CBN Player of the Week - Jean-Christophe Masson

DH Jean-Christophe Masson (Levis, Que.) knocked in eight runs for the rookie-class Blue Jays in the Florida Complex League.

September 3, 2021

By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

There was a three-way tie when it came to looking at the hitting leaders of the 132 minor league candidates for Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Week.

Let’s see there were:

_ Former Ottawa-Nepean Canadians OF Demi Orimoloye (Orleans, Ont.) who hit .333 (5-for-15) with a home run and two RBIs for the double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats

_ ABC grad Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) hit .333 (5-for-15) for the triple-A Round Rock Express, with one run knocked in.

_ And Jean-Christophe Masson (Levis, Que.) also batted .333 (4-for-12) for the Rookie-class Blue Jays in the Florida Complex League.. However, he knocked in eight runs.

Masson gets the nod due to his hatful of RBIs. How his week that was went ...

_ Batting second and DHing, he had a pair of hits and RBIs in a 7-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies at the Bobby Mattick Complex. He doubled on a line to left to drive in the game’s first run and he singled to right to knock in another run in the fifth for a 4-0 lead. It was Masson’s third double of the season. C Anthony Quirion (Dixville, Que.) had one at-bat for the Phillies.

_ Did not play in an 8-6 loss to the New York Yankees at the Yankee Complex. Batting eighth, 3B Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC) was 1-for-1 with two runs scored.

_ Didn’t play in the nitecap of the doubleheader, a 4-3 loss to the Yankees.

_ Batting eighth and DHing, he knocked in a run in a 9-3 win over the Detroit Tigers at the Mattick Complex. He singled to left in the third for a 6-2 lead. C Nicolas Deschamps (Quebec City, Que.) appeared as a defensive replacement behind the plate.

_ DHing and hitting seventh, he homered and drove in five runs as the Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers East 15-7 at Tigertown. He hit his first homer of the year in the seventh, a grand slam to centre field, breaking a 4-4 tie and in the ninth, he hit a scoring fly ball to centre, closing out his five-RBI night. Scoring on the slam was Palmegiani, who was batting third and playing third. Palmegiani singled to right to drive in the game’s first run, singled to centre in the third and singled to centre in the eighth.

Best Offense Performance

Player/Class/Team AB R H HR RBI AVG

Demi Orimoloye - AA New Hampshire 15 2 5 1 2 .333

Charles Leblanc - AAA Round Rock 15 3 5 1 1 .333

J.C Masson - Rkie FCL Blue Jays 12 4 4 1 8 .333

Dasan Brown - A Dunedin 16 4 5 1 1 .313

T.J. Bennett - IND Chicago 20 4 10 1 5 .500

Raphael Gladu - IND Quebec 25 5 11 - 5 .440

Myles Miller - IND Boise 22 7 8 - 4 .364

L.P. Pelletier - IND Quebec 28 7 9 - 1 .321

Wes Darvill IND Winnipeg 28 4 9 - 2 .321

David Glaude - IND Quebec 24 5 7 2 5 .292

(Minimum 10 ABs)

Best Pitching Performance

MIKE BRETTELL RHP - AA SPRINGFIELD CARDINALS

APP IP H R ER BB K W-L SV WHIP WK ERA

1 6.0 3 1 1 - 6 1-0 - 0.50 1.50

Mike Brettell is a 24 year old pitching prospect in the St. Louis Cardinals system, and the native of Fonthill, Ont., is making the adjustments required to compete at the double A level. This week he had an excellent start on August 25 in a 5-3 win over NW Arkansas Naturals when he pitched six innings, gave up three base hits and one earned run while striking out six batters to earn the win. It was his first win at this level and it improved his record with Springfield in 20 appearances to 1-4 with a 7.45 ERA.

Player of the Week

Week I _ Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.) Jersey Shore BlueClaws (Phillies).

Week II _ Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Jays) and Trevor Brigden (Toronto, Ont.) class-A Charleston River Dogs (Rays).

Week III _ Andrew Yerzy (Toronto, Ont.) class-A Hillsboro Hops/class-A Visailia Oaks (Diamondbacks)

Week IV _ Indigo Diaz (North Vancouver, BC) class-A Rome Braves (Braves)

Week V _ Edouard Julien (Ancienne-Lorette, Que.) class-A Ft. Myers Mighty Mussels (Twins).

Week VI _ RHP Logan Hofmann (Muenster, Sask.) class-A Bradenton Marauders (Pirates)

Week VII _ INF-OF Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Jays).

Week VIII _ RHP Cade Smith (Abbotsford, BC) class-A Lynchburg Hillcats (Cleveland)

Week IX _ RHP Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) double-A Wichita Wind Surge (Twins)

Week X _ C Kole Cottam (Knoxville, Tenn.) class-A East Greenville (Red Sox)

Week XI _ RHP Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) double-A Wichita Wind Surge (Twins)