Big Things Ahead For Van Rycheghem
Luke Van Rycheghem at bat with the Ontario Blue Jays – Photo by Larry Shred
From his small home town of Kent Bridge, Van Rycheghem now finds himself on the world stage, and will be under the microscope this entire year from college recruiters, and more importantly, Major League Baseball scouts.
Already considered one of the top Canadian prospects for the 2016 MLB draft, Van Rycheghem earned even more praise making his debut this spring for Canada’s National Junior Baseball team in the Dominican Summer League.
“It was a great experience in Dominican, we played a lot of baseball and got a lot of exposure,” said Van Rycheghem, who played at catcher, and as a designated hitter. “It felt good looking down and seeing my country’s name on my jersey.”
Also playing for the Ontario Blue Jays organization, Van Rycheghem, who is heading into grade 12 at UCC is not taking his recent success for granted, rather, he’s working to improve his game and continue to learn the catchers position, which he switched to last season.
“My focus on this year is just to get better every game and keep on improving, I’m still new to catching so the more reps I get the better.”
With that improvement, Van Rycheghem hopes to hear his name called next spring in the 2016 MLB Draft, much like several of his Canadian National Junior teammates did only days after their Dominican series. In total, 10 current members of the National Junior team, and 18 current or former members in total were selected, including a pair of first round picks.
“It was great to see my friends get drafted and knowing that if I keep working hard that could be me next year,” said Van Rycheghem.
If the recent success of Canadian baseball, including 30 players drafted in 2015, is any indication, Van Rycheghem will soon be hearing his own name called by a Major League team.