THUNDER BAY – Michael Papierski learned to compete from one of baseball’s best young up-and-comers are Louisiana State University.
The Thunder Bay Border Cats catcher, a 2014 draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays, spent his first two seasons in the Tigers lineup alongside shortstop Alex Bregman, the No. 1 prospect in baseball recently recalled by the Houston Astros.
“He taught me a lot,” said Papierski, who along with Border Cats teammates Mitch Bigras and Andy Weber, will take part in the Aug. 9 Northwoods League Major League Dreams Showcase in Madison, Wisc., a chance to put his talents on display for big league scouts.
“No matter how you’re hitting, how the team is doing, you go out and give 100 per cent. What I learned the most is you’ve got to split your game, especially being a catcher, you’re hitting and your defence.”
Papierski’s bat has come to life with the Border Cats.
He hit just .242 this past season at LSU, where he started 40 of 66 games and belted three home runs in 124 at bats.
But with the Cats his average has climbed to .298, with two home runs and 16 RBI in 26 games and more often than not lately, he’s found himself in the leadoff position, a rarity for a catcher in any era.
The 20-year-old, who said he thought he was too young to turn pro when the Blue Jays drafted him in the 16th round two years ago, said his goals haven’t changed.
He wants to follow in Bregman’s footsteps and become a full-time major league catcher.
But going to school to play ball was a once-in-a-lifetime experience he couldn’t pass up, knowing the professional game would still be there after school.
“It’s something everyone wants to do here – go out and play and hopefully make your name big one day and get drafted,” he said.
“I was fortunate enough to get drafted, but I just thought going to school, to LSU, was a one-time thing in life and you can get drafted again. It just wasn’t the right time and I wasn’t ready.”
He’s excited to show scouts how his game has progressed since 2014.
“It’s just another game. I’m going to go out, do what I can do, and hopefully that’s good,” he said.
Bigras, a native of Sarnia, Ont. and a sophomore at Boston College, said it was an honour to be chosen for the Showcase, where the four teams’ roster was chosen by a panel of major league scouts.
“I’m very excited to head down there and get a chance to play in front of the scouts,” the 6-foot-5 1B said. “I just want to make a fun day of it and see what happens.”
Bigras has had a solid season in Thunder Bay, batting .283 with eight extra base hits in 99 at bats, and played a solid defensively.
It’s the latter aspect of his game he thinks drew the scouts’ attention.
“I’m just playing the same every day, working hard. Hopefully they like what they see, so I can get a chance,” he said.
Just getting the chance is a bonus.
“Every opportunity you get you’ve got to take advantage of,” Bigras said. “Hopefully I can do that and hopefully going forward it helps me in the future too. I want to play at the highest level I can. That’s my biggest goal right now.”
Weber, a late addition to the roster, is hitting .316 with six doubles and 11 RBI roaming the middle infield for the Border Cats.
