By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

They were the best in their respective leagues.

One on the mound, the other in the batter’s box.

So it only seems fair that RHP Nick Pivetta of the triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs and 3B Abraham Toro of the double-A Corpus Christi Hooks, share Canadian Baseball Network Player of the Week honours. They were the best two of the 89 Canadians in the minors for Week VII.

Pitching at Lehigh Valley, Pivetta (Victoria, BC) earned Pitcher of the Week in the International League, while Toro (Longueuil, Que.) of Corpus Christi was the offensive Player of the Week in Southern League.

How the week that was went for Toro, who was drafted and signed by Houston Astros scout Jim Stevenson (Leaside, Ont.) out of Tulsa, Ok.:

_ Playing third and batting clean up, he singled in a 5-0 win against Frisco in front of 2,915 at Whataburger Field. Toro led off the fourth with an infield single. Meanwhile 3B Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) was hitless in two at-bats

_ Batting clean-up and playing third he had a pair of hits, including a homer and drove in two runs in a 6-2 loss to the Midland Rockhounds before 4,780 fans at Security Bank Ballpark. Toro homered to right field, his seventh, with a man on base, for the Hooks only run. He also singled to left in the ninth.

_ Playing third and batting fourth, he had two more hits as the Hooks edged Midland 1-0 in front of 5,649 of Security Bank Ballpark. Toro singled to left to open the second and scored the only run of the game. He also singled on a line drive to left in the sixth.

_ Batting third and hitting third, he singled in a 5-4 loss to Midland in front of 3,450 at Security Bank Ballpark. Toro singled to right in the eighth.

_ Playing third and batting third, he had two hits and drove in a run in a 5-1 win against the Amarillo Sod Poodles before 5,353 fans at Hodgetown. Toro singled to left in the second and singled to centre in the fourth.

_ Batting third and playing third, he went 4-for-5 driving in a pair of runs in a 6-1 win against Amarillo before 5,104. He hit a line single to right in the first, had a run-scoring single to left in the fifth, singled to centre in the seventh and hit a run-scoring single to centre in the ninth.

How the week that was for Pivetta, who had a two-win week in his pair of starts:

_ He worked seven innings in a 7-5 victory against the Durham Bulls before 7,732 fans at the Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Pivetta allowed one run on three hits and four walks, while striking out 11. LeHigh Valley was leading 6-1 when Pivetta departed.

_ He pitched five innings for the victory in a 9-3 triumph against the Syracuse Mets before 7,520 at Coca-Cola Park. Facing the likes of former major leaguers in CF Rajai Davis, RF Gregor Blanco, 2B Danny Espinosa and C Rene Rivera (a combined 2-for-5, with a strikeout), he pitched five innings allowing three runs on four hits and four walks.. He struck out five.

He also walked and struck out former Heisman winner LF Tim Tebow.

Best offensive performances

Player / Class / Team AB R H HR RBI AVG

Abraham Toro - AA Corpus Christi 22 4 12 1 5 .545

Josh Naylor - AA San Antonio 23 5 9 2 7 .391

Ben Pelletier - A Lakewood 26 7 9 2 2 .346

Jim Adduci - AAA Iowa 15 3 5 - 1 .333

Adam Hall - A Delmarva 32 5 10 - 3 .313

J.D. Osborne - A Clinton 22 1 6 - 3 .273

Charles Leblanc - AA Frisco 26 4 7 1 4 .269

Roland Gladu - IND Trois Rivieres 16 6 7 - 2 .438

J.D. Williams - IND Quebec 18 3 7 - 2 .389

David Glaude - IND Trois Rivieres 17 3 6 - 1 .353

T.J. Bennett - IND Fargo-Morehead 18 2 6 - 3 .333

(Minimum 10 AB’s)

Highlights of the Week

3B Abraham Toro, Longueuil, QC - Active with Corpus Christi Hooks, was named Offensive Player of the Week in Double A Southern League.

RHP Nick Pivetta, Victoria, BC - Active with the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs, was named Pitcher of the Week in Triple A International League.

Best on the mound

MIKE BRETTELL RHP - SINGLE A PEORIA CHIEFS

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

1 5.1 2 1 1 1 5 - - 0.59 1.76

Mike Brettell was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 15th round of the 2018 draft, and the 21 year old native of Fonthill, Ont. is currently active as a second year pro with the Peoria Chiefs in the Single A Midwest League. This week he had an excellent start on May 21st in a 2-1 loss to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, when he pitched 5 1/3 innings, allowing two base hits and one earned run while striking out five hitters, but was not involved in the decision. His record with Peoria in seven pitching appearances now stands at 1-0 with a 1.35 ERA.

NICK PIVETTA RHP - TRIPLE A LEHIGH VALLEY IRON PIGS

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

2 12.0 12 5 5 5 18 2-0 - 1.42 3.75

Building his case for a recall to the Phillies big league Roster, Nick Pivetta made two more solid starts this week for Lehigh Valley. On May 16th in a 7-5 win over Durham Bulls he threw seven strong innings, allowing three base hits and one earned run while striking out 11 Durham batters, to earn the win. He followed that up on May 21 in 9-3 victory over the Syracuse Mets when he pitched five innings, scattered nine hits and four earned runs while striking out seven hitters, to earn his second win of the week. His record with the Iron Pigs in six Triple A starts is now 4-1 with a 3.41 ERA. In recognition of his performance, he was named the International League’s Pitcher of the Week.

ROB ZASTRYZNY LHP - TRIPLE A OKLAHOMA CITY DODGERS

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

1 6.0 4 5 5 3 6 1-0 - 1.33 7.50

All pro players will confirm, any career is rife with highs and lows, the cliche also states that how an individual deals with them usually dictates the level of success one might have. In the past 12 months Rob Zastryzny has experienced both, from having a decent 2018 season with the Triple A Iowa Cubs, which included a call up and a six-game stint at the big league level with Chicago Cubs, to a low point in the off season when he was released. But it didn’t take long, he soon signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers and was assigned to their Triple A affiliate the Oklahoma City Dodgers. This week on May 20 he had a good start for the team in a 10-5 win over the Omaha Storm Chasers when he pitched six innings, gave up four base hits and five runs while striking out six, to pick up his first win of the year. His record with Oklahoma City in eight Pacific Coast League appearances is now 1-2 with a 5.95 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.) Class-A Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros).

Week IV _ INF Adam Hall (London, Ont.) Class-A Delmarva Shorebirds (Orioles).

Week V _ RHP Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) Class-A Fort Myers Miracle (Twins).

Week VI _ RHP Curtis Taylor (Port Coquitlam, BC) double-A Montgomery Biscuits (Rays)

Week VII _ RHP Nick Pivetta (Victoria, BC) triple-A Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies) and 3B Abraham Toro (Longueuil, Que.) double-A Corpus Christi Hooks (Astros).

Updated Canadians in the Minors stats, 2019