THUNDER BAY – Landon Leach has lofty baseball goals.
A second-round pick of the Minnesota Twins this past June who received a $1.4-million bonus upon signing, the Pickering, Ont. native would love nothing better than to fast-track through the minor leagues and take his spot on the mound at Target Field, following in the footsteps of former Twins greats like Bert Blyleven, Frank Viola and Johan Santana.
But the right-handed hurler doesn’t mind interrupting that ride to try to help Team Canada capture gold at the upcoming 12-team Under 18 Baseball World Cup, which gets under way on Friday at Port Arthur Stadium and Baseball Central.
It’s an exciting prospect, he said.
“This team has been together for quite a while and has obviously had its ups and downs like every team has. But I feel like in Thunder Bay here we’re going to have a great opportunity to beat a lot of teams. I think we’re going to do a great job because we have a lot of chemistry,” Leach said on Tuesday, moments after the team landed in the city to finalize preparations for the tournament.
Based on his pro debut, the 18-year-old Leach could the ace of the Canadian staff.
He’s 2-0 with a 3.38 earned run average playing rookie ball for the Gulf Coast League Twins, striking out 10 in 13.1 innings.
Though not fully versed in the tournament’s history, Leach is well aware the bi-annual event has sent its fair share of players to the major leagues, including Los Angeles Dodgers stars Yu Darvish and Clayton Kershaw, Cleveland Indians all-star shortstop Francisco Lindor and San Francisco catcher Buster Posey.
He’s hoping to carry on that tradition, only with a maple leaf on his jersey.
“It’s great to be a part of that, have big names in this tournament. Just to play for Canada and know the names who have played here before and being recognized for that is great,” Leach said.
Playing for his country means everything, he added.
“It’s going to be an incredible feeling out there, with all the fans having Canada across their chest, there’s no better feeling.”
His manager, Greg Hamilton, guided the 2010 Canadian squad that advanced to the semifinal in Thunder Bay, taking them to the championship game two years later in Soeul.
With only three teams advancing from each six-team division into the playoff round, Hamilton said getting off to a fast start is paramount to success for Canada, whose lone title at the event came in 1991.
Canada will play in Group A alongside Korea, a five-time tournament champion, Chinese Taipei, who won it all in 2010 in Thunder Bay, Australia, Italy and Nicaragua.
He’s cautiously optimistic.
“We’ve got a group of great guys that can play the game well, that understand the game and as a group we’re a good club,” Hamilton said.
Leach will be one of those keys, he added.
“Obviously you don’t get drafted as high as he did and not have a special arm. But I would say with this group, it’s the sum of the parts,” Hamilton said.
Canada’s first game is Friday at 6:30 p.m. against Chinese Taipei at Port Arthur Stadium.
