TORONTO — The annual Canadian Futures Showcase is an opportunity for both the country’s top young players to gain vital exposure and for the host Toronto Blue Jays to build deeper insights into that talent pool, which the club used to its advantage in this summer’s draft.
Fourth-rounder Micah Bucknam, a power-armed righty, and fifth-rounder Tim Piasentin, a hard-hitting third baseman, are fruits of previous events and the organization’s most significant foray into local waters since outfielder Dasan Brown was a third-round pick in 2019.
Outfielder Sam Shaw, a ninth-round pick in 2023, is another recent example of a selection helped along by the showcase, which begins anew Tuesday with 150 players split into six teams at Rogers Centre.
Already, 161 past participants have been drafted — 13 of them reaching the majors, including Denzel Clarke of the Athletics and Owen Caissie of the Cubs, who both debuted this year — with another 856 landing college scholarships. And the Blue Jays, who have initial reads on the players before they arrive, will be looking for “a separator for us to feel comfortable about drafting a player, or signing a player, whatever the case may be,” according to Pat Griffin, the club’s Canadian-area scout.
“Being able to spend that time around them and have them talk to some of our staff members from the scouting side that are around, seeing how they interact with teammates, how they interact with coaches, some of those things help us feel a little bit more comfortable and are a big part of this process,” he explained. “And when that day comes and somebody asks how you feel about the player, you have a better idea and it helps make the decision a little bit more comfortable if that player becomes a Blue Jay.”
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That’s what happened with both Bucknam, whom the Blue Jays had already selected once, back in 2021, out of high school, and Piasentin, who showed well at last year’s event, when he won the home run derby.
Bucknam was more of a contingency pick in 2021 and ended up at LSU for two seasons before transferring to Dallas Baptist University, where he split his breaking ball into two distinct offerings, a hard slider and a sharper curveball, while picking up velocity on his fastball.
The Blue Jays had tracked those gains and were able to compare them against his work at the 2019 showcase to “see where the progressions have been made,” said Griffin. “The ability to adapt to different scenarios is obviously a great thing in this game. … The fact that he was able to add that velocity, add that slider that was so effective, that makes you feel really good that when he gets to a different level, if there are struggles or something has to change, that he’s able to do that.”
With Piasentin, who was well known within the Canadian baseball landscape leading up to his draft year, his showing last year helped the Blue Jays build a baseline profile and give the player-development department information to build up a potential plan if he ended up in the system.
“Starting at this event last year for that 10 months that led up to the draft, that’s when he really took off,” said Griffin. “He had a great showcase and it helped the scouting staff identify him as a top hitter in the country leading to his draft year. Obviously, he’s got loud tools. So that was an identifier, and like (an) ‘I’m here’ moment for him in terms of the draft itself.”
One event alone, of course, won’t necessarily make or break a player, but it can alter his trajectory, as they get tested within their peer group, without having to travel south for the bigger American showcase circuit.
And, under the right circumstances, perhaps even put themselves on the Blue Jays’ radar for the 2026 draft, the way Bucknam, Piasentin and Shaw did in years past.
“Any data that we have available to us, whether it’s from the Canadian Future Showcase or another showcase throughout the summer circuit, is all just becoming a more important piece of the puzzle to be able to make as good and informed a decision as we can,” said Griffin. “When we get this information, we’re always looking for separators or something that might raise a red flag. But the stuff we get here is crucially important to that process, helps make us feel more comfortable and gives the player-development side a base to work with.”
