Team Canada's Pierce hoping for success south of the border

Baseball Betting Lines

08/12/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Joel Pierce can breath easy now that he's landed a summer job.

The 17-year-old found a minute somewhere between competing against the best 18-and-under baseball players at the Worlds and signing a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers to reflect on the opportunity to play professional baseball for a living.

"It feels really weird when I get asked 'What's your job?'" said Pierce, from his home in Windsor. "For people my age, usually a summer job is McDonald's or something. But I get to say I'm a professional baseball player and it's something I'm really proud of."

The Brewers inked their seventh-round pick from June's MLB Draft to a contract reportedly worth $175,000 over the weekend, just before the August 16 deadline.

For Pierce, deciding to go pro or accepting a full scholarship to Coastal Carolina University to play ball was no easy task.

"It was a tough decision. After the World Juniors I was thinking about going to school and I was really weighing it as an option. I talked it over with my parents [but] deep down, I really wanted to play pro ball.

"So I decided to sign."

He did so after a disappointing fourth-place finish for Canada's Junior National Team earlier this month at the 2010 IBAF World Junior Baseball Championship in Thunder Bay, Ont. Despite finishing ahead of the United States and reigning champion South Korea, Team Canada had a golden opportunity to reach the podium but fell just short.

"You finish higher than them and you usually win the gold," said the right-hander.

The Windsor, Ont. native from Vincent Massey Secondary School appeared in three games at the Worlds, allowing no runs and striking out three in four innings of work. Pierce threw two scoreless innings to pick up the win in Canada's 9-2 victory over Panama during round robin play.

"The experience was amazing," said Pierce. "It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play in a World Junior Championship. I really enjoyed it. We didn't medal which was disappointing, but fourth in the world is nothing to be mad about."

Pierce will head down to the Brewers' minor league complex next week for a physical and from there he'll begin a throwing program to help prepare him for instructional ball in Arizona this fall.

He credited Greg Hamilton, the head coach and director of Baseball Canada's national teams, for a rigorous schedule that had the junior team traveling across the Americas and competing against high-level talent in preparation for the Worlds.

"Going down to Orlando and the Dominican, it's not exactly the same, but it's pretty similar," he said. "You get up early every morning, you practice, you work, breath everything baseball during the day. It just really helped with me feeling prepared and ready to go pro. If I wasn't with the national team and I didn't do any of that, I'd have no clue what I'm getting into. I would just be totally nervous and it would be all brand new."

Scouts have described the 6-4, 200-pound Pierce as a high-ceiling pitcher with the ability to succeed at the next level. The right-hander's arsenal of pitches include a live fastball topping out in the low-to-mid 90s, a good changeup and a slider that's a work in progress.

Pierce said working on his breaking pitches and developing a consistent delivery are at the top of his to-do list south of the border.

"I have to be at the top of my game to be able to perform [against the stiffer competition]."

After nearly two years on the road of traveling with the junior team, Pierce isn't ready to settle down and unpack his suitcase just yet.

If the young hurler experiences the type of success expected of him, he'll be away from home much longer.

"I can't really complain too much," he said about life on the road.

His friends, they'd probably agree.