<p>Devonshire’s Draft Decision</p><p>Daniel Devonshire was in the clubhouse of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan’s Ross Wells Park last Wednesday when he heard the news. A scout from the Toronto Blue Jays was on the phone, and he wanted to talk to the catcher of the Miller Express summer league baseball team.</p><p>Devonshire assumed he knew what the call was about -- the scout had been in contact with him over the past month, hoping to set up a workout to test his skills.</p><p>When the 20-year-old grabbed the phone, the voice on the other end told him he had just been selected by the Blue Jays in the 37th round of the amateur draft.</p><p>“I was ecstatic, to say the least,” Devonshire said from a bus travelling across the lengthy highways of Western Canada. “It’s hard to explain the feeling of being drafted. It’s your dream beginning to come true.”</p><p>The strong, power-hitter has a clear understanding of how difficult it is to achieve the dream he’s been working at his whole life.</p><p> </p><p>The Worldly Ball Player</p><p>Exactly one week before the Blue Jays kicked off their first World Series Championship-winning season in 1992, Devonshire’s parents Roger and Hazel welcomed their first son into the world.</p><p>Born 14,000 km away in Auckland, New Zealand, no one would have guessed then that Daniel Devonshire might one day get to play for Toronto’s team.</p><p>Growing up in New Zealand meant that Devonshire’s foray into baseball took on a different form than that of his counterparts across the globe.</p><p>“It was very tough,” the Kiwi said of trying to develop his skills in his native country. “You don’t have access to the facilities, equipment, or level of competition that the North American kids get.</p><p>“I had to play a lot of travel ball here in North America and spent a lot of time overseas as a young teenager because that was the only way I could play against other kids at the level I wanted to be competing at.”</p><p>Baseball took Devonshire all over the world, including Alberta and Alabama, where he played summer ball as a teenager, and Australia, where he attended the MLB Australian Academy Program (MLBAAP) in 2007. He was just 15 years old.</p><p>“It was a great experience,” Devonshire said of his time at the MLBAAP. “It was my first taste of high level performance baseball.</p><p>“They have old MLB players coaching and young guys that just got drafted training there along with outstanding facilities,” he added. “It helped me learn a lot about baseball and showed me the level that I needed to get to if I wanted to become a professional baseball player.”</p><p>Devonshire’s journey took him to Arizona’s Chase Field in 2010 where he participated in the Power Showcase International High School Home Run Derby. The tournament’s only New Zealand representative hit a 428-foot bomb to right-centre field at the age of 18.</p><p>“There is no other feeling like it,” he said about hitting home runs in a MLB stadium. “Growing up as a little kid, it is what you dream of doing and having that dream come true is something you can’t explain.”</p><p>This display at the Power Showcase factored into the Blue Jays’ decision to draft him.</p><p>“The first time I heard about him was at our regional meeting a few weeks ago,” said Andrew Tinnish, the Director of Amateur Scouting for the Jays. “Our regional scout presented his players and Devonshire was one of them. He had a YouTube clip from a home run derby in Arizona that he showed us that was pretty impressive.”</p><p>Tinnish drafted his 37th round pick out of Colby Community College (CCC), a two-year post-secondary institution in Kansas where the Auckland native has been studying for the past two semesters.</p><p>Ryan Carter, Devonshire’s head coach at Colby, was doing some recruiting work at a baseball game when he heard that his catcher had been drafted. Knowing that Toronto would be interested in the freshman’s strength, quickness, and powerful left-handed bat, Carter was still surprised they had drafted him after only one year of college ball.</p><p>“I was very excited for Daniel and proud for him and our program. I knew the Blue Jays had some interest, but I wasn’t quite sure how much,” Carter said. “I had been in contact with the Jays off and on since they first saw Daniel. I just assumed that their interest was more for next season.”</p><p>Devonshire’s parents, receiving the news back home, were content to see years of hard work paying off.</p><p>“Daniel has put a lot of hours training and travelling to reach his dream,” said Roger. “We are very happy for our son.”<br /> </p><p>The Injury and the People Who Stood By Him</p><p>Having raw talent is one thing, but being able to develop it is another. Roger and Hazel Devonshire understood this from the start.</p><p>When their son was 15, the Devonshire family installed a batting cage in their home in Auckland so Daniel could practice as much as needed. Roger built the cage primarily on his own, even installing an automatic pitching machine that he had imported from Kansas.</p><p>“I remember when I told [the company in Kansas] where I was from, the person on the line asked, ‘do you play baseball there?’” Roger recalled.</p><p>Once complete, Daniel spent “hundreds of hours” in his personal batting cage, sometimes with his father by his side to keep him company, but oftentimes alone.</p><p>“You have to be very focused to train on your own,” Roger said. “Daniel has always had a very strong work ethic and a determined mind.”</p><p>The day before his 16th birthday, Devonshire’s training abruptly halted when he dislocated his shoulder sliding into third base. After examining the injury, one of New Zealand’s top surgeons told the family he couldn’t operate, and that the teen would never be able to throw a baseball again.</p><p>“In New Zealand, surgeons are not familiar dealing with baseballers, so we were told to just let it mend on its own over a two-year period,” Roger said. “This form of recovery would have meant Daniel would not have been able … to play high level baseball again.”</p><p>It was a prognosis that crushed the young Devonshire.</p><p>“I remember going home after [seeing the surgeon] and sitting at the end of my batting cage holding my baseball bat and breaking down and crying for hours,” Daniel said, recalling the injury that nearly took him out of the game.</p><p>“Having someone that is meant to be the best in the country at what they do tell you your dream is over at the age of 16 is devastating. It was the single worst feeling that I have ever felt in my life, by far.”</p><p>But like a beacon of hope, his father was there for him.</p><p>“As a family, we felt totally helpless,” Roger said. “But I went into the [batting] cage, put my arms around my boy, and told him that it would be alright.”</p><p>To make things better for his son, Roger Devonshire sought a second o

