Nathan Nukes

When the players, coaches and assorted baseball observers assembled for scout day at the Canadian Futures Showcase, Nathan Flewelling hit perhaps the longest home run of the outing.

It was a hard-struck ball that smacked off the face of Schneider’s Porch in the 200 level of Rogers Centre.

That was just the beginning of Flewelling’s long-ball exploits this week in Toronto.

Selected for Saturday’s Home Run Derby, the Innisfail, Alberta native cracked 11 total dingers over two rounds to secure the event’s championship belt.

Ullyett-French Represents Class of 2027

He’s the youngest player at the Canadian Futures Showcase.

Calgary product and Dawgs Academy prospect Colton Ullyett-French is part of the Class of 2027.

As Trevor Fitzpatrick reports, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound utilityman is hoping to make his presence felt.

2023 MLB Draft Review

We connect some dots between the 2023 MLB Draft and Alberta’s baseball scene …

Care For the Kids

They waited with baited breath to hear their communities named on a nationally-televised broadcast.

Calgary’s Centennial Little League and Whitecourt Minor Baseball erupted into cheers when they heard their names called in the annual Jays Care Foundation “Field of Dreams” grant announcement on April 22.

Both will now get down to work in improving their local facilities.

7th Inning Stretch: Max Hartman

One of the younger players from Alberta who attended the recent Tournament 12 (T12) in Toronto was Max Hartman.

The 15-year-old roamed the outfield at Rogers Centre for Team Navy during the showcase event, which was hosted by Blue Jays Baseball Academy and took place from Sept. 17-21.

We spoke with the Dawgs Academy product before and after the T12 to find out more about him and what it was like to be selected as one of Canada’s top 150 baseball prospects.

He answered the following seven questions for us for our 7th Inning Stretch profile.

7th Inning Stretch: Tyrese Johnson

Tyrese Johnson literally came out of left field at this year’s Tournament 12 (T12), but his performance shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone.

The outfielder, an Okotoks Dawgs Academy player, attended T12 last year and admitted that nerves got the better of him, but he went to Toronto more mentally prepared this time around.

The experience paid off. The Calgarian received “Player of the Game” honours on day three of the showcase tournament, which took place at Rogers Centre from Sept. 17-21. The annual event shines a spotlight on 150 of the best Canadian baseball players between the ages of 14 and 19 years old.

Johnson made time for our 7th Inning Stretch series before he left for Ontario.

Blue Jays Academy Gallery

A thrill of a lifetime for many aspiring baseball players in our province with the annual Blue Jays Academy Super Camp powered by Honda.

George Bell, J.P. Arencibia, Homer Bush and Ricky Romero showed players in St. Albert and Okotoks a few tricks of the trade over the last four days.

We were invited onto the field to snap a few photos of the festivities.