Every season the B.C. Premier Baseball League has a headliner. There have been some good ones in a BCPBL alumni list that includes current or former MLB players Michael Saunders and Rich Harden from the Victoria Mariners, Nick Pivetta from the Victoria Eagles, James Paxton, Tyler O’Neill, Ryan Dempster, Jeff Francis, Brett Lawrie, Adam Loewen, Justin Morneau and Hall of Famer Larry Walker.
Pitcher Dominic Hambley of the Mariners, currently in the Chicago Cubs organization, is working to add his name to the list along with Canada U-18 World Cup pitchers Reece Usselman and Eliot Cadieux-Lanoue and slugger-pitcher Ty Hamilton, all out of the powerhouse BCPBL Langley Blaze program.
This season’s BCPBL headliner is Sam Shaw of the Eagles, expected to go in the 2023 MLB draft, and a star for Canada last year with Usselman and Cadieux-Lanoue in the 2022 U-18 World Cup. Former Mariners player Shaw is switching to the Eagles this season.
“Sam Shaw is that one-in-a-generation type guy,” said Mike Chewpoy, head coach of the Mariners.
To have Chewpoy say that shows just how legitimate Shaw is as a prospect. There are few Island authorities in baseball to match Chewpoy, in his 20th season of helming a Mariners organization that has produced the likes of Saunders, Harden and Hambley.
Shaw is a sort of Swiss Army Knife of the diamond, who can do it all, from the infield to outfield to the plate. His five-foot-10, 180-pound frame belies a mighty swing. Shaw placed second to Canadian teammate Myles Naylor of Mississauga, Ont., — ranked 62nd overall by MLB.com for the 2023 draft — in the final of the 2022 U-18 World Cup home-run derby. Both are committed to NCAA Div. 1 schools, Naylor to Texas Tech and Shaw to Xavier.
Shaw, in Grade 12 at Lambrick Park Secondary, also hit .428 at the 2022 Wood Bat Association world championship last fall. Jeremy Pike of BVM Sports ranks Shaw as the No. 3 Canadian high-school-age player for 2023, behind top-ranked Naylor and No. 2 Cadieux-Lanoue, with Hamilton at No. 10. (Cadieux-Lanoue is committed NCAA Div. 1 with Iowa, Hamilton with Utah and Usselman with the Oregon Ducks).
Shaw describes himself as “a utility guy who is all over the field — designated hitter, infield, left field and even pitching.”
That versatility has not gone unnoticed.
“Sam [Shaw] is certainly generating a lot of excitement,” said Eagles president Martin Winstanley.
The 2023 BCPBL season began this month and continues today with the Mariners (0-1) hosting the Abbotsford Cardinals (0-2) in a doubleheader at Layritz Park and the Eagles (1-2) playing the Whalley Chiefs (0-3) in a doubleheader at Lambrick Park, with both double dips beginning at 1 p.m. The other Island teams in the 13-team BCPBL are the Mid-Island Pirates of Nanaimo (1-0) and Parksville Royals (0-1).
“The BCPBL has been a huge stepping stone for so many players,” said Chewpoy.
The Mariners and Eagles have historically been contenders, often going deep into the playoffs.
“I believe we will be in the playoffs again,” said Chewpoy.
Added Winstanley of the Eagles: “With Sam Shaw, we will be very competitive this season.”
The Royals will host the BCPBL Final Four playoffs in July in Parksville.
