Edmonton Prospects giving local players a chance

The Edmonton Prospects baseball club is doing things a little differently than the rest of the teams in the Western Major Baseball League.

The league allows teams up to 20 import players on the roster. Most teams in the WMBL have between 14 and 20 imports, the majority come up here from the United States.

The Prospects, though, have just a single import player from Australia; the rest of the team is made up of Canadians. That includes 17 from Edmonton and area on the 25-man roster.

“When I started coaching in 1977 in Edmonton, I decided that because I live here I’ll develop the kids that are here,” said head coach Ray Brown, who moved to Edmonton from the U.S. to play baseball.

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“I want to give them the opportunity to become better, see what they can do and give them a chance to go on.”

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“That’s what this league should be about, developing local teams and local players,” Sherwood Park’s Dean Olson said. “Getting these Canadian kids out and proving that we can beat any team out there, all those American guys.”

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The Prospects currently hold the fourth and final playoff position in the WMBL’s Western Division. Last season, the Prospects sat in the same position and ended up going all the way to the league final.