Murray Wood: Saturday night leaver
There was a time that Canadians gathered around the TV on Saturday to watch Hockey Night in Canada on CBC. Those days ar...
As the Saskatoon Berries chase their first Western Canadian Baseball League championship this summer, their biggest star isn’t anywhere near Cairns Field.
In fact, Carter Beck isn’t suiting up in any games this month as he inches closer to the chance to live out his major league dream.
“It’s obviously different,” Beck said. “It looks like (the Berries) having a ton of fun again, a lot of new faces there.”
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Beck has been travelling the U.S., meeting with major league clubs and preparing himself for the 2026 MLB Draft.
Ranked 69th overall by Baseball America, Beck has shot up the draft boards and has taken the spring following his season at Indiana State University to train for the biggest few weeks of his baseball career.
“It’s a different busy,” Beck said.
“I’ve never experienced this right now at this time of year, usually I should be playing baseball games. It’s kind of a weird feeling not playing games, just getting my body ready to go.”
The Carnduff, Sask. product is coming off a monster second year with Indiana State, where he recorded a .348 batting average with 80 hits, 56 RBIs, 14 home runs and 12 stolen bases.
That dominance was recognized at the end of the season, as Beck was named the Joe Carter Baseball Player of the Year as the top player in the Missouri Valley Conference.
“It was super awesome to be able to have that year,” Beck reflected.
“I set my goal going into the year just going to be able to compete and play hard every day. The outcomes came together real well for us. A big thing too is we were a losing ball team last year, I wanted to make sure we played on a winning team this year.”
The soon-to-be 21 year old has been inundated with meeting requests from MLB clubs since the end of his NCAA season, all trying to get a closer read on the slugging outfielder.
“You start trying to figure out where you’re going to get drafted,” Beck said. “Not until the end of baseball season, I was trying to focus on my season and focus on the task at hand. I think we lost out on Friday or Saturday, and by Monday I had four or five different teams reach out.”
Beck is one of 334 players eligible who have been invited to the 2026 MLB Draft Combine, which will include physical testing and days of meetings with team front offices.
According to Beck, he’s most looking forward to being able to show off his strength and power, which he feels is an overlooked part of his game.
“I don’t let too many people beat me in the weight room,” Beck said. “It’s kind of cool to show some of those things off. Not that baseball is a super strength sport like football per se, but they just get to see it in person. I think most of them are a little bit surprised.”
On the cusp of his professional career beginning, Beck credits the Berries and the WCBL as foundational parts of his game which will bring him to the MLB Draft floor.
A two-time league all-star, Beck was named the WCBL’s Most Outstanding Canadian and Rookie of the Year in 2024 and was a driving contributor towards Saskatoon’s record-setting 2025 season with 46 regular season wins.
Beck also delivered the biggest swing in franchise history last summer with a walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning in Game 3 of East Division semi-finals against the Moose Jaw Miller Express.
The WCBL’s demanding 56-game regular season schedule is what Beck has taken the way the most however, as he looks to make that next jump to affiliate baseball.
“At some point you have to learn how to play every day,” Beck said.
“The people that have to figure that out in pro ball are a step behind. I think it’s something that’s taught me a lot, one huge thing that summer ball taught me is how to take care of my body. If you can’t keep your body healthy, you have no chance.”
No Saskatchewan-born prospect has been selected in the MLB Draft since both Garrett Hawkins and Thomas Ireland were selected in the ninth and 13th rounds of the 2021 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres and Texas Rangers. Combined with a small group of players who have made it to the major leagues, Beck said he feels honoured to be included on the list of elite players being scouted from Saskatchewan.
“I put myself in a place where that can happen,” Beck said. “It’s really cool just to be here, be there. Out of Saskatchewan, it’s a pretty small group of people. It’s a cool opportunity, for sure.”
Beck also has a chance at making some Saskatchewan history, as he could be the highest pick ever to come from the province with Muenster’s Logan Hofmann holding the record as the 138th overall selection in the 2020 MLB Draft.
What began as an inside joke could become reality for Beck, who is building towards becoming one of the most talked-about Canadian prospects in this year’s class.
“I’ve joked around about it before with my close friends and family probably a year ago or so,” Beck said. “Who knows? Maybe I’ll be the highest draft pick out of Saskatchewan.
“You never know what happens in the draft.”
Beck will visit Phoenix, Ariz. for the 2026 MLB Draft Combine at Chase Field from June 23-26, before the 2026 MLB Draft takes place July 11-12 in Philadelphia, Pa.
