OTTAWA – Baseball Canada has announced its Junior National Team roster for the final camp of the 2008-2009 season which will take place from June 22nd - July 9th.
The roster will include many of the recent 2009 MLB Draft picks, including LHP Jake Eliopoulos (Newmarket, ON) who was selected in the second round (68th overall) by the Toronto Blue Jays.
Other roster draft picks include SS Wes Darvill (Langley, BC), RHP Steven Inch (Edmonton, AB), OF Adam Nelubowich (Stoney Plain, AB), 1B/3B Jeff Hunt (Cambridge, ON) and RHP Jerome Werniuk (Toronto, ON).
The JNT final camp roster will also include 2010 World Junior Championship prospects such as LHP Evan Grills (Whitby, ON) and RHP Steve McKinnon (Duncan, BC).
The camp will take the JNT first to North Carolina from June 22nd until June 30th when the team returns to Canada with a stop in Toronto for Canada Day. The team will once again be on the road on July 2nd for a trip to Cuba until July 9th to conclude the camp.
The JNT will be in Cary and Raleigh-Durham while in North Carolina for a five game exhibition series against the USA Collegiate National Team at the USA Baseball Training Complex and at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. After a stop at the Rogers Centre in Toronto to watch a pair of Jays games and mix in a workout, Team Canada will be in Havana for a six game exhibition series against the Cuban Junior National Team at the Estadio Nelson Fernandez in San Jose de Las Lajas, just outside of Havana.
“We are very excited about the opportunity to expose our young players to the challenges of a world class schedule,” says JNT Manager and Director of National Teams for Baseball Canada Greg Hamilton. “The U.S. Collegiate National Team and the Cuban Junior National Team will provide our players with an invaluable competitive and developmental experience.”
For the complete roster and schedule, please refer to links listed below.
