EDMONTON, AB - It’s been a smooth transition to head coach for the Edmonton Prospects Jordan Blundell, as the former Director of Player Development approaches his first season behind the bench in the WCBL.
“I’m feeling great,” said the Prospects bench boss “the Gala is our first event of the 2019 season, and now that’s come and gone we’re busy finishing up the last little bit of recruiting and trying to foster new relationships heading into the season.”
Since taking over for the now-departed Ray Brown and Orv Franchuk in October, Blundell has been hard at work rounding out the roster for the team’s May 25th home opener against the Lethbridge Bulls. The new bench boss has been active throughout the recruiting period as the Prospects look to reach their third WCBL Final in four years.
“Obviously, (Ray and Orv) had the final say on potential players last season, so it’s been a different approach that way,” said Blundell on this year’s recruiting period. “I’m definitely excited about the look of the club. We feel confident about the kids we’ve signed. Now that college baseball has started, most of our guys have started up already, so we’re following them closely, creating relationships with these players and following up with them throughout the season.”
Llanos, Maskill Sign with Prospects
Two of the aforementioned new additions were announced on Monday with the signings of Kelvin Llanos (SS) and Tyler Maskill (IF) from Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Kentucky.
“Their head coach was a player of mine a few years ago, so we have a relationship there. We started to talk in early fall, and when we started to discuss our needs (Tyler) and (Kelvin) were both mentioned immediately. Both guys can play a few different positions, which fits right in with our theme of being a versatile player. We’re excited about both additions.”
Maskill, a junior at Lindsey Wilson, joins the Prospects after a stellar freshman season in Kentucky. The Hendersonville, Tennessee native was solid in his first college campaign, batting a .296 average with 25 RBI. This season, the right-hander is batting .250 in his six games.
“Tyler’s going to bat near the top of the order (at Lindsey Wilson).” espoused Blundell. “He can contribute a number of different ways, both at shortstop and third base. He’s a solid, consistent player that can contribute on both sides of the ball. The comment that stood out to me was that he’s simply a player you want on your baseball team. That’s an excellent comment to receive as a college baseball player; they’re looking at Tyler being a leader on the field for their team this season, and we hope that translates here as well.”
Llanos, a shortstop, is beginning his freshman season at Lindsey Wilson following a successful stint with Clarendon College of the NJCAA. In his 54 games last season, Llanos batted a monstrous .327 average and 29 RBI.
“Kelvin is athletic and has a wide range of skills,” said Blundell of the Prospects second addition. “He’ll be exciting and bring a great dynamic of both offence and defence to the team. We’re looking forward to seeing him play, not only for the on-field results but because we feel he’s an exciting player for our fans. He’ll be able to help us on both sides of the ball, and we’re looking forward to watching him play. He put up some great numbers in junior college and we’re excited to see what he can do (at RE/MAX Field).”
With the organization’s annual Gala over, the Prospects attention now turns to spring.
“We’re working on a couple big things,” commented Blundell. “We’re really starting to build out our game-day events like our Minor Baseball Day on June 8th. Fingers crossed we have the great weather we need to make it an easy decision to come to the park. It’s a big priority of ours to improve the relationship we have with Minor Baseball and this is a great way to do it.”
The Prospects begin the 2019 WCBL season at home against the Lethbridge Bulls on May 25th. Single-game tickets will be available shortly.
Short Swings:
- Tickets for the WCBL All-Star Game on July 7th in Edmonton are now available through the WCBL website.
- The Prospects are currently promoting their Fireworks Pack and “Bring Your Dad” Pack tickets, now available online.
Latest Prospects Content:
- Edmonton Prospects Continue to Recruit, Sign Two
- Edmonton Prospects Continue to Tinker With Roster
- Prospects Looking to Upgrade
- Edmonton Prospects Roster Beginning to Take Shape
- MacDonald, Oulton Confirmed to Return to Edmonton Prospects in 2019
