Bruce Yari, CBN POW, Week XXI
Bruce Yari (Waterloo, Ont.) batted .476 with 10 hits to earn Canadian Baseball Network Player of the week honors.
By George Farelli
Canadian Baseball Network
J.D. Yari hung with some guys who could play a little.
And we don’t mean when he was playing hockey.
Yari, an outfielder with the 1981-82 Rookie-Class Medicine Hat Blue Jays was a teammate with Jimmy Key, David Wells, Pat Borders, John Cerutti, Steve Davis and Stan Clarke, who all played with the Toronto Blue Jays. Yari hit .246 with 24 RBIs in 79 games.
His son, Bruce Yari, has only played 35 games for the Rookie-Class Arizona League Reds, yet this past week saw him bat .476 (10-for-21) with a homer and five RBIs.
The 10 hits and the .476 mark were the highest amassed by the 87 Canadians in the minors as Yari (Waterloo, Ont.) earned Canadian Baseball Network minor league player of the week honor for week XXI.
Yari was drafted by Cincinnati Reds scout Bill Byckowski in the 24th round in 2016 from the University of British Columbia Thunderbirds. He headed west after playing for the Ontario Terriers and coach Scott Vandevalk.
How the week that was for Yari and the rest of the Canucks with the Arizona League Reds as he was:
_ Singled twice in three at-bats in a 6-4 win over the Arizona League Mariners at Goodyear Ballpark. LF J.D. Salmon-Williams (Brampton, Ont.) singled for the Reds. RF Ismael Pena (Montreal, Que.) doubled and knocked in a run for the Mariners, while OF Gareth Morgan (Toronto, Ont.) singled home a run.
_ Homered in a 4-2 win over the Mariners. He went deep with two out in the bottom of the first for a 3-0 lead. Pena singled for the M’s.
_ Tripled, doubled and knocked in a pair of runs as he went 4-for-5 in a 9-3 win against the Arizona League White Sox at Camelback Ranch. Yari singled in a run in the first for a 1-0 lead, tripled to right in the fourth, doubled to left in the seventh and singled to right in the eighth.
_ Was hitless in two at-bats in a 4-2 win over the Arizona League Giants at Goodyear. LHP Isaac Anesty (Guelph, Ont.) started and four innings allowing two runs on five hits and one walk, while fanning one. RHP Darren Shred (Brampton, Ont.) took over pitching a scoreless fifth for the win as he allowed one hit and struck out one. Shred is now 2-1.
_ Doubled and singled in five trips in a 7-1 win against the Arizona League Indians at the Goodyear Ballpark.
_ Singled and knocked in a run in a 5-2 loss to the Arizona League Angels at Goodyear. Shred took the loss, falling to 2-2 giving up three runs on four hits and two walks in 1 2/3 innings. Anesty struck out the final hitter but not before allowing two base hits.
C Morgan Lofstrom (Kelowna, BC) hit .265 with a homer and three RBIs before being promoted to Rookie-Class Billings Mustangs where he is hitting .179 with a homer and six RBIs.
Shred is 2-2, with a 5.09 ERA and one save, while Anesty is 3-1, with a 6.20 ERA
Salmon-Williams batted .272, with two homers and 10 RBIs and Yari is hitting .270 with one homer and 17 RBIs.
Elsewhere this week Tyler O’Neill (Maple Ridge, BC) performing well in Double-A Southern League for the Jackson Generals knocked in his 100th RBI of the season facing the Biloxi Shuckers. As well, his 24 home runs rank him second in the Southern League, and 141 hits place him fourth.
And manager Scott Thorman (Cambridge, Ont.) of the Burlington Royals and 3B Vladimir Guerrero (Montreal, Que.) of the Bluefield Blue Jays were named to the post season All Star team in Rookie Class Appalachian League. Thorman is in the Kansas City Royals system, while Guerrero was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays.
