Kellin Deglan

Kellin Lee Deglan

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 195 lb.
• High School R.E. Mountain Secondary School

• Born May 3, 1992 in Langley, BC Canada

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Kellin Deglan was the first Canadian drafted in 2010.

Deglan played for the Canadian junior national team against the US and Cuba in 2009, homering once and driving in four runs in nine games. He also made the Canadian junior team for a tour of the Dominican Republic in 2010. Deglan was rated by Baseball America as the #66 high school prospect in March '10. The Texas Rangers made him the 22nd pick of the 2010 amateur draft, the first Canadian chosen that year and the third catcher after Bryce Harper and Yasmani Grandal, both collegians. The scout was Gary McGraw. He quickly signed with the Rangers for $1 million and joined the AZL Rangers, going 0-for-2 in his June 21st debut against the AZL Mariners. He hit .286/.355/.357 in 10 games in the AZL and .159/.222/.220 in 22 for the Spokane Indians. He also was 4 for 22 with six walks for Canada in the 2010 World Junior Championship.

In 2011, he hit .227/.320/.347 for the Hickory Crawdads, young for a full-season league as he was still a teenager. He threw out only 21% of those who tried to steal against him. He returned to Hickory in 2012 and improved his hitting to .234/.310/.438 with 25 doubles and 12 home runs. He also did better defensively, gunning down 37.5% of those who tried to steal, second in the South Atlantic League. He hit .171/.256/.257 for the Arizona Fall League's Surprise Saguaros. He also made his debut for Canada in a senior-level event, playing one game and not batting as a third-stringer behind Cole Armstrong and Chris Robinson in the 2013 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers; Canada advanced to the 2013 World Baseball Classic but Deglan did not make their roster for the WBC itself.

With the 2013 Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Deglan produced at a .231/.331/.393 clip with 12 homers in 89 games. He did lead the team in home runs, one ahead of Trever Adams. Still stuck at A ball in 2014, he played for Hickory (.251/.326/.465, 15 HR in 89 G) and Myrtle Beach (.217/.224/.348 in 12 G). He spent the winter with the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball League and was a dominant force at the plate, hitting .287/.347/.631 with 16 dingers and 36 RBI in 42 games. He led the 2014-2015 ABL in home runs (four ahead of MVP Aaron Miller and RBI (two more than Jack Murphy) and was second in slugging (.070 behind Miller). He broke the home run record for the ABL's second incarnation; previously Brad Harman and Adam Buschini had shared the mark at 15. His record-setter came off Jake Brown.

Deglan was hitting .233/.291/.429 with 10 homers in 50 games (64 K in 207 AB) for the High Desert Mavericks in 2015 when he was named to Canada's roster for the 2015 Pan American Games. Canada was trying to defend its 2011 Pan American Games title, on home ground in Toronto, ON. Deglan was the starting catcher this time, ahead of Robinson. He hit .179/.233/.179 with 12 whiffs in 28 at-bats; in the Gold Medal Game win over Team USA, he was 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. He dazzled on defense, though, playing error-free ball and gunning down two of three runners who tried to steal. Canada thus won their second straight Gold at the Pan American Games; prior to that, only Cuba had won multiple Pan Am baseball Golds.

Sources

• 2015 Rangers Media Guide
• 2015 Pan American Games Website
• Canadian Baseball Federation
• Australian Baseball League
• Article on Deglan's home run record