Surrey's Ellis chasing major league dream

Baseball Betting Lines

07/28/2010 - Thunder Bay, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Ellis is like any other player on Canada's junior national baseball team - following his passion by playing the sport he loves.

What's different about him and the rest of Team Canada's 18-and-unders is that they're chasing a dream very few people their age will ever experience.

So when the 18-year-old pitcher from Surrey, B.C. was selected by the San Diego Padres in the 35th round of the 2010 MLB Draft in June, Ellis accomplished something far from the norm of his peers.

He remembers following the draft online before going to school that day and how it sunk in later that night that his dream of making it to the major leagues was very much alive.

"I was sitting down and it hit me that I have an opportunity to still play pro ball and it doesn't really matter what round I get selected, but where I end up," said Ellis at the junior national team's workouts in Toronto earlier this month.

Where he is now is in Thunder Bay, Ont. representing his country and competing for a world title against the best young baseball players on the planet.

"It's special being able to play for your country," said Ellis, after throwing four scoreless innings in a 9-2 win over Panama at the Worlds on Tuesday night. "I've never had a chance to do that in a tournament like this."

Ellis, who has experienced the perils and spoils of being a star pitcher in his hometown of Surrey, said nothing's quite like donning the red and white on an international stage.

"I've played in a few national tournaments but compared to this, it's a whole new level," he said prior to arriving in Thunder Bay.

He's experienced that other level too, joining teammate and Texas Rangers' first round pick Kellin Deglan at the Seattle Mariners' pre-draft training camp prior to being selected by the Padres.

For a pitcher whose strengths lay in his ability to command the strike zone and keep hitters off balance with breaking pitches, Ellis said it was a little overwhelming to be in an environment where six-foot-five, 230-pound college players were a dime a dozen.

"It really was humbling knowing the kind of competition you're getting into, the guys you're competing for spots with," he said. "I know that I don't have the body type to be the 95-98 miles per hour fastball guy that strikes everybody out.

"I try to be efficient and stay within myself."

At six-foot-one and 180 pounds, Ellis said he focuses on fooling hitters with off-speed pitches rather than blowing them away with heat.

The right-hander's arsenal includes a slider he's been working on since spring training in Florida, one he said back-doors on righties and cuts in on lefties.

With a fastball topping out in the 88-90 miles per hour range, Ellis is constantly trying to figure out ways to maximize his strengths on the mound.

"I want to get a little bit better throwing to both sides of the plate with all my pitches," he said, describing the benefit of working with guys such as pitching coach and former major league pitcher Paul Quantrill. "We have really good coaches with a lot of good insight and professional experience."

Ellis knows locating his pitches will be key in a tournament like the Worlds, where Padres' scouts are sure to be in attendance as he tries to pitch his way into a major league contract.

Should the Padres choose not to sign him before the August 15 deadline, Ellis will attend Florida International in Miami, a Division I school where he expects to compete for a spot in the starting rotation.

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