BEST OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCES
Player/Class/Team AB R H HR RBI AVG
Bruce Yari - Rkie AZL Reds 21 5 10 1 5 .476
Connor Panas - A Lansing 17 2 7 - 4 .412
Morgan Lofstrom - Rkie Billings 13 3 5 - 1 .385
Ismael Pena - Rkie AZL Mariners 22 1 8 - 3 .364
Charles Leblanc - A Spokane 25 4 9 - 5 .360
Jordan Procyshen - A Salem 20 3 7 - 5 .350
Daniel Pinero - A Connecticut 20 4 7 - 3 .350
Abraham Toro - Rkie Greenville 24 5 8 - 4 .333
Dustin Houle - A Brevard County 15 2 5 - 2 .333
Jordan Lennerton - IND Quebec 16 3 7 1 5 .438
Jonathan Malo - IND Quebec 28 6 10 - - .357
Tanner Nivens - IND Quebec 18 1 6 - 2 .333
Wes Darvill - IND Winnipeg 23 6 7 1 7 .304
Michael Crouse - IND New Britain 23 5 7 - 4 .304
Marcus Knecht - IND Quebec 23 1 7 - 3 .304
(Minimum 10 AB’s required)
BEST PITCHING PERFORMANCES
EVAN GRILLS LHP - AAA FRESNO GRIZZLIES
APP IP H R ER BB K W-L SV WHIP WK ERA
1 6.2 5 - - 1 8 1-0 - 0.97 0.00
Evan Grills made an excellent start for the Grizzlies this week on Aug. 27th in a 6-2 victory over Sacramento River Cats. He pitched 6 2/3 scoreless allowing five base hits while striking out eight Sacramento batters, to earn his first win at the Triple A level. His record in two appearances with Fresno in the Pacific Coast League is now 1-1 with a 2.21 ERA.
JON FITZSIMMONS RHP - A LAKE COUNTY CAPTAINS
APP IP H R ER BB K W-L SV WHIP WK ERA
3 3.1 3 - - 2 3 - - 1.61 0.00
After pitching exceptionally well for Quebec Capitales in the IND Can Am League, Jon Fitzsimmons’ contract was acquired by the Cleveland Indians in the first week of August, and he was assigned to Single A, Lake County Captains. This week he made three relief appearances, the first on Aug. 25th in a 14-2 loss to Bowling Green Hot Rods when he pitched two scoreless allowing one base hit while striking out one hitter, but was not involved in the decision. On Aug. 27th in a 6-5 win over Lansing Lugnuts he tossed a scoreless 1/3 giving one hit and was credited with his first Hold of the season. On Aug. 29th in a 12-6 loss to Lansing he pitched one scoreless inning, surrendered one base hit while striking out one Lansing batter, but again was not involved in the decision. His record in eight relief appearances with the Captains is now 0-0 with a 3.46 ERA.
JESEN DYGESTILE-THERRIEN RHP - AA READING FIGHTIN’ PHILS
APP IP H R ER BB K W-L SV WHIP WK ERA
2 4.0 4 1 1 - 8 1-0 - 1.00 2.25
Philadelphia pitching prospect Jesen Therrien continues to make steady progress, as confirmed by his recent promotion to Double A Reading Fightin’ Phils. This week he made two relief appearances, the first on Aug. 24th in a 4-3 loss to Akron Rubberducks when he threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings, gave up two base hits, while striking out six Akron batters, but he was not involved in the decision. On Aug. 28th in a 7-6 win over New Hampshire Fisher Cats, he pitched 1 2/3 innings, gave up two hits and one earned run while striking out two New Hampshire hitters to earn the win. His record in eight appearances with Reading in the Eastern League, is now 1-0 with a 3.21 ERA. His overall record for the season including stints with Single A Clearwater Threshers and Rookie Class Gulf Coast Phillies, in a total of 36 appearances is 3-2 with 4 Saves and a 2.41 ERA.
SCOTT DIAMOND LHP - AAA BUFFALO BISONS
APP IP H R ER BB K W-L SV WHIP WK ERA
1 6.0 6 1 1 4 5 1-0 - 1.67 1.50
A dependable starter for the Buffalo Bisons all season, this week Scott Diamond had another very good outing. On Aug. 26th in a 4-3 win over Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs he pitched six innings, gave up six base hits and only one run, while striking out five Lehigh Valley hitters to earn his ninth win of the season. His record in 26 starts with Buffalo in the Triple A International League now stands at 9-13 with a 4.02 ERA.
