 2023
Cam Black-Araujo/Josh Arce
PBR Canada Staff

The Best of the West tournament in Kamloops saw tons of action over the past two days with 15 more games ahead of the quarter and semi-finals on Saturday. Our staff got a look at over 100 players these past several days with some of the top teams and players in BC and Alberta, along with intriguing talent from Ontario on both the Ontario Blue Jays and the PBR Canada Selects.

We had several high-profile arms take the mound, as well as some of the better positional players in the country taking the field. While there was plenty of Division I commitments and high-quality junior commits in attendance, there was a plethora of impressive uncommitted prospects who have put themselves in good positions to trend towards finding a home beyond high school.

Below, we take a look at eight of the standouts from Day Two and Day Three of the tournament.

To view Day One Quick Hits, click here.

BEST OF THE WEST: DAY 2/3 QUICK HITS I

Cardel Dick C / SS / Vauxhall, AB / 2023

2023 C Cardel Dick (Nebraska - Omaha commit) has put together one of the best overall performances through the first three days of the tournament. Handles the arms well and despite his smaller stature at 5-foot-10, 190-pounds, he plays big behind the dish. Flashed his hit tool these past two days picking up several base hits including a home run to the pull-side that he was all over. May not have the loudest tools at the tournament but continues to perform at a high-level against good talent. Has no-doubt been one of the most productive players throughout the tournament so far.

Benito Bonilla 3B / RHP / Okotoks dawgs , AB / 2024

‘24 two-way Bonilla (Missouri State) was a dangerous bat in the middle of the Okotoks lineup over the past couple of days. Strength and size in the box at 6-foot-3, 230-pounds, Bonilla doesn’t get cheated at the dish, swinging with intent to do damage every time. Hunted fastballs and rarley missed them, Bonilla collected several loud hits, including a HR off the top of the wall in LF against the PBR Canada Selects in a tight game. Bonilla has no doubt been one of the main attractions here in Kamloops and is one of the top players in the country.

Leo Cote 3B / RHP / Okotoks dawgs academy , AB / 2024

Cote performed well at several national events last year and he continues to trend upwards with the bat. Good plate coverage with his projectable 6-foot-2, 190-pound frame with a whippy barrel through the zone and power to his pull-side. Cote was a tough out over the past couple of days with competitive at bats every time out, capping it off with a long solo HR to RF to get on the board early in the game against the PBR Selects. The Oregon State commit is another intrguing bat from the Dawgs Academy.

Josiah Romeo SS / RHP / Mayfield Secondary School, ON / 2025

‘25 RHP/INF Josiah Romeo (uncommitted) was one of the more anticipated arms on the PBR Canada Selects team and got the start against a loaded Okotoks Dawgs lineup. 6-foot-3, 190-pounds and moved well on the mound for his size with a free and easy, repeatable delivery. Pounded the zone and mixed his pitches well to keep hitters guessing throughout his outing. The fastball sat 89-91mph with life through the zone and looked to work down in the zone with it. Paired the fastball with a slider that had bite at 79-82 and a changeup at 85mph. The fastball and slider play well off each other and the slider gave hitters problems when he kept it down. Impressive showing from Romeo following his first appearance with the Junior National Team. An arm that college coaches need to keep tabs on throughout the summer.

Noah Bourgeois RHP / 3B / Salish , BC / 2023

Rankings  StateRank: 9 / POS: 2

‘23 RHP Noah Bourgeois (uncommitted) may have put together the most dominant outing of the tournament on Friday against the PBR Canada Selects. Went the distance and pounded the zone throughout while picking up plenty of swings/misses on multiple pitches. Had the ability to beat hitters with all three pitches and consistently mixed speeds, making for some uncomfortable ABs. The fastball sat 86-88mph which he maintained through the first half the game. The slider sat 75-77mph with more of a slurve look, along with a changeup at 81-81mph. Minimal hard contact throughout his seven innings and was rare he left anything over the middle of the plate. Bourgeois still has the potential to move to the 2024 class and the pitchability along with the stuff should draw significant interest from colleges going forward.

Jackson Kornylo RHP / 1B / Donald A. Wilson, ON / 2025

2025 RHP Jackson Kornylo (uncommitted) has shown some of the better stuff in Ontario’s 2025 class and looked the part again on Friday. Tons of projection on the mound and should be more velocity coming in the near future with his 6-foot-5, 190-pound frame. Heavy fastball with ride through the zone at 87-88mph and has shown to be difficult to square up. The breaking ball has top-to-bottom action 76-79mph and he was able to throw it for strikes, although he’s still developing feel for the pitch. Occasionally flashed a changeup at 83mph. Sporadic command throughout his first inning but settled in after the first couple hitters and began attacking. Impressive combination of size and stuff and looks to be slowly gaining more and more feel for the mound and his stuff. One of the highest ceiling arms in Canada’s 2025 class.

Angelo Franco 3B / 1B / Alpha, BC / 2023

Rankings  StateRank: 6 / POS: 1

‘23 INF Angelo Franco (Mineral Area College) proved this week he has no issues finding the barrel against high-level arms. Franco looks the part in the right-side of the box at 6-foot-2, 195-pounds and provided plenty of offensive production for the Big League Experience team. Has the ability to find the gaps with relative ease and the bat-to-ball skills are there with minimal strikeouts and swing/misses. Seemed to have multiple hits each-time out and even the outs were loud ones. Intriguing 2023 who continues to look more and more comfortable competing against some of Canada’s top talent.

Robert Orr SS / 3B / St. Georges, BC / 2023

Rankings  StateRank: 4 / POS: 3

Got our first look at Orr since last summer at the 2022 ProCase and there’s alot to like with his game on the mound. Standing 6-foot-3, 195-pounds, Orr attacks with a 86-88 mph FB working downhill that got swing and miss and weak contact. The SL still needs some development, but there’s shape to it with late, sharp action that when landed, was an effective pitch. One of BC’s top uncommitted talents, Orr should be a guy to have on your radar.

UPCOMING EVENTS

SHOWCASE STATE DATE LOCATION
2023 Future Games Trials - North Vancouver BC 06/02 Parkgate Park (North Vancouver)
2023 Island Future Games Trials BC 06/07 Serauxmen Stadium (Nanaimo)
2023 New England Academic Games (Invite Only) BC 06/28 Yale
PBR Junior Future Games NATIONAL 07/25 LakePoint

 

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