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PHOENIX, ARIZONA – 21-year-old Baltimore Orioles prospect Adam Loewen will lead a group of young pitchers into Canada’s second World Baseball match-up against the United States this afternoon.

The 6’5”, 225-pound left-hander will start the game on the mound for Canada, who is 1-0 after defeating South Africa Tuesday night in Scottsdale, Arizona.

“Adam has a lot of talent coming out of that arm,” said Canadian Manager Ernie Whit of the fourth selection in the 2001 MLB draft. “He’s got tremendous stuff and the Americans have never seen him before, so I’m confident he can go out there and do very well.”

Loewen, who led the 2005 Arizona Fall League in ERA (1.67) is Canada’s highest-ever draft pick and is rated No. 2 on Baseball America’s evaluation of the top prospects in the Baltimore Orioles’ organization. He threw two innings, allowing no runs, one hit and two walks during a spring training game for the Orioles in his last outing when he faced the Florida Marlins Thursday, March 3.

It’s likely that Loewen won’t be the only young pitcher to throw against the U.S.  26-year-old Chris Begg, 22-year-old Scott Mathieson, and 24-year-old Vince Perkins will all be available after not being used in yesterday’s game against South Africa. Eric Cyr (27), Steve Green (28), Mike Meyers (28) and Aaron Myette (28) are also available.

Including the position players, Canada’s World Baseball Classic squad features 10 players aged 25 or under.

“I think that helps team chemistry a little bit,” said Mathieson, one of the top pitching prospects in the Philadelphia Phillies’ system. “We all realize that this is a big opportunity for us and we really look to feed off of each other as well as learning from the more experienced guys like Paul Quantrill or Rheal Cormier.”

The collection of young players is part of a core group of athletes who have a wealth of international tournament experience, which some consider to be one of Canada’s biggest strengths under the World baseball Classic’s format. The 10 players under the age of 25 combine 42 international tournaments on various Baseball Canada’s National Team programs.

Canadian Manager Ernie Whitt said that having such a talented group of young players projects a very good outlook for the future of Canadian baseball.

“I think it’s going to bode very well for us because these guys are going to gain a lot of experience at this tournament,” said Whitt. “I think it’s really going to pay dividends for Canadian Baseball. This is a great opportunity for them to come in here and showcase their abilities under the spotlight. They’re going to come out competing against Major League hitters and there are going to be a lot of scouts out there. A lot of opportunities might arise out of this.”

Game time is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST at Chase Field in Phoenix. Fans can watch the game live across the country on all Rogers Sportsnet channels.  Fans without cable or satellite packages can also follow the game live at www.worldbaseballclassic.com.