Ontario Blue Jays grad R.J. Freure (Burlington, Ont.) worked 7 2/3 scoreless for class-A Quad Cities.

By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

R.J. Freure is a proud member of the Quad Cities River Bandits bullpen.

The way RHP Freure (Burlington, Ont.) keeps putting up zeros he possibly could he headed for a spot in the rotation. Freure, 21, was selected in the sixth round by the Houston Astros in 2018 from the University of Pittsburgh Panthers.

Attending Robert Bateman High in Burlington Richard Jared Freure helped him to learn how to paint the corners.

With 7 2/3 scoreless innings Freure earned Canadian Baseball Network minor league player of the week for Week III, the best of the 53 Canucks active.

Freure pitched 3 2/3 scoreless as Quad Cities lost at home, 2-0 to the Kane County Cougars before 401 fans at Dozer Park. He allowed one hit, walked two and fanned nine. In his 51-pitch outing (32 strikes) he came on to start the sixth:

_ Allowing a one-out single striking out the side in the sixth.

_ Recorded a pop up, a line out and a whiff in the seventh.

_ Then in the eighth he gave up a one-out walk and struck out the side.

_ And in the ninth he fanned the first two, issued a walk and gave way to the bullpen.

And five days later, Freure worked four scoreless to record the save as Quad Cities blanked the Peoria Chiefs 8-0 before 2,363 fans at Dozer Park. In this outing he allowed one hit, walked two and struck out five.

Freure threw 65 pitches (42 strikes) retiring three hitters on ground balls and three on fly balls. Again he came on in the bottom of the sixth ...

_ Getting a 1-2-3 inning on a fly ball to left, a strike out and a pop up to third.

_ In the seventh, he allowed a lead off single then record a two fly ball outs and a strike out.

_ In the eighth he got a ground ball out, then allowed two walks and a wild pitch. After a mound visit he escaped trouble with a grounder to first and a strike out.

_ And in the ninth he opened with a strike out, got a ground ball and then retired the final out ... strike three looking.

Warm up the bus.

Top offensive performances

Player / Class / Team AB R H HR RBI AVG

Adam Hall - A Delmarva 18 2 7 - 2 .389

Kole Cottam - A Greenville 11 1 4 1 2 .364

Jared Young - AA Tennessee 23 7 8 - 7 .348

Josh Naylor - AA San Antonio 24 9 8 3 6 .333

Abraham Toro - AA Corpus Christi 21 5 7 2 9 .333

Otto Lopez - A Lansing 18 3 6 - 5 .333

Vlad Guerrero - AAA Buffalo 12 2 4 1 3 .333

Charles Leblanc - AA Frisco 21 3 7 - 2 .333

Daniel Pinero - AA Erie 15 1 5 1 1 .333

Jonathan Lacroix - A Quad Cities 10 2 3 1 3 .300

Jamie Romak - FGN SK Wyverns 19 2 6 1 1 .316

(Minimum 10 ABs)

Best pitching outings

R.J. FREURE RHP - SINGLE A QUAD CITIES RIVER BANDITS

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

2 7.2 2 - - 2 14 - 1 0.56 0.00

R.J. Freure was drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 draft by the Houston Astros, and the 21 year old Burlington, Ont. native is quickly demonstrating some real potential as a future organization bullpen asset. This week he made two excellent relief appearances for Quad Cities, the first on April 18th in a 2-0 loss to the Kane County Cougars when he pitched 3 2/3 scoreless innings, gave up one base hit and while striking out nine Cougar batters, but was not involved in the decision. On April 23rd in an 8-0 win over the Peoria Chiefs he threw four scoreless giving up one hit while striking out five Beloit hitters, to earn his first save of the season. His record with the Bandits in four Single A Midwest League appearances, now stands at 1-0, with one save and a 0.63 ERA.

CAL QUANTRILL RHP - TRIPLE A EL PASO CHIHUAHUAS

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

1 6.0 6 1 1 1 5 1-0 - 1.17 1.50

Following up on his terrific performance last week, Cal Quantrill made another excellent start this week. On April 21st in a 10-2 win over Reno Aces he pitched six solid innings, gave up six base hits and one earned run while striking out five Reno batters, to pick up his third win of the season. His current record in four starts with El Paso in the Triple A Pacific Coast League is now 3-1 with a 4.87 ERA.

JORDAN BALAZOVIC RHP - SINGLE A CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS

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

1 5.0 4 2 1 1 8 1-0 - 1.00 1.80

It’s very early in the season, but it’s becoming obvious this 20 year old Minnesota Twins pitching prospect is beginning to show some consistency in his performance. This week on April 18th in an 8-2 victory over the Beloit Snappers he threw five innings, gave up four base hits and one earned run while striking out eight Beloit hitters, to earn his second win of the year. His overall stats with the Kernels in three starts is now 2-1 with 2.45 ERA.

Previous Players of the Week

Week 1 _ INF Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) Double A Frisco Roughriders (Rangers).

Week II _ RHP Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) Triple A El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres).

Week III _ RHP R.J. Freure (Burlington, Ont.) Single A Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros).