July 2, 2024

By Tyson Shushkewich

Canadian Baseball Network

Canadian bats came alive during the week of June 17 to June 23, with four Canucks hitting two or more home runs and five reaching double-digit total bases – making the decision for the Player of the Week honour quite difficult.

But for the first time this season, there will be a back-to-back winner - Midland RockHounds OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) gets the nod after a stellar stretch against the Frisco RoughRiders, a Texas Rangers’ affiliate.

For the week, Clarke went 8-for-20 (.400) and led all Canadian minor league batters with 18 total bases and three home runs.

Welcoming fellow Canuck and previous CBN Player of the Week winner Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.), Clarke and the Rockhounds were facing their intrastate rival in a battle between the top two teams in the double-A Texas League. Midland entered the series with a 43-21 record.

Clarke suited up in every contest for the six-game series and worked predominantly in centre field outside of a few innings in right field on Tuesday.

While the Toronto Mets alum was held hitless during the opening game, Clarke made his presence known from a defensive standpoint in the form of an outfield assist that saved the win for the RockHounds.

In the top of the seventh inning with two outs and runners on first and second, Clarke caught a fly ball in right field and threw out a runner at home plate to end the inning. This held the score at 2-1 for Midland, who ended up winning the contest.

A strong outing from the RoughRiders pitching staff on Wednesday limited Midland to four hits, with Clarke able to add to his hit total with a single to right field in the bottom of the fifth.

Clarke begin to heat up at the plate in the Thursday contest with his sixth home run of the year. With two outs and a runner on first in the bottom of the second, Clarke drove an 0-1 offering on the outside of the plate the opposite way and over the wall, giving the RockHounds an early 2-0 lead. It was his only hit but his two RBIs accounted for 40% of the total that game as Midland secured a 5-0 victory over the RoughRiders.

Clarke added two more hits – a single and a double -- that played a huge part in the win in the Friday night game. Clarke’s first hit was a double to left on a 1-2 pitch that caught too much of the inner plate to lead off the bottom of the fifth. He would later score on a ground out, giving Midland a 1-0 lead. His next at-bat in the seventh produced the single, a first-pitch driven to left which scored the runner from third - giving the RockHounds their second run of the day. This was all the club would need to secure another 2-1 victory.

After an impressive start to the week, Clarke was moved to the clean-up spot in Saturday’s contest and had a single to the left side of the infield. The A’s prospect battled to a full count before securing his fifth hit of the series and promptly stole second base, his eighth of the season. Hicks was unable to throw out his fellow Mets alum.

Midland had won four of five games through the week heading into Sunday and was looking to end the series with a strong showing in front of the home crowd at Momentum Bank Ballpark.

With a four-game hit streak on the line, Clarke, who had been moved down in the lineup, capped off the week with a three-hit game. The 24-year-old was hit by a pitch in the second and then singled to centre field, scoring a runner from third in the fourth to give Midland a 2-1 lead. In the bottom of the sixth, Midland put another run on the board, as Clarke belted a 1-1 offering over the right field wall (his second home run of the week to the opposite field). He then stepped to the plate in the bottom of the eighth inning and deposited another ball over the right-field wall for his second homer of the day.

It was his third of the week, all to the opposite field. Clarke’s two knocks and his single helped the RockHounds to a 4-1 victory over their Texas counterpart. He finished the game 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

For the week, Clarke tied Edouard Julien (Quebec, Que.) with eight hits and produced a .900 slugging mark.

With Clarke playing such a pivotal role on both sides of the ball in a series against a tough opponent, he is the first to earn the Canadian Baseball Network minor league Player of the Week honour a second time this season.

Former Winners

Opening Day to May 6 – LHP Matt Wilkinson (Lander, BC), Guardians.

May 7- May 12 – INF Charles LeBlanc (Laval, Que.), Angels.

May 13- May 19 – RHP Adam Maier (North Vancouver, BC), Braves.

May 20- May 26 – INF Trei Cruz (Toronto, Ont.), Tigers.

May 27 – June 2 – RHP Lucas Wepf (Georgetown, Ont.), Dodgers.

June 3 – June 9 – C/DH Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.), Rangers.

June 10 – June 16 – OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.), Athletics.

June 17 – June 23 – OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.), Athletics.

Stats Compiled by Pete Berryman

Hitters

Pitchers