By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

You could say that the Houston Astros loved what RHP R. J. Freure brought to the mound last year with the Pitt University Panthers.

Freure (Burllington, Ont.) was given a signing bonus of $348,800 US, far above the slot money for a sixth round pick of $237,600.

And Astros brass must have liked what they saw when Freure, a former Ontario Blue Jay, when he took the mound for the Quad Cities River Bandits against the Kane County Cougars.

Freure pitched 5 1/3 scoreless as Quad Cities edged Kane County 2-0 before 2,886 fans at Modern Woodmen Park. The strong outing earned Freure the Canadian Baseball Network minor league Player of the Week for Week X.

He had a 96-pitch outing (56 strikes) due to five walks and six strikeouts. He retired four on ground outs and two more on fly balls.

Freure pitched tough putting up five zeros and 1/3 of another. He recorded 1-2-3 innings in the second and the fourth, but had runners on in the first:

_ Walking lead-off man Keshawn Lynch and then picking him off first. Next, he walked Alek Thomas, before striking out Eduardo Diaz and Buddy Kennedy.

_ Daniel Wasinger singled to lead off the third, then after a Tra Holmes strike out Freure found himself in a major-league jam as Lynch doubled Wasinger to third.

He found the escape hatch sstriking out Thomas and getting Diaz on a soft liner to second.

_ He issued a lead-off walk to Hernandez, who was thrown out stealing by catcher Ruben Castro. After a Wasinger walk, Holmes grounded into a 6-4-3 double play.

_ And in the sixth, Freure retired Lynch on a ground ball, walked Thomas and that was it for Freure. Julio Robaina took over for Freure, pitching 3 2/3 scoreless.

The scoreless outing lifted his record to 4-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.85. He has walked 33 and struck out 48 in 41 innings.

Top offensive performances

Player / Class / Team AB R H HR RBI AVG

Kellin Deglan - AA Trenton 16 2 8 1 2 .500

Kole Cottam - A Greenville 18 4 8 1 6 .444

Jacob Robson - AAA Toledo 14 1 6 - - .429

Jim Adduci - AAA Iowa 15 4 6 1 4 .400

Miles Gordon - A Dayton 29 6 10 1 8 .345

Jordan Procyshen - A Rancho Cucamonga 18 5 6 1 4 .333

Jared Young - AA Tennessee 21 3 6 1 2 .286

Riley MacDonald - FGN Dornbirn AUS 10 4 5 1 7 .500

Tyson Gillies - IND Quebec 12 3 5 - 2 .417

Jamie Romak - FGN SK Wyverns KBO 27 7 10 3 11 .370

T,J, Bennett - IND Fargo-Morehead 22 4 8 1 3 .364

Chris Shaw - IND Quebec 16 2 5 - 5 .313

(Minimum 10 ABs)

(Stats for Procyshen include one game with double-A Tulsa)

Top pitching outings

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

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

1 5.1 2 - - 5 6 1-0 - 1.37 0.00

Since the beginning of the season R.J. Freure has exhibited a high level of consistency in pitching for the River Bandits, and his outing this week was another good example of this pattern. On June 7, in a 2-0 victory over Kane County Cougars he threw 5 1/3 scoreless allowing two hits, while striking out six Kane County batters, to pick up his fourth win of the year. His record with Quad Cities in 10 Midwest League appearances, now stands at 4-1 with two saves and a 2.85 ERA.

JORDAN BALAZOVIC RHP - A FT. MYERS MIRACLE

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

1 5.2 5 1 1 1 7 1-0 - 1.15 1.73

Jordan Balazovic continues to pitch very well for the Miracle, and this week he made another excellent start. On June 6 in a 7-4 win over Florida Fire Frogs he pitched 5 2/3 innings, giving up five hits and one earned run while striking out seven Florida batters, to earn his fourth win of the season. His record with Ft. Myers in six class-A Florida State League starts is now 4-0 with a 2.03 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).

Week VIII _ 1B Jim Adduci (Burnaby, BC) triple-A Iowa Cubs (Cubs).

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

Week X _ RHP R. J. Freure (Burlington, Ont.) class-A Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros).