INSIDE THE PARK: 13U Marlins look to build on growth

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This article was published 04/07/2023 (913 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

While every baseball team wants to get better between the start of the season and the end, it’s critically important at the 13-and-under level.

Players in that age group are just starting to grow into their bodies and have new physical tools available to them. They also have the ability to grasp the details of the game that make all the difference.

Brandon 13U AAA Marlins head coach Ryan Reid said he’s really noticing the growth in his young charges.

“We let teams run all over for the first month so we really focused on our defensive positioning, pickoffs, holding runners, pop times from our catchers and it’s really made a difference,” Reid said. “We don’t have teams running all over us now, and our cutoffs have improved tenfold since the start. Guys are in better position.

“And hitting-wise, they’re just starting to understand the speed. A lot of these kids haven’t hit against AAA pitching before, so getting not to that kind of speed and off-speed, they’re getting better.”

The main roster consists of Josh Sveistrup, Cash Leslie, Carson Reid, Beckett Boguski, Reid Nicol, Madden Cheung, Nash Lenton, Eli Cummings-Ursel, Emmitt Bell, Grayson Rome and Carter McCannel, with three affiliate players, Brayden Olsen, Sebastien Shakotko and Camden Moncur. Brandon is 4-8 in Baseball Manitoba’s 13U AAA league so far.

“I think we’re better than that,” said Cheung, 12, who is a shortstop and pitcher. “Sometimes we get a little down but we’ll figure it out soon and we should be one of the better teams.”

They finish league play with an evening doubleheader starting at 6:30 at Simplot Millennium Park on July 11 against Oildome, and on July 16 in the afternoon against the North Winnipeg Pirates. The first pitch will be at 1 p.m.

Rome, 13, usually plays third base or shortstop, and also pitches.

“I think we have good offence,” Rome said. “We hit the ball pretty well, and I think our fielding is pretty good too.”

They have five minors and six majors, with all the majors either returning veterans or at least affiliate players with last year’s club. Of the three APs, two are minors and one is a major, so the team is evenly split with seven from each birth year.

Nicol, 13, who pitches and plays first base and centrefield, enjoys that mix in age groups.

“I like how this team isn’t just majors,” Nicol said. “There’s both minors and majors and kids learning to be able to play next year.”

The team has eight pitchers, which is a luxury at 13U. Reid said they’re a good group.

“We’re led by five majors who all throw strikes and throw pretty hard and have good off-speed stuff,” Reid said. “We’ve been really happy, we have three minors who have come up. They usually struggle at this level as a minor but they’ve been pitching great. We’re very deep in our pitching.”

Sveistrup, 13, plays centrefield and catches, so he has unique insight into the pitching staff.

“I think we do pretty good throwing strikes,” Sveistrup said. “Sometimes if we’re having a bad game — I think we’ve only had one bad game where the pitchers weren’t being really consistent — but if we’re having a bad game, the pitchers are usually throwing strikes but the other team is just hitting it.”

Offensively, they favour small ball, trying to move runners around rather than relying on the long ball. Nicol noted that everyone is contributing at the plate.

“The minors are doing really good,” Nicol said. “They’re hitting triples, which is pretty good for their first year. The majors are doing pretty good too, with singles and doubles, crushing the ball. We only have two home runs this year, one in the park and one out of the park.”

Reid said the team is built more around its pitching and defence, with 94 runs scored in 12 league games and 127 allowed.

But when boys are 11, 12 and 13, there are going to be mistakes. Reid said they started better than expected and then weathered a slump when they booted the ball around a bit.

“They all have talent and can play defence but the biggest hurdle is mentally,” Reid said. “Once you make an error, it starts unravelling. The biggest key for us is the mental toughness and trying to move past an error.”

Even the players have noticed the downturns during games.

“I think our team could be better than it is right now,” Rome said. “Usually, around the fourth inning we have a bad inning, and then the morale goes down and the game spirals down.”

Reid said the team has weathered its share of growing pains this season but is encouraged by the improvements Ultimately, the team has to play its best and most consistent baseball in the next month.

“Our focus is less on the results and more on the process and the growth,” Reid said. “They’re been developing well so I’m really happy with them.”

At the Triple Crown Showdown on Canada Day weekend, the 13Us went 2-1 in the round-robin, lost to Pembina Hills in the semifinals and then won bronze with an exciting 5-3 victory in an extra inning over South Central.

They still have some makeup games left, but the end goal is in sight.

The provincial qualifiers are July 21-23 in Ile Des Chenes, and they will determine whether the five Winnipeg teams and seven rural teams go into Tier 1 provincials or Tier 2.

“If I’m being honest, we’re right in the middle of the pack,” Reid said. “We’re on the bubble. If we’re Tier 2, I would expect us to do extremely well and do damage there. If we go to Tier 1, there are some pretty big-boy teams we would have to deal with, but this group can play with anybody.

“I honestly believe it. They have the talent. It’s all about where their heads are at.”

Regardless of which tier they end up in, the provincial tournament is set for Aug. 4-6 at Winnipeg’s Optimist Park.

“I think be one of the top teams in the league if we play to our max potential like we have before,” Sveistrup said. Cheung agreed.

“I think if you work hard and have a good mindset, you can do anything,” he said. “I think we can be better but I also think we could be worse. We’ve done what we can so far and I think we’ll keep on getting better.”