Dasan Brown has had three opportunities to play on the turf at Rogers Centre already, but he’s hoping he’ll have a whole lot more in the future.

Before being selected by the Blue Jays in the third round of this year’s draft -- the highest Canadian chosen in the process -- the 17-year-old outfielder from nearby Oakville spent pieces of his last three Septembers taking part in Tournament 12, Toronto’s annual showcase displaying the country’s top talent.

“Every year, Tournament 12 got better,” Brown said. “From my first game at Rogers Centre, I can remember the nerves -- that’s all I remember -- but as I got used to the guys and to the facilities and all that type of stuff, it became a game again and I got to enjoy myself. Every year I felt the pressure become less and less and I was able to go out there and just play.”

While Brown had a number of opportunities to match up against professional competition during his tenure with the Canadian Junior National Team, Tournament 12 was the 6-foot-1, 190-pound outfielder’s first chance to play in a Major League stadium, something he’ll never forget.

“The most impressive thing about T12 is that we get to play at Rogers Centre,” Brown said. “As a kid, you grow up watching the games, your parents take you out to games as a treat, and the fact that you actually get to play on that same field and take at-bats there, and get to experience what it’s like to be a pro for a couple of days, it’s more than you can ever really ask for.”

With a taste of life as a professional baseball player under his belt before he made it official, Brown suited up as a member of the Blue Jays organization for the first time at the end of July, with the club’s rookie-class Gulf Coast League affiliate. 

“Going into it, most of my questions were about the everyday grind of pro ball,” Brown said. “I obviously knew that it wasn’t going to be a cakewalk, but this is something I’ve wanted to do for my whole life. Everything I’ve really experienced has been more of a result of me living out the dream that I had when I was a little kid.”

From his first Tournament 12 experience in 2016 to his first pro season, Brown believes he’s made huge strides. And after slashing .222/.444/.356 with two doubles, two triples, six stolen bases, nine walks, eight runs scored and five RBIs in his first 14 games and 45 at-bats, the young player knows there will be more to come.

“My biggest growth has been with my mentality,” Brown said. “I got to experience my first year, and I didn’t do as well as I would have liked to, but I kind of got to build off of that failure, I got to learn what I have to do to improve, and I got to progress from that. It’s my first experience, but it will get better and better from there.”

After witnessing the immense growth Brown has already gone through and embraced over the last few years, Baseball Canada’s director of national teams, Greg Hamilton, has no doubt that the young pro is nowhere near his ceiling and can’t wait to see what more Brown has in store.

“He’s matured from being an athlete playing baseball to an athlete who’s able to perform in the game of baseball,” Hamilton said. “That’s been a big thing. His tools have begun to impact the game in a plus way, his speed is game-changing, and it plays. He’s learned the game and matured and started to grow.

“The exceptional athleticism is starting to mature into performance in the game. And his makeup and character -- he’s a very engaging young man, he’s a guy who is really easy to be around. There’s a lot of dimension to his character and personality, he has some fun with the game, and he’s able to be serious when he needs to be. There’s a lot to like.”

From playing under Hamilton for the national team to representing his country as a member of the Blue Jays, Brown looks forward to embracing what lay ahead.

“Representing Canada is something that I imagine every single kid dreams about,” he said. “When you first start playing the game, you’re playing for the pure love of it. Now that I’m able to represent my country with the Blue Jays and Team Canada, it’s something you can’t really ever ask for, and you have to make the most of it and enjoy it.”