Following in his dad's footsteps, Kamloops, B.C., baseball player selected in MLB draft

It's been a big week for Tyrelle Chadwick.

On Monday, he was drafted by the Colorado Rockies, giving him a taste of the big league.

"It's a huge honour to have the opportunity to play at the next level," he told CBC's Daybreak Kamloops host Shelley Joyce. "It's something I've dreamed about for a really long time."

Chadwick, who grew up in Kamloops and recently celebrated his 22nd birthday, has played for the Illinois Sate Redbirds since 2023, making 14 appearances this past season.

According to Illinois State Athletics, he was third on the team with 43 strikeouts, threw one complete game and was named Missouri Valley Conference Pitcher of the Week in March following seven scoreless innings against Western Illinois University.

Chadwick's family is familiar with Major League Baseball; his dad, Ray Chadwick, played for the California Angels (now the Los Angeles Angels) for one season in 1986.

The pair sat down for an interview on CBC Radio before Chadwick heads south to start training.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

How long have you been playing baseball, Tyrelle?

Essentially since I was born. I started playing organized baseball when I was four years old. But I mean, I was quite literally raised at the ballpark. So it's been a long time coming.

There was a long time that I thought I was going to pursue basketball and thought I was going to try and play that at the collegiate level. It kind of flipped my later years of high school, especially with COVID, not having a senior basketball season.

What happens next?

So I will go down to Scottsdale, Ariz., actually. I'll have some medical procedures, like drug testing and a physical, to get cleared for everything. And then I'll sign my contract while I'm down there and I'll hop right into it.

Ray, you must be thrilled to bits. How are you feeling?

Proud papa, very proud. He wanted to pursue his dreams and now he has that opportunity and it's going to be fun to watch.

Tyrelle, you're a pitcher. Right-handed. Will they try to change anything about your pitch, teach you new things or new strategies that you might not already have?

Yeah, for sure. I mean, they have a great pitching development program. There's always more stuff to learn. I could see potentially adding another pitch to my repertoire. I currently throw three pitches. I throw a sinker, a slider and a change up. And more than likely I'll probably add a cutter of some kind, something that moves kind of the opposite direction as my sinker, which is my normal fastball.

Pretty much everything I throw moves to the arm side of the plate for me as a right-handed pitcher and the cutter would move in the opposite direction and still be able to add a little bit extra deception.

How fast do you pitch now?

I've been up to 98 [miles per hour]. Most of my starts this year were around 92 to 94. I'd get up to 95 or 96 most of my starts.

My separator has always been my fastball from the time I was 11 years old. It's been my velocity. So it was definitely a learning experience to kind of be like, OK, I do need to take a little bit off here.

There's pitching development down there that I think will allow me to kind of get back into that 96, 97, 98 range and be able to command that a little bit better with some professional development.

Ray, your son has been pitching a touch slower lately. Do you know anything about that?

Oh, well, yeah. He struggled. So he came home and did some work and went back this year with that, what they call bowling ball sinker. But he was only throwing it 92 to 94. And you know, he dropped two to three miles an hour, but he got in the zone consistently. Lot better control consistently, he was second in the league in fewest walks in the league and first in the league in ground balls. He made a tremendous jump by coming off of his fastball and letting it work and getting it in the zone.

Tyrelle, do you come home and talk to your dad about stuff? Do you still have questions for him or do you look for guidance?

Yeah, I mean, we still talk about the game while I'm at school even. I mean, obviously I have coaches down there that I work with on a daily basis. But there's definitely, I think now that I am away from home more, we talk a lot more about the mental side of the game than necessarily specific mechanical developments.

Ray, you're currently head coach of the TRU Wolfpack baseball team. What's your advice for aspiring young players who want to go all the way?

Just like we said about him, it's hard work and, you know, progressing, getting better each year, getting better each time you step on the field each day, and that's what he's done. And if you do that, you'll give yourself a chance.