By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

Marcus Knecht has been down this road before.

This time it was a miracle.

And not a Barry Manilow “true blue spectacle, a miracle come true.”
 

No, Knecht was a Fort Myers Miracle.

The former Ontario Blue Jays outfielder and Toronto Blue farmhand,  Knecht hit .500 (6-for-12) with four RBIs at class-A Fort Myers as the best of the 71 Canucks in the minors to earn Canadian Baseball Network minor league player of the week for Week XI.

How Knecht (North York, Ont.) week's that was went as he 
 
_ Didn’t play in a 9-3 win over the Daytona Tortugas before 4,641 at the CenturyLink Sports Complex in Fort Myers.

_ Was 3-for-3 and knocked in a run playing right field as the Miracle scored a 4-1 win over Daytona in front of 2,941 fans. Knecht singled to short in the first, had a run-scoring single to left in the third making it 2-0, walked in the fifth and singled to centre in the eighth.

_ Was 3-for-5 DHing with three RBIs and three doubles as he showed power to all fields in a 10-3 win over the Palm Beach Cardinals before 715 fans in the first game after the all-star break. Knecht hit a ground-rule double to left to score a pair of runs in the four-run first, he hit a run-scoring double to centre in the second putting the Miracle up 5-0 and he doubled to right leading off the fourth and scored as Fort Myers went up 7-0, he flew out in the fifth and struck out in the seventh. Former Markham Mariner Carson Kelly caught for Palm Beach and was hitless in two at-bats. 

_ Was 0-for-4 playing left field in a 2-0 win over Palm Beach in front of 1,169 fans. Kelly, part of the 2007 national peewee champs in Quebec City was hitless for the Cardinals.

This season, his first with the Minnesota Twins organization, Knecht is hitting .263 with 13 doubles, two triples, a homer and 31 RBIs. He has a .704 OPS in 58 games.
 
BEST OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCES 
Player / Class / Team    AB    R    H    HR    RBI    AVG
Marcus Knecht - A Fort Myers    12    4    6    -    4    .500
Jordan Procyshen - A Greenville    13    4    5    1    4 .385
Sean Jamieson - AA Mobile    13    3    5    1    1    .385
Taylor Green - AA Biloxi    19    1    7    1    7    .368
Trevor Gretzky - A Burlington    17    -    5    -    1    .294

Mike Blanke - IND Long Island    10    3    5    -    -    .500
Joey Paciorek - IND St. Paul    22    3    10    1    6    .455
Jean-Luc Blaquiere - IND Quebec    21    4    9    -    5    .429
Larry Balkwill - IND Windy City    10    -    4    -    -    .400
Jim Adduci - FGN Lotte (Korea)    24    3    9    1    4    .375
Josue Peley - IND Quebec    26    6    9    -    7    .346
Jonathan Malo - IND Quebec    25    4    8    -    4    .320
Jonathan Jones - IND Trois Rivieres    16    -    5    -    1    .313
Sebastien Boucher - IND Ottawa    23    6    7    -    -    .304
(* Minimum 10 AB’s required)     

BEST PITCHING PERFORMANCES -
JASVIR RAKKAR  RHP -  SINGLE A MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS
APP  IP   H   R  ER  BB   K   W-L  SV  WHIP  WK ERA
2   3.2   1   -   -    1    4    -    2    0.63    0.00
Brampton native Jasvir Rakkar continues to thrive in the closer’s role with the Pelicans, and this week picked up two more saves. On June 19th in a 7-4 victory over Lynchburg Hillcats he pitched 1 2/3 scoreless without allowing a hit, while striking out three Lynchburg hitters, to earn his eighth save of the season. On June 21st in 4-1 win over the Hillcats, he threw one scoreless inning, surrendering only one base hit for his ninth save thus far. His overall record with Myrtle beach in the Single A Carolina League now stands at 1-1, 9 Saves and a 2.42 ERA. The nine saves lead all Canadian closers in the minors this season.
 
SHANE DAWSON   LHP  -  SINGLE A LANSING LUGNUTS
APP  IP   H   R  ER  BB   K   W-L  SV  WHIP  WK ERA
1   6.0   8   2   2   2   6   1-0   -    1.67    3.00
Shane Dawson maintained his high level of consistency this week with another strong start for Lansing Lugnuts. On June 20th in an 8-2 victory over Great Lakes Loons, he pitched six innings gave up eight base hits and two earned runs, while striking out six Loons batters, and earned his ninth win of the season. The win improved his record in the Single A Midwest League to 9-4, with a 3.28 ERA. The Alberta native received and added bonus this week, when it was announced that he is included on Team Canada’s Roster for the 2015 Pan Am games, to be held in Ontario next month.
 
MARK HARDY  RHP  -  IND  QUEBEC CAPITALES
APP  IP   H   R  ER  BB   K   W-L  SV  WHIP  WK ERA
1   7.0  1   1   1   2    6   1-0   -    0.49    1.28
A free agent signing by Quebec this past off season, Mark Hardy has become a solid starter for his team, and this week had what was probably his best outing so far. On June 18th in an 8-5 win over Sussex County Miners he pitched seven innings, gave up just one base hit and one earned run, while striking out six Miners hitters to earn the victory. His overall record with Quebec in the Indy Can Am League is now 2-0 with a solid 2.66 ERA.

