Early Tuesday morning, 22-year-old Jemari James took the field at Lionel Roberts Stadium on St. Thomas, hoping to make a good impression on the dozens of pro baseball scouts that came out to eye the talent at this year’s Future Stars Scout Day.
Speaking in between practice sets, James described Tuesday’s event as his “last chance” to fulfill a dream he’s been holding onto for years: to make a living playing professional baseball.
“I’m a senior in college this year, so today is the last opportunity for me really, since graduation is coming up in May,” said James, a Virgin Islander who attends Centenary College in Louisiana. “This is now or never. I just want to showcase my talent.”
“I know I’m good enough to make it,” James said, “and I want to see it through. I don’t even care which team drafts me; I just want to play. It’s what I love to do.”
James’ sentiments were felt by many participating in Tuesday’s event, which is sponsored each year by the Future Stars Baseball founder Darren Canton. For years, the Future Stars program has nurtured some of the territory’s best “base-ballers,” with Canton working behind the scenes to teach his players about the importance of a good education and really learning the fundamentals of the game.
Each year Canton’s Scout Day also draws in players from across the region. The day started out running drills that were followed by outfield, infield and hitting practice. The day also wrapped up with a full scrimmage that gave the scouts a better look at what each player brought to the table.
For one of the prospects, Jair Bogaerts, Tuesday was not his first try at making a Major League Baseball team. Bogaerts was once a prospect of the Boston Red Sox, but after being traded and then released during spring training, Bogaerts is on-island to get another shot at the big leagues.
“I’m trying to get back out there,” Bogaerts said. “I got traded this spring training, then released, so I’m trying to get back out there and see if I get something.”
Along with the big-league scouts, this year’s event also featured a number of college scouts. Barry University’s baseball coach, Mark Pavao, for example, was among those on the field Tuesday looking for prospects for next year’s team.
“The talent here is always very interesting,” Pavao said. “Especially for here, with the Virgin Islands, we don’t get to see these kids often. Darren makes trip over to us sometimes, but we don’t always get to see them, so for me, this is a good opportunity for me to get to see a whole lot of kids at one time.”
Major franchises, including the Milwaukee Brewers, San Francisco Giants, Seattle Mariners and Tampa Bay Rays were also represented.
Speaking later, Canton described the day as “successful” overall.
“Over the years, Scout Day has been a successful event for us,” he added. “Now we have six guys playing professional ball and this was the hub. This was where it all started. Speaking to the colleges today, I know that the scouts were impressed and we got good feedback from the Major League teams as well, so it’s great how this all turned out.”