PLAYER MOVEMENTS AND TRANSACTIONS
LHP James Paxton (Ladner, BC) - Re called to Major League Roster by the Seattle Mariners from Re Hab assignment with Triple A, Tacoma Rainers.
LHP Andrew Albers (North Battleford, Sask.) - Re called to Major League Roster by the Minnesota Twins from Triple A, Rochester Red Wings.
RHP Jameson Taillon (The Woodlands, TX) - Optioned by Pittsburgh Pirates back to Triple A, Indianapolis Indians.
LHP Evan Grills (Whitby, Ont.) - Reinstated from the Inactive List by the Houston Astros at Triple A Fresno Grizzlies. Appeared in one game and was placed back on the temporary Inactive List.
LHP Ethan Elias (Entwhistle, Alta.) - On Re Hab assignment, moved by Arizona Diamondbacks to Single A, Hillsboro Hops from Rookie Class AZL Diamondbacks.
INF Joey Hawkins (Whitby, Ont.) - Moved by St. Louis Cardinals to Rookie Class, Johnson City Cardinals from Single A, State College Spikes.
RHP Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) - Moved by San Diego Padres to Single A, Ft. Wayne TinCups from Single A, Tri City Dust Devils.
RHP Jake Polancic (Abbotsford, BC) - Moved by Arizona Diamondbacks to Single A, Hillsboro Hops from Rookie Class, AZL Diamondbacks.
C Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, Ont.) - Moved by Arizona Diamondbacks to Rookie Class, Missoula Osprey from Rookie Class, AZL Diamondbacks.
C Mike Reeves (Peterborough, Ont.) - Activated from Disabled List by Toronto Blue Jays at Single A, Dunedin Blue Jays.
RHP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) - Placed on Disabled List by Toronto Blue Jays at Single A, Lansing Lugnuts.
RHP Chris Leroux (Montreal, Que.) - Released by the Toronto Blue Jays at Triple A, Buffalo Bisons.
INF/OF Reed Lavallee (North Delta, BC) - Free Agent re-signs with Trois Rivieres Eagles IND Can Am League.
OF Tanner Nivens (Kitchener, Ont.) - Free Agent signs with Quebec Capitales IND Can Am League.
RHP Donovan Feenstra (Calgary, Alta.) - Placed on the Disabled List by Joliet Slammers IND Frontier League.
Weekly Winners
Week XXI _ Bruce Yari (Waterloo, Ont.) Reds.
Week XX _ Ismael Pena (Montreal, Que.) Mariners
Week XIX _ RHP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) Blue Jays
Week XVIII _ LHP Ryan Kellogg (Whitby, Ont.) Cubs
Week XVII _ LHP Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.) Cubs
Week XVI _ C Jordan Procyshen (Calgary, Alta.) Red Sox and OF Brett Siddall (Windsor, Ont.) A’s.
Week XV _ 1B Josh Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) Marlins.
Week XIV _ RHP Alex Webb (Surrey, BC) Reds.
Week XIII _ OF Gareth Morgan (North York, Ont.) Mariners and OF Cole Bauml (Meunster, Sask.) Tigers.
Week XII _ Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.) Blue Jays.
Week XI _ RHP Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC) Phillies.
Week X _ RHP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) Blue Jays.
Week IX _ OF Dalton Pompey (Mississauga, Ont.) Blue Jays.
Week VIII _ RHP Chris Leroux (Mississauga, Ont.) Blue Jays
Week VII _ LHP Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.) Cubs
Week VI _ LHP Evan Grills (Whitby, Ont.) Astros
Week V _ RP Rowan Wick (North Vancouver, BC) Cardinals.
Week III _ LHP James Paxton (Ladner, BC) Mariners.
Week II _ OF Brett Siddall (Windsor, Ont.) A’s.
Week I _ C Dustin Houle (Penticton, BC) Brewers.