DUNEDIN — Deck McGuire has drawn John McDonald as an unofficial mentor in this first week of spring training and he can’t think of a better way to be getting his feet wet at his first professional camp.
“He’s unbelievable,” said McGuire. “He’s really helped me out the couple of times he caught me. He’s been able to make me feel I belong, with his words of wisdom.”
McDonald will be back in his role as a utility middle infielder but in these opening days of camp he’s been helping out the catchers and getting his own feet wet since he’s the team’s emergency backstop behind J.P. Arencibia and Jose Molina.
McGuire, 21, was Toronto’s No. 1 draft choice in June and has displayed an impressive array of breaking pitches to go with a hard sinking fastball. He’ll either debut at Lansing (class A low) or Dunedin (class A high), but now he’s soaking up the big-league atmosphere.
“This is just an honour to be able to hang out with some of the best in the world,” said the 6-foot-6 righthander.
