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Canuck Baseball Plus Prospect Profile: Owen DiodatiAn In-Depth Look at Canadian Baseball and More
Welcome to Canuck Baseball Plus! This is the first of our prospect profiles, an inside look at the future of Baseball in Canada.
Who doesn’t love a left-handed hitting catcher with power? Owen Diodati out of Niagara Falls, Ontario, is indeed that.
Diodati is just another skilled athlete in an impressive sports family. His grandfather Doug Rombough was a 6.03 center in the National Hockey League, and his father played D1 Baseball at Niagara U. The kid had an opportunity to follow the footsteps of his pops, but baseball has always been first and foremost for the backstop; “Baseball has always been my first passion. The OHL made my decision a little bit harder but I always kind of knew I wanted to pursue a career in baseball and when the interest from D1 schools started coming in I knew that was the way I was going to go.”
Diodati hits out of an open stance, and the ball just explodes off his bat. He stays short to the baseball, which allows him to have success to all fields. Per PrepBaseballReport, his exit velocity got clocked at 98MPH, a very healthy measure for a kid in his age group.
Diodati has always been an excellent hitter, but behind the plate, he’s made significant strides these past few years. He will continue to advance rapidly the more experience he gets.
Billy O’Conner and Xavier University, ended up getting their man, as Diodati recently committed to the school. The school has produced Hall of Famers Jim Bunning and Frank Robinson, along with twelve other professional ball players.
The most prominent factors that influenced his decision were schooling, winning and coach O’Conner, “There were so many factors that went into making the decision and it just all came back to Xavier. The academics are very good which was very important for my family and me being a 4.0 student. The coaching staff led by head coach Billy O’Conner have a very similar mindset to me and want to win I got a really good family vibe from the program when I visited. The team has won 3 out of the last four big east championships as well. The team is only getting better, and I saw a great fit with all aspects Xavier had to offer.”
The kid has a bright future ahead of him, and of course, he has lots to thank his dad for, “He has been there for me every step of the way and gave me the foundation to turn into the player I am today.” Diodati can flat out hit, and another year with his focus entirely on baseball, you’ve got to expect bigger and better things for the Canadian catcher.
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