A 14-year-old Port Coquitlam athlete is heading south of the border this month with Canada's future baseball stars.
Pitcher Sean Duncan is the youngest of 31 players under age 18 to be invited to Baseball Canada's 2023 junior national team's (JNT) spring training camp in West Palm Beach, Fla.
There, the left-hander will endure 11 days of workouts, testing and development programs.
As well, Duncan could take the mound in one of four exhibition games against prospect teams from the MLB's Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, Tampa Bay Rays and Washington Nationals.
For Duncan, who suits up for the Langley Blaze in the BC Premier Baseball League (BCPBL), the first-time experience could prove to be valuable in the short years ahead.
He's one of 15 new JNT prospects, and the longest eligible for the roster until 2026, as the program undergoes a transition period after finishing 1-4 in the 2022 under-18 baseball world cup and failing to reach the 2023 event this summer.
Duncan is also one of 16 pitchers, six that are lefties, invited to spring training.
He may have a distinct advantage in comparison to the rotation as he took the mound in Ottawa in September last year for the Toronto Blue Jays' Canadian Futures Showcase.
Additionally, Duncan's resume includes a 17-strikeout, seven-inning perfect game for Langley in June 2022, a 2022 western Canadian championship with the Blaze and a place on the Milwaukee Brewers' Canada Scout Team.
As well, the Coquitlam Little League alum represented Canada with his fellow Athletics at the 2019 Little League World Series, to which the green and gold finished 1-2 at the tournament.
The 2023 Baseball Canada JNT camp is scheduled for April 19 to 29.
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