"Nicholls' Delatte drafted by the Blue Jays in the fifth round of MLB Draft
CASEY GISCLAIR Sports Editor | Posted: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 4:28 pm
Nicholls State senior left-handed relief pitcher Brad Delatte said he grew up dreaming of becoming a professional baseball player.
That fantasy is now reality – Delatte is officially on the proverbial road of the show.
Delatte was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fifth round (175th pick overall) in last week’s MLB Draft.
With the early selection, Delatte is now the second-highest Colonel to ever be picked in baseball’s draft, lagging only behind Scott Sanders, who was the 32nd overall pick in the 1990 Draft.
“When I first heard that I was drafted, there was just a little bit of shock, a little bit of disbelief and a whole lot of excitement,” Delatte said. “I’ve been wanting to do this for pretty much my whole life, so to finally be given that opportunity, it’s just so exciting to me. … To tell you the truth, I don’t know if it’s fully sunk in yet.”
Delatte lands in the professional ranks after a solid career in Thibodaux, anchoring the back-end of Nicholls’ bullpen.
In the final three seasons of his career, Delatte was either Nicholls’ closer or among its top relievers, recording several key outs late in critical ballgames.
Those outs helped the Colonels climb from the bottom of the Southland Conference to its current ascent to the middle of the pack within the league.
Being such a vital part of the team’s climb is something Delatte said he’d never forget.
“It’s been a long road for us,” Delatte said. “It’s just nice to know that collectively as a group, we did a lot of things to take the university from where it was from a baseball standpoint to where it’s at now.”
Team goals aside, Delatte really started to shine because of his individual talents during his senior season in Thibodaux.
In his final Colonels’ campaign, Delatte posted a 2.86 ERA in 31 relief appearance (34.2 innings), allowing opponents to hit for just an anemic .198 batting average against him for the season.
The lefty was especially tough on lefty hitters, recording several crucial outs for Nicholls down the stretch of the season in its quest to push to reach the Southland Conference Tournament – a run that ended one game short.
“I’ll always be disappointed that we came up short in that last run that we made,” Delatte said.
But with his college career complete, Delatte said he quickly turned he has turned his attention to the professional level.
The pitcher said he knew he was going to be picked in last week’s draft, but he had “no idea” it would be in the draft’s early rounds.
“From everything that I heard, I was going to be picked somewhere in the mid-to-late rounds,” Delatte said. “Then, I got a call on the second day and I was told that there was a really good chance that I could go even earlier than that.”
The pitcher said his advisor told him he’d “likely be Toronto’s guy” a few minutes before the Blue Jays were on the clock. He added that a regional scout from the team confirmed it a few minutes later – a phone call Delatte said he will never forget.
“About 10 or 20 minutes after the pick was made, the Blue Jays called and congratulated me and everything,” Delatte said. “I think I didn’t really realize that this was real until they called and told me what was happening.
“To tell you the truth, they didn’t even really tell me much of anything about what they liked about me as a pitcher or why they picked me. They just told me that they liked my fastball velocity and that’s about it. From talking with people since then, I’ve learned that they liked that I was a lefty who is good facing other lefties and that I have a really good breaking ball.”
With the pick in place, Delatte will not have time to wallow in his achievement – the pitcher is already working on his craft with the Blue Jays.
Delatte said he traveled to Tampa this past weekend and started his rookie ball work with the team.
Once he completes that preliminary month, the pitcher will be keeping his eyes on Bluefield, WV, which is the home of the Blue Jays’ Single-A affiliate.
From there, he’d likely have to make stops in Vancouver, Lansing, Mi., New Hampshire and Las Vegas to reach the big league club.
Whether that happens remains to be seen.
For now, just being able to call himself a professional baseball player is good enough for the Nicholls lefty.
“I tell you what man, that’s just an unbelievable feeling – I don’t even know how to explain it,” Delatte said when asked how it feels to be a pro. “It’s been a long road to get where I’m at now. I’ve made a lot of sacrifices and I’ve put a lot of hard work in to reach this level. And this accomplishment is all about the good people behind me pushing me to get where I need to be.
“I guess now is when the real work starts.”

