It’s almost time to set sail.
He might be the youngest player on Baseball Canada’s roster at the World Baseball Classic, but Matt Wilkinson is always willing to enter uncharted waters.
The 22-year-old has excelled at every level of baseball he’s played, from Little League in his hometown of Ladner, B.C. and high school at Dawgs Academy in Okotoks to the Western Canadian Baseball League and at Central Arizona College.
He says it hasn’t sunk in that he’s getting the opportunity to represent Canada on the international stage for the first time since the Little League World Series, adding it probably won’t until he gets into the clubhouse and steps onto the field when the team faces the Toronto Blue Jays in a pre-tournament game on March 3rd.
“Honestly, it’s one of the highlights of my baseball career so far,” Wilkinson told Alberta Dugout Stories: The Podcast. “I’m just looking forward to representing my country with Canada across my chest.”
The WBC will also serve as a launchpad for his third season of professional baseball as he looks to keep climbing the depth charts of the Cleveland Guardians.
REPRESENTING THE MAPLE LEAF
It’s hard to imagine having a better debut wearing the maple leaf.
Wilkinson, who is better known by many as “Tugboat,” was just 12 years old when he delivered one of the most dominant pitching performances in the Little League World Series.
Playing for White Rock in 2015, the young southpaw struck out 16 in five scoreless innings (he struck out four in an inning thanks to a dropped third strike allowing one base runner) in a 1-0 extra innings loss to Mexico.
Since then, he’s wanted to get back on the world’s biggest baseball stage but couldn’t grab the attention of Baseball Canada for the Junior National Team.
As the years went on and his standout play continued, Wilkinson’s dream didn’t go away, and was even strengthened when he was at Central Arizona.
“I went to the WBC in ’23 and remember being there thinking, ‘I’m going to be pitching for Canada in the next one,’” said the 6-foot-1, 250-pound twirler.
A few months later, the Guardians made him their 10th round selection in the Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft, setting in motion the opportunity to make that a reality.
FIRST TASTE OF ADVERSITY
Again, success seemed to follow Wilkinson around as his journey in pro ball began.
He was one of the Guardians’ top minor league pitchers in 2024, racking up an 8-6 record with a 1.90 earned run average and a mind-boggling 174 strikeouts in just 118-plus innings of work split between the Single-A Lynchburg Hillcats and High-A Lake County Captains.
The lefty was also a major factor for the Captains as they claimed the Midwest League championship.
READ MORE: Setting Course for ‘Land
Expectations were once again high heading into 2025, but Wilkinson ended up sticking around High-A and, for the first time in his career, he faced some struggles.
Wilkinson still punched out 117 batters in 104 innings, but his record fell to 4-9 and his ERA rose to 4.24 in 25 starts.
Instead of being bitter about how things went, the Okotoks Dawgs alum took it all in stride, saying he was almost too cocky.
“Honestly, I needed last season – I needed to dig deep and kind of get punched a little bit,” he said.
“Up until last year, I hadn’t really failed in my baseball career, and I honestly think it’s going to make me a better pitcher.”
Wilkinson says his biggest challenge was finding himself behind in counts as he wasn’t finding the right spots with his pitches.
However, by the end of the year, he was rediscovering his swagger again, striking out 25 batters in his final five outings.
PEDIGREE OF A CHAMPION
Baseball Canada is hoping to see that version of Wilkinson when he steps onto the mound during the World Baseball Classic.
Men’s National Team head coach and director Greg Hamilton says it was an interesting year to recruit pitchers, with several either just a couple of years into MLB careers or others who were on the cusp.
With Jonah Tong, Cade Smith, Erik Sabrowski and Matt Brash unavailable, it opened up some opportunities for younger pitchers like Wilkinson, Adam Macko, Micah Ashman and Antoine Jean to get the call.
Hamilton says Wilkinson, who closed out the Dawgs’ 2022 championship and helped the team again in 2023, has an impressive resume including a composure that’s needed on the WBC stage.
“We like the pedigree, we like the compete level, we like the fact that he throws a lot of strikes and we like the fact that he doesn’t shy away from competition,” said the Team Canada architect.
“It’s our job to put him in the right spots and, if we can do that, we think he will embrace it and that compete level will come out.”
While it will be a younger core of pitchers than originally anticipated, Hamilton adds it’s an opportunity to look into the future while giving the athletes some international exposure that will be valuable down the road.
A BIG 2026 SHAPING UP
As he looks ahead to coming season, Wilkinson says he would like to earn his way to start the year in Double-A and see how the season goes.
His offseason regiment has been focused on solidifying his off-speed pitches so he doesn’t make the same mistakes he did a season ago.
“I know my fastball is good – it’s my bread and butter – I’ve had it my whole life,” Wilkinson said.
“I know I can get swings and misses with that, but just being able to locate and have the confidence in my other pitches that I do with my heater will be my number one goal.”
He’s also been working more in the gym and on his nutrition to get stronger and faster in every aspect of his game.
Everything will be put to the test in less than a month now as the WBC is fast approaching.
Wilkinson takes a lot of pride in learning from those around him, and one central figure he’s looking forward to learning the most from is fellow Ladner product and MLB veteran James Paxton.
To stand next to him on Canada’s roster is something he plans to soak in as much as he can before getting to the job at hand of winning games.
“Growing up, playing baseball in Canada, just watching the tournament, it’s been a dream of mine ever since I was a young punk,” Wilkinson said.
“It just means the world to me.”
After tune-up games against the Blue Jays and Philadelphia Phillies, Wilkinson and Team Canada will officially begin the World Baseball Classic against Colombia March 7.
Discover more from TALES OF BASEBALL
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
3 thoughts on “All Aboard to the WBC”