Just when you thought we wouldn’t be able to share more of Alberta’s baseball stories, we went ahead and did it anyways.
With 215,874 words written in 158 stories, we easily surpassed our annual records in both categories … and we’re not done yet.
Oddly, it feels like we’re still just getting started as we continue to see this province’s baseball scene grow in incredible ways. From the grassroots and high school to college and professional achievements, we are certain 2025 will be another tremendous year. As always, we will strive to bring you the best and most up-to-date baseball stories from Alberta that you won’t find anywhere else.
While we will never be able to tell you who will win national championships or make it to the big leagues or simply have an extraordinary story to tell, we do know where some of the big storylines will come from in the next 12 months.
With that in mind, here is our annual look-ahead to what we’ll be keeping an eye on.
NO. 1 … ALBERTA ARMS IN MLB
Erik Sabrowski put the baseball world on notice after an outstanding debut with the Cleveland Guardians in 2024. The St. Albert Minor Baseball Association and Absolute Human Performance alum didn’t allow a run in eight relief appearances after being called up at the end of August, and was a key contributor out of the bullpen during their playoff run. While the 27-year-old isn’t taking anything for granted, you have to think he has the inside track on making the big-league roster again heading into 2025. We are looking forward to tracking his progress starting with Spring Training in February.
Meantime, Michael Soroka has a new place to call home. The 27-year-old Calgary native and PBF Redbirds alum had a rough start to the 2024 season as a starter, but really flourished when he came out of the bullpen on a woeful Chicago White Sox team. The right-hander ended the year with a 4.74 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 79+ innings, earning a one-year contract with the Washington Nationals. Soroka says he’s betting on himself heading into Spring Training, with his intentions being on returning to a starter’s role.
NO. 2 … WHOSE NEXT?
It might not be long before we start to see a few more familiar names getting called up to their respective Major League Baseball squads.
Jacob Melton seems to be a leader in that category, as the Okotoks Dawgs alum is a top prospect in the Houston Astros system. The duo of Damiano Palmegiani and Adam Macko spent time with the Triple-A Buffalo Bisons in 2024, just one step away from a call to the Toronto Blue Jays. Dawgs Academy grad Tristan Peters was a full-timer with the Triple-A Durham Bulls in 2024, and seems poised for a promotion if he can get more consistent with his at-bats. And whose to say that Matt “Tugboat” Wilkinson won’t will himself into a big role with the Guardians. After an outstanding season split between Single-A and High-A, the lefty looks determined to start the season in Double-A and, if he blows batters away like he did in 2024, might not take long to move up the depth charts.
An aside on all of this happens to be the 2025 MLB Draft. We’re coming off a landmark season for Alberta, with 13 players with ties to the Western Canadian Baseball League and several more from the West Coast League hearing their names called. Who will be the next Nathan Flewelling? Time will tell.
NO. 3 … SUMMER-TIME IN THE WCBL
This could easily make up an entire top-10 list all on its own because there are several major storylines coming out of Western Canada’s pre-eminent summer collegiate circuit.
Can the Okotoks Dawgs complete the four-peat? Will the Sylvan Lake Gulls finally get the monkey off their back and get past the Dawgs? Can the Lethbridge Bulls build on a really quietly good 2024 campaign? What will the Medicine Hat Mavericks do to emerge from the East Division? Can the Brooks Bombers, Fort McMurray Giants and soon-to-be-renamed Edmonton Prospects put themselves into a position to upset the perennial powerhouses?
Add that into ongoing run of record-setting seasons at the turnstiles and the new Rural Roots Game, and we will have no shortage of coverage from the Western Canadian Baseball League.
NO. 4 … SPRUCING IT UP
Speaking of the WCBL, it’s been a long time coming for the Edmonton Prospects as they look to make their debut in their new digs of Myshak Metro Ballpark in Spruce Grove.
After parting ways with RE/MAX Field in Edmonton after the 2019 season, the club has had to seemingly move mountains to get their new stadium approved and construction to begin.
The team has circled June 7 on their calendar for their tentative home-opener. They will need some help from Mother Nature through the winter to make sure they are ready to go for the season, which will come with a new team name as well. Once it does open, it will be a big boost for the entire capital region that has been invested in baseball for a long time now.
NO. 5 … BLAZING A TRAIL FOR THE GIRLS’ GAME
It will be a big year for the female game as girls baseball will make its debut at the Canada Summer Games.
With Alberta teams once again performing extremely well at national championships in 2024, it’s being viewed as an opportunity to put the game on a bigger stage. Add that to Calgary hosting the 19U Women’s Championship and the growing excitement around a new six-team professional women’s league coming in 2026, and the women’s game certainly has a plethora of momentum heading into this year.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS
We could probably go on for days about some of the stories we’re looking to tell in 2025. A top-five almost didn’t feel like enough when we consider all the other big-ticket items we know are coming. Among them:
- Edmonton Riverhawks – They continue to be a box-office smash by setting West Coast League attendance marks and they made their first playoff appearance in 2024. Jake Lanferman and company will be looking to improve on both this year.
- Little League World Series – With the Medicine Hat Major-AAA Mavs coming just a win away from punching their ticket to Williamsport, it made us wonder: will 2025 be the first time since 2001 that an Alberta team has represented the maple leaf?
- CCBC Championships – Can Prairie Baseball Academy get back to the top of the heap? Will the University of Calgary Dinos rebound after winning it all in 2022? Or is it the Edmonton Collegiate Hawks’ turn to finally reign supreme in the Canadian College Baseball Conference? The season begins soon!
Again, this is just a snapshot of just some of the stories we’ll be keeping an eye on in 2025. Any others you can think of? What are you looking forward to the most? Drop us a line by commenting below or on our social media posts!
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