OTTAWA-Gareth Morgan (Toronto, ON) became the first Canadian selected in the 2014 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft this evening when the Seattle Mariners took the Junior National Team outfielder in the Competitive Balance Round B, 74th overall.
Competitive Balance Round B consisted of six selections between the second and third rounds of the draft. Morgan was taken with the final pick on day one of the draft with rounds three through ten scheduled to go tomorrow, while rounds 11 to 40 are slated for Saturday.
With the selection, Morgan becomes the highest Canadian high school player taken in the MLB Draft since the 2010 edition when catcher Kellin Deglan (Langley, BC) went to the Texas Rangers with the 22nd overall pick in the first round.
“I’m honoured that the Mariners selected me and it’s also very special to be the first Canadian to be taken in the draft,” said Morgan from his home in Toronto where he was following the draft with his mother (Kathryn), father (Giles) and brother (Zak). “I have worked very hard throughout my career for this moment and I’m excited for what the future holds.”
Morgan, a four-year member of Baseball Canada’s Junior National Team, joined the program in the fall of 2010 as a 14 year-old and has been on every trip with the club since, including the 2011 COPABE 18U World Cup Qualifier in Colombia, the 2012 IBAF 18U World Cup in Korea and the 2013 IBAF 18U World Cup in Taiwan.
He was part of two silver medal-winning clubs in 2011 and 2012.
In addition to the international tournaments and annual trips to Florida and the Dominican Republic, Morgan has also attended Junior National Team events in Cuba, Italy and Australia.
“The Junior National Team has played a big role in my development as a baseball player and is one of the main reasons I’m at where I am today as a player,” he added. “I’d like to thank Baseball Canada, Coach (Greg) Hamilton and staff for providing me with these tremendous experiences over the past four years.”
In 2011 as a 15 year-old, Morgan became the youngest player to participate in the prestigious Under Armour All-American game held at Wrigley Field in Chicago and just last August, became the first Canadian to ever play in the Perfect Game All-American Game at Petco Park in San Diego.
Day two of the MLB First-Year player draft gets underway tomorrow at 1pm EST with rounds three through ten, while the third and final day of the draft will take place on Saturday with rounds 11 to 40 beginning at 1pm ET.
For up-to-date Canadian selections follow @BaseballCanada on Twitter.com. Daily recaps will be posted on baseball.ca.
For complete coverage of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft visit MLB.com
