OTTAWA-It has been a busy week for Junior National Team 1B/OF Josh Naylor (Mississauga, ON).
Since returning from Cuba with the Junior National Team on July 11th, the 17 year-old travelled to Minneapolis where he qualified and participated in the final of the Major League Baseball Junior Select Home Run Derby alongside his big-league heroes and today, it was announced, that he will participate in the Perfect Game All-American Classic at Petco Park in San Diego on Sunday, August 10th as a member of the West squad.
The game, featuring 54 of the top up-and-coming high school seniors eligible for the 2015 MLB First-Year Player Draft, is generally known as the premier high school baseball All-Star game in North America and has been in existence for 12 years.
“It’s an honour to be selected to participate in this game,” said Naylor who will become the second Canadian ever to play in the Perfect Game All-American Classic. “The opportunity to play with and against the top high school talent in North America on a big-league stage is something that I am really looking forward to.”
In 2013, Gareth Morgan (Toronto, ON) became the first Canadian to participate in the Perfect Game All-American Classic. Last month, he was selected 74th overall by the Seattle Mariners in the MLB Draft,
Previously known as the Aflac All-American High School Baseball Classic, the game has an impressive list of alumni including former number one overall picks Justin Upton, Bryce Harper and Gerrit Cole along with current MLB stars Andrew McCutchen, Buster Posey, Matt Harvey and Jason Heyward.
The Perfect Game All-American Classic will be the start of what will be a busy month and a half for Naylor. From San Diego he will travel to Chicago where he will participate in the Under Armour All America Game, powered by Baseball Factory, at historic Wrigley Field on August 16th before heading to Houston on August 26th for the JNT final selection camp before the COPABE Americas 18U World Cup Qualifier in Los Cabos/La Paz, Mexico September 5-14. He will also be in Toronto September 16-20 for the second edition of Tournament 12 hosted by the Toronto Blue Jays Baseball Academy.
Naylor has been a member of Baseball Canada’s Junior National Team since 2012 when he helped Canada to a silver medal performance at the IBAF 18U World Cup in Seoul, South Korea as a 15 year-old.
The Perfect Game All-American Classic will be televised on live on MLB Network August 10th at 8pm ET.
For more information, please visit perfectgame.org/allamerican
