Ontario 12 Days of Christmas: Draft Success for Ontario HS Players

2015 was a prosperous year for high schoolers in Ontario, especially come the middle of the summer when the MLB Draft took place on June 8-10.

In 2014, there was a total of four players selected in the MLB draft out of high school from various parts of Ontario. That number was doubled in 2015 when we saw eight players (4 outfielders, 2 infielders, and 2 pitchers) selected from four different Ontario elite organizations.

Leading up to June, the two most talked about prep players were Josh Naylor and Demi Orimoloye. Both players had decorated achievements over the summer with stops at the Area Code Games, Under Armour All American Games at Wrigley Field, as well as their time with the Canadian Junior National Team and club teams Ontario Blue Jays and the Ottawa-Nepean Canadians. Both players were seen as possibilities to go on day one of the draft, but as many people and players can attest to, the MLB draft may be the most unpredictable draft in all of professional sports.

That said, the talent of Naylor and what he is able to do in the batter’s box is undeniable. The Miami Marlins were convinced that he was their guy, and with the 12th pick in the draft, selected Naylor as the highest position player ever selected in Canadian history, four picks in front of Brett Lawrie who went 16th overall in 2008. Naylor and the Marlins came to terms and he began his career in the Gulf Coast League.

The next two Ontario players selected were a pair of athletic outfielders.

Miles Gordon was the fourth round selection of the Cincinnati Reds, while Orimoloye was scooped up by the Milwaukee Brewers six picks later with the 121st overall selection. Gordon seemed to keep improving every time he took the field over the last 16 months, filling out into his body and using his speed and defensive ability to go along with a smooth stroke from the left side of the plate. For some and maybe even Orimoloye, the fourth round selection may of been a disappointment seeing how high he was rated in numerous draft reports, often being tabbed a top 100 prospect heading into June. He slipped to the 4th round and know one was probably more happy than the Milwaukee Brewers and Ontario scout Jay Lapp. Demi signed and began his pro career in the Arizona rookie league and proceeded to put up first round numbers. Although he may have dropped in some people's eyes, there is no question he has unbelievable talent in his 6-foot-4, 225-pound frame and a very bright future. Both Demi and Gordon are supreme athletes, and look to continue their trek to the big leagues in 2016 with plenty of talent and tools in their shed.

The next three Ontario players to be selected all came from the Cincinnati Reds in rounds 17, 18, and 22.

All three players are products from the Ontario Blue Jays with infielder J.D. Williams going in the 17th round, followed by LHP Isaac Anesty and right-hander Darren Shred. All three players agreed to forego their college commitments and start their professional baseball careers. Shred is a former catcher who has been summoned to the mound in the reds organization. He has been up to 93 mph and has limited innings under his belt, giving him an incredibly fresh arm with plenty of bullets left in his arsenal. Anesty had a strong spring and summer, fine tuning his mechanics to go along with his curveball while Williams continued to be the solid player we had come to enjoy watching and writing about in our first year at PBR.

The last two picks were outfielders from the Toronto Mets organization in Eric Senior and Tristan Pompey.

Senior was a 23rd round selection of the Oakland Athletics while Pompey went in the 31st round to the Minnesota Twins. Both players bypassed signing as Senior is at Midland college in Texas while Pompey enrolled at the university of Kentucky. Both players are athletic and have all kinds of tools in the five major categories. It would not be surprising for both of these prospects to hear their names called again in June by a Major League Baseball organization.

So in the end, a total of eight players selected by five different teams sums up the Ontario high school draft class in 2015. Definitely a talented group with many high end prospects starting their careers towards the ultimate goal of reaching the major leagues. As tough as it is to be selected, and even tougher journey to actually reaching the big leagues, it would not be surprising to see at least one, if not multiple players defying the odds and adding to the already talented group of Canadian players performing on the biggest stage in baseball. Stay tuned everybody, Ontario is coming.