During the Quebec Major Baseball League draft, which was held Sunday near Granby, the Victoriaville Cactus added appreciable depth to the mound.
Among his five selections, general manager René-Dave Pelchat called for three pitchers. While that wasn’t necessarily the plan, the baseball man said the team can never have “too many pitchers.” He first set his sights on Alexis Hurens with the fifth overall pick. The 23-year-old athlete played for the Quebec Diamants in the Quebec Junior Elite Baseball League last season. During this campaign, he maintained a record of seven wins and two losses. The Lévis native posted a 1.92 earned run average and had 55 strikeouts.
“He’s possibly the best pitcher who came out of the draft this year. We’re very happy to have been able to select him. He has quite a good arm as a pitcher. So it was interesting. He’s an athlete who is athletic. It’s a big plus for our organization,” said René-Dave Pelchat. The latter also highlighted the offensive statistics of his new catch. During the recent season, Alexis Hurens had 32 hits and two home runs, while producing 21 runs. He crossed the plate 15 times. He maintained a .405 batting average.
Pelchat also confided that he had received several offers for his first choice. All options were considered, but ultimately the best decision was to claim the pitcher. “Alexis is someone I have known for a long time,” mentioned the GM. “I coached him when he was younger, during a Canadian championship. I have always greatly appreciated Alexis. As they say in English, he is a gamer. He is a person who loves competition. For me, it’s something that is important for the team’s values.” Note that Hurens also plays the outfielder position.
Pelchat also announced that his protégé should join the Cactus this year. However, he does not know when this will be the case. “He’s in college right now. We had good discussions and he told me that he wanted to try his hand at the professional level. He nevertheless guaranteed me that if it didn’t work out, he would play with us,” he assured.
Among the other selections, the Cactus claimed pitcher Alexis Gravel with the second pick in the second round (21e choice in total). Playing in the United States, Gravel should not play in Victoriaville in the short term, the CEO suggested. “He is currently playing with a very good American university,” he said. “He is dominant there. I also believe that he aspires to a professional career. However, late in the second round, we felt that the risk was good for us in choosing him. If he ever shows up in Victoriaville one day, it will be a very nice surprise. He is a left-handed pitcher who throws very hard and is very dominant.”
In the third round (29e choice in total), the Bois-Francs team drafted another pitcher. This is Jessy Camiré. “He’s a 6-foot, 5-inch, 245-pound colossus that I know from the Canadian Baseball Academy,” said the GM. “I’m happy to have added him. He can certainly give us some good innings in relief. He’s from Kingsey Falls.”
With his fourth round selection (44e total choice), the Cactus added receiver Pierre-Olivier Perreault to its roster. And then, with the very last choice, in the fifth round (55e overall pick), René-Dave Pelchat drafted utility player Nicolas Bélanger.
Lanctôt takes the path to the Laurentians
The Cactus initially had six picks in the bank for this draft. The GM, however, traded his first second-round pick (17e choice in total) to the Laurentian Cardinals. Receiver Jérémy Lanctôt was also part of the transaction. In return, René-Dave Pelchat got the Cardinals’ first and second round picks in 2027.
Concerning Lanctôt, the CEO wanted to give him a “second wind”. “He had an excellent season with us, Pelchat first admitted. I know him as an excellent competitor. He’s a friend basically. It’s never easy to let go of a friend. It’s the boring job of a general manager at times. I thought about the team, but also about Jérémy. Last year, he didn’t necessarily have a lot of playing time in the playoffs. I’m sure he will be well received by the Cardinals.”
“We are very satisfied with our draft. We have added further depth to our bank of choices,” concluded René-Dave Pelchat.
