A whirlwind month of travel finds Ladner’s own “Tugboat” back in Arizona and he couldn’t be more thrilled.
Matt Wilkinson is spending these days at the Cleveland Guardians’ Player Development Complex in Goodyear, AZ after officially signing with the club on Saturday (July 22). The 21-year-old hard-throwing southpaw was selected in the 10th round by Cleveland in the MLB Draft back on July 11.
The facility is about an hour away from where Wilkinson starred at Central Arizona, earning National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association (NJCAA) D1 Pitcher of the Year.
“It’s pretty cool here. There are resources, resources, everywhere,” chuckled Wilkinson in an interview with the Optimist last week from the state-of-the-art complex. “I will be here for three weeks basing on how I do and how my ramp up because I haven’t thrown in a while. Depending on that they may send me to their low ‘A’ (affiliate team) or something similar. If not, I just stay here, develop and workout, which I’m fine with.”
Wilkinson opted to turn pro and pass on a scholarship offer from Arizona State University for his final two years of NCAA eligibility. It was a decision he had been thinking about since he knew sometime ago there was a very good chance he would be drafted.
“It was definitely hard and definitely a decision I had to think about a lot of what would be the best option for me. Growing up, my dream has always been to play professional baseball, not Division One baseball. So if I got that opportunity, I was going to take it,” he said.
Following his season at Central Arizona, Wilkinson pitched briefly for the Okotokos Dawgs of the Western Canadian Baseball League to prepare him for a stint with the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod Baseball League in Massachusetts — a circuit loaded with top college talent. He improved his draft stock by working nine scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out 10.
He then headed back to Alberta to watch the draft unfold and invited his two longtime friends — Jakob Wegner and Jared Romaniuk to join him and also spent some time at the Calgary Stampede. They grew up together playing in Ladner Minor Baseball where a friend of Wilkinson’s dad’s gave him the nickname “Tugboat” during his days playing T-Ball. It has stuck with him since as he took his career to White Rock Little League, the Okotokos Baseball Academy and down south.
“They have been my best friends since I was like five-years-old. They were like my first baseball friends and they will be at my wedding one day for sure,” added Wilkinson. “I’m still very close with a lot of my friends back home.”
