Blue Jays academy eyes Manitoba talent

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 03/08/2022 (1185 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Mason De Ruyck was in the middle of a workout Tuesday morning when he felt his phone vibrate. It was a call from his mom, who never calls, just texts. Fearful for the worst, the teenager promptly answered and waited in suspense for some news.

A feeling of levity quickly overcame the 16-year-old when his mom shared he was among the top 75 selections for the Blue Jays Baseball Academy’s Canadian Futures Showcase in Toronto this Fall.

“I didn’t think I was gonna make top-75, I’m going to be completely honest,” De Ruyck conceded. “It just kind of took me by surprise and then the first thing was like ‘holy cow, I gotta go to Toronto now in September.’”

The showcase, held Sept. 20 – 24, will be the epicentre of Canadian amateur baseball for four days, as some of the besttalent Canada has to offer will compete in front of MLB scouts and college recruiters.

It’s a major opportunity for the youngsters, who already impressed the Academy’s scouts earlier this year at tryouts and will now look to dazzle evaluators at the next levels. One hundred and ten former showcase players have been drafted to the MLB since 2013.

De Ruyck was one of two Manitobans among the first 75 picks.

The selection, while deserving, baffled De Ruyck, just as his tryout did on July 26 in Saskatoon, Sask.

The southpaw hurler from Killarney drove eight hours across the prairies, expecting to put in a full day’s work in front of scouts.

He threw 14 pitches.

“I was kind of like, OK, a lot of pressure on these 14 pitches. Like, I gotta let a few go and then hammer the strike zone. So I think I did that pretty well,” he said.

De Ruyck is still processing the selection, but recognizes what’s in front of him. Confidence is something that’s eluded the young hurler at times, he explained, but has settled in recent years. He said he’s now trying to stay level-headed as some of the most important days of his baseball career approach.

“I’ll do my best to prepare and keep my arm healthy and just treat everything (as if) I’m in a game because when I get there, those are gonna be the hardest games I’ll probably ever have to play. The best players in the country are going to be there so I’ll need to put on a show or just stand out in some way.”

De Ruyck doesn’t come from a baseball family, or a sports family for that matter. The teenager has always had what he describes as a “can’t-sit-still edge to (him).”

He started playing baseball and hockey when he was three years old. By Grade 9, his talent on the diamond had been noticed across the country. He was recruited to the Vauxhall Academy of Baseball in Alberta by Les McTavish, who he met in Regina one summer morning to talk about his future.

The academy, which offers a high school education for its athletes, is seen by many as a top program in Western Canada. It’s groomed some of the best talents to come out of the Great White North, including Manitoban-born MLB draft picks Ben Onyshko and Ben Dartnell, who are also left-handed pitchers.

De Ruyck moved to Alberta in 2021 for Grade 11. It forced him to quit hockey, due to the potential of injuring his now-coveted throwing arm, but, in his mind, it was worth it if it meant attending the prominent academy.

While De Ruyck will return to Vauxhall in a few weeks for his senior year, he still has business to take care of out east. He’ll represent Manitoba at the Canada Games this weekend in Niagara, Ont., then head to Toronto in September for the Futures Showcase. For both events, he’ll be joined by his Team Manitoba teammate and fellow top-75 Showcase selection, Tyson Vassart.

Vassart, 17, is a shortstop and third baseman for the AAA Winnipeg South Wolves, with a strong desire to make it to the Show.

The La Salle native was working at the La Salle Community Centre when his coach — and Goldeyes hitting coach — Amos Ramon texted him a link.

There was Vassart’s name among the first 75 picks.

“I got pretty nervous because I knew I was going to be playing against some top Canadian players, but I was really excited at the same time, knowing it was a great opportunity,” Vassart said.

The teenager has been coached by Ramon for two years through the Home Run Sports Training Centre. It’s where Vassart realized he could go somewhere with baseball.

In his first year with the program as a 15-year-old, he played against varsity-level talent. When he noticed he was keeping up with the older boys, he set his sights on the next level.

He would have to dazzle Futures Showcase scouts quickly at Koskie Field in May, however, when one of the historically-wet Spring’s downpours limited the number of reps players could take at the tryouts.

“I (fielded) five ground balls and then I took about 12 swings in the cage,” Vassart said.

“It was really nerve-wracking, but I feel like when I was playing, I played pretty well for what I could do.”

Vassart has played since he was seven years old, inspired by his older brother Drew, an outfielder at Thompson Rivers University, whom he looked up to throughout his childhood.

Now the second half of summer will offer the teen an opportunity to carve his own path in Canadian baseball, as he prepares for the Canada Games, Futures Showcase, Western Canada Baseball Championships and Fall ball.

“Right now, it’s mostly just nerves, but I am a little excited, too, because if I do play well (at the Futures Showcase), it could mean big things for me in baseball in the future.”

The Blue Jays Baseball Academy will announce the remainder of its Canadian Futures Showcase selections Aug. 19.

PETERS TRADED

Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter

The Warm-Up

Winnipeg Jets Game Days

On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.

Sign up for The Warm-Up

Sign Up

I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement.

Outfielder Tristan Peters was traded from the Milwaukee Brewers to the San Francisco Giants in exchange for pitcher Trevor Rosenthal on Tuesday afternoon.

The Winkler native was enjoying a breakout season in High-A ball and will now bump up to Double-A in the Giants’ system.

The 23-year-old lefty bat slashed .306/.386/.485 with seven home runs in High-A.

jfreysam@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @jfreysam

Joshua Frey-Sam
Reporter

Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.

Every piece of reporting Josh produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.