Player Movement and Transactions 
RHP Phillippe Aumont (Gatineau, Que.) - Called up to Major League Roster by Philadelphia Phillies, appeared in one game and was designated for assignment.
 
RHP Jesse Crain (Toronto, Ont.) - Sent out on Re hab assignment by the Chicago White Sox at Rookie Class AZL White Sox.
 
LHP Rob Zastryzny (Edmonton, Alta.) - Sent out on Re hab assignment by the Chicago Cubs at Rookie Class AZL Cubs.
 
RHP Jim Henderson (Calgary, Alta.) - Placed on the Disabled List by Milwaukee Brewers at Triple A Colorado Spings Sky Sox.
 
LHP Evan Grills (Whitby, Ont.) - Placed on the Disabled List by the Houston Astros at Single Lancaster JetHawks.
 

RHP Jordan Romano (Markham, Ont.) - Placed on the 60 Day Disabled List by the Toronto Blue Jays at Rookie Class Bluefield Blue Jays.
 
RHP Rowan Wick (North Vancouver, BC) - Moved by the St. Louis Cardinals to Rookie Class Gulf Coast Cardinals from Single A State College Spikes.
 
C Justin Marra (Toronto, Ont.) - Activated from the Disabled List by Chicago Cubs and moved to Single A Eugene Emeralds from Single A South Bend Cubs.
 
RHP Dylan Brooks (Dorchester, Ont.) - Activated by San Francisco Giants and assigned to Rookie Class AZL Giants.
 
2B Malik Collymore (Mississauga, Ont.) - Activated by St. Louis Cardinals at Rookie Class Johnson City Cardinals.
 

INF Morgan Lofstrom (Vancouver, BC) - Activated by Cincinnati Reds and assigned to Rookie Class AZL Reds.
 
C/DH Jamie Mitchell (Calgary, Alta.) - Activated by Tampa Bay Rays and assigned to Rookie Class Princeton Rays.
 
OF Gareth Morgan (Toronto, Ont.) - Activated by the Seattle Mariners and assigned to Rookie Class AZL Mariners.
 
OF/1B Ismael Pena (Montreal, Que.) - Activated by Arizona Diamondbacks and assigned to Rookie Class AZL Diamondbacks.
 
RHP Travis Seabrooke (Peterborough, Ont.) - Activated by the Baltimore Orioles and assigned to Single A Aberdeen Ironbirds.
 

LHP Evan Rutckyj (Windsor, Ont.) - Named to the Single A Florida State League - North Division 2015 All Star Team.
 
RHP Michael Soroka (Calgary, Alta.) - 2015 First Round Draft Pick signed by the Atlanta Braves. Not assigned to an affiliate yet.
 

LHP Jeff Degano (Surrey, BC) - 2015 Second Round Draft Pick signed by the New York Yankees. Not assigned yet to an affiliate.
 
OF Demi Orimoloye (Orleans, Ont.) - 2015 Round Four Draft Pick signed by Milwaukee Brewers and assigned to Rookie Class AZL Brewers.
 
LHP Ryan Kellogg (Whitby, Ont.) - 2015 Round Five Draft Pick signed by the Chicago Cubs. Not assigned to an affiliate yet.
 
3B  Connor Panas (Toronto, Ont.) - 2015 Round Nine Draft Pick signed by Toronto Blue Jays and assigned to Rookie Class Gulf Coast Blue Jays.
 
RHP Devon Stewart (Maple Ridge, BC) - 2015 Round Nine Draft Pick signed by the Cleveland Indians and assigned to Single A Mahoning Valley Scrappers.
 

OF Cole Bauml (Muenster, SK) - 2015 Round 10 Draft Pick signed by the Detroit Tigers and assigned to Rookie Class Gulf Coast Tigers.
 
C Owen Spiwak (Mississauga, Ont.) - 2015 Round 10 Draft Pick signed by Toronto Blue Jays and assigned to Rookie Class Gulf Coast Blue Jays.
 
OF Brett Siddall (Windsor, Ont.) - 2015 Round 13 Draft Pick signed by Oakland Athletics and assigned to Rookie Class AZL Athletics.
 
RHP Marc Berube (Trois Pitoles, Que.) - 2015 Round 28 Draft Pick signed by the Oakland Athletics and assigned to Rookie Class AZL Athletics.
 
OF Phil Diedrick (Ajax, Ont.) - 2015 Round 29 Draft Pick signed by Washington Nationals. Not assigned to an affiliate yet.
 

RHP Conor Lillis-White (Toronto, Ont.) - 2015 Round 32 Draft Pick signed by Los Angeles Angels and assigned to Rookie Class AZL Angels.
 
INF Mattingly Romanin (Mississauga, Ont.) - 2015 Round 39 Draft Pick signed by the Toronto Blue Jays and assigned to Rookie Class Bluefield Blue Jays.
 
SS Joey Hawkins (Whitby, Ont.) - 2015 Round 40 Draft Pick signed by the St. Louis Cardinals. Not assigned to an affiliate yet.
 
 
LHP Jay Johnson (Sussex Corners, NB) - Placed on Disabled List by Quebec Capitales IND Can Am League.
 
RHP Philippe Valiquette (St. Laurent, Que.) - Placed on the Disabled List by Trois Rivieres Eagles IND Can Am League.