http://www.tri-parishtimes.com/sports/article_8947c9fc-b4d5-11e1-9b54-001a4bcf887a.html

"Trey Pascazi expects to put on hold his plans to pursue a career in criminal justice in order to play baseball for a living, but Grant Heyman isn’t sure if he’ll turn pro or head to college.

For both players, it depends on what the Toronto Blue Jays want — and want to offer.

Heyman, a Pittsford Sutherland senior outfielder, was selected by the Jays on the 11th round of the Major League Baseball draft on June 5. The team chose Pascazi, a senior shortstop from East Rochester, in round 23 the following day.

“Both of these guys have special ability,” said Jamie Lehman, who scouts Canada and western New York for the Blue Jays.

If Pascazi had not been drafted, he was planning to attend Monroe Community College. Now he’s expecting to be on his way to Dunedin, Fla., around June 25 to Toronto’s spring training base.

He must wait to be handed his high school diploma before he can turn pro, however.

“I’m ready to sign and get going,” he said.

Heyman is actually in Florida today, but he’s touring the University of Miami. The Hurricanes have offered him a scholarship, and playing for one of college baseball’s perennial powers still appeals to him.

But on Friday he’ll be in Toronto to schmooze with the Blue Jays, and the talk of a contract is sure to come up.

“I’ll get to take batting practice with the Blue Jays and stretch and throw with them,” Heyman said. “I’m really pumped to take BP with Jose Bautista and Colby Rasmus.

“I guess a decision’s coming shortly but I haven’t made my decision yet.”

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20120613/SPORTS08/306130052/1008/RSS04