Canadian Baseball Network POW, Week II - Denzel Clarke
Former Toronto Mets OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) had a week to remember with the class-A Stockton Ports.
April 19, 2022
By George Farelli
Canadian Baseball Network
There was never any doubt Denzel Clarke had the good genes.
Never.
The former Toronto Mets outfielder is the son of Donna Clarke, who competed in the women’s heptathlon at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, finishing 17th at the age of 19. Meanwhile his uncle, Kevin Smellie, was a running back on the 1991 Grey Cup champion Toronto Argos. And cousin ... Gavin Smellie participated in the 2012 Summer Olympics in London in the 4x100m relay.
Now one and all are telling people that they are related to Denzel ... not the actor, the hitter.
What a week
What a week he had to earn Canadian Baseball Player of the Week honors for Week II. He led all 61 Canadians in the minors as the only player to have double-figure hit totals.
_ Batted eighth, played centre and was hitless as Stockton fell 16-5 to the Modesto Nuts before 1,420 fans at Banner Island Park. Tyler Schofield-Sam (Brampton, Ont.) was hitting third as the DH and was hitless.
_ Leading off and playing centre he was hitless in a 10-3 loss to Modesto in front of 1,047 fans. Playing third and hitting third, he had one hit in four trips. Schofield-Sam singled to right in the bottom of the first.
_ Leading off and playing centre he was 4-for-5 with a homer, driving in three runs in an 11-6 win over Modesto before 450 fans. Clarke homered to left-centre in the third inning, hit a run-scoring single to centre in the fifth, singled on a ground ball to first in the sixth, knocking in a run to break the 6-6 tie and then stole second. And finally he reached on an infield single to third in the eighth. Hitting third and playing third, Schofield-Sam singled to left in the first, singled to right in the sixth driving in Clarke.
_ Leading off and playing right field, Clarke went 3-for-4 with two homers and four RBIs. He led off the game by hitting a 2-2 pitch to right centre, reached on an infield single in the sixth and hit a first-pitch two-run homer to centre in the bottom of the seventh. Schofield-Sam singled to centre in the first.
_ Playing right field and leading off he went 2-for-5 with a homer in a 6-5 win against Modesto before 1,339 fans. Clarke singled to left in the second and doubled to centre in the eighth.
_ Hitting lead off and playing in centre, he was 1-for-4 in a 2-1 Stockton win over Modesto over 843 fans. Clarke singled to left leading off the game. Schofield-Sam played first base and had a pair of hits. He singled to centre in the fourth and singled to right field in the sixth.
Clarke was a fourth round pick of the A’s, signing for a $700,000 bonus. He owns a .333 batting average with two doubles, three homers, nine RBIs and a .965 OPS, while Schofield-Sam is hitting .286 with one RBI and a .661 OPS.
Mariano Ricciardi, son of former Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi is hitting .195 with three RBIs and a .570 OPS.
Best Offense
Player/Class/Team AB R H HR RBI AVG
Damiano Palmegiani - A Dunedin 22 5 9 2 8 .409
T.J. Schofield-Sam- A Stockton 15 3 6 - 1 .400
Denzel Clarke - A Stockton 28 10 10 3 8 .357
Jared Young - AAA Iowa 15 3 5 1 6 .333
Kole Cottam - AA Portland 12 - 4 - 2 .333
Bo Naylor - AA Akron 13 - 4 - 3 .308
(Minimum 10 ABs)
Best Pitching
Eric Cerantola RHP - Low A Columbia Fireflies
G W-L SV ER ERA H IP K WHIP
1 1 -0 - 2 3.60 5 5.0 10 1.000
On April 16, Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.) made an excellent start for Columbia Fireflies in the Carolina League. In a 7-2 win over Charleston River Dogs, he pitched five strong innings, gave up five base hits and
two earned runs, while striking out 10. With this performance, he earned not only his first win of the season, but also his first win as a pro. The former Great Lake Canadian and Mississippi State alum has made two starts with Columbia and is now 1-1 with a 6.45 ERA.
Canadian Baseball Network
Minor League Player of the Week