CBN, POW, Week XV -- Zac Fascia

Former Brampton Royals C Zac Fascia (Brampton, Ont.) earned player of the week honours.

July 19, 2023

By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

Hey, have you heard about this young Canadian catcher that the Cleveland Guardians have?

He can really swing it.

No, not C Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) we’re talking about C Zac Fascia, the former Brampton Royal.

Fascia (Brampton, Ont.) was the best of the 148 Canadians in the minors this week. He hit .462 (6-for-13) with a pair of RBIs for class-A Lynchburg Hillcats to earn Canadian Baseball Network minor league player of the week for Week XV.

After playing for the Brampton Royals, he played for the Indian Hills Warriors and was selected by the New York Mets in the 37th round of the 2018 draft. After that, he played for the Purdue Boilermakers and was signed by Cleveland as a free agent after the conclusion of the 2021 draft.

How the week that was went for Fascia as he ...

_ Batting fourth and playing first base he had one hit in five at-bats as Lynchburg beat the Fredericksburg Nationals 7-4 before 4,664 fans at Virginia Credit Union Stadium. Fascia singled on a line drive to right in the fifth inning.

_ Playing first and batting fifth, he was 3-for-4 and knocked in a pair of runs as Lynchburg knocked off Fredericksburg 12-10 before 4,660 fans. Fascia reached on an infield single in the second, singled to right in the four-run third, was hit by a pitch in the four-run fourth and greeted a reliever with a two-run triple (his second of the season) in the four-run fifth to put Lynchburg up 12-2.

_ Catching and hitting fourth he was 2-for-4 in a 4-3 loss to Fredericksburg in front of 4,171 spectators. Fascia singled to right in the second and singled to right in the eighth.

Discovery: LHP Evan Rutckyj (Windsor, Ont.) had signed as a free agent with IND Quebec Capitales. He was active with Team Canada at the 2023 WBC, but he was able to confirm he has previously been active in Summer of 2022 and 2023 with Niigata Alberix in Japan’s Independent Route Inn Challenge League (BCL). It was the first time I was aware of his connection to pitching in Japan connection. Apparently, he asked for and was granted his release. Unfortunately, finding any relevant statistics for this league (particularly in English) has proven difficult, as a result he’s shown in the foreign players segment above without current stats.

Although it’s been reported he has signed with IND Quebec, he has not yet been activated but once he appears in a regular game, he will be added to the INDY player segment above.

Best Offensive Performances

Name Class Team AB RUNS HITS HR RBIs AVG

Zac Fascia A Lynchburg 13 2 6 - 2 .462

Abraham Toro AAA Nashville 11 3 5 1 1 .455

Lamar King Rookie ACL Padres 12 4 5 - 3 .417

Matt Coutney A Tri City 11 - 4 - 1 .364

Tristan Peters AA Montgomery 12 2 4 1 3 .333

Otto Lopez AAA Buffalo 12 2 4 - 1 .333

T.J. Schofield-Sam A Lansing 12 2 4 - 1 .333

Riley Jepson IND Great Falls 19 6 10 - 1 .526

Matt Lloyd IND Sioux City 25 6 12 3 6 .480

Tyler Wright IND Ottawa Titans 10 2 4 1 2 .400

Jacob Robson IND Kansas City 14 7 5 2 3 .357

Kole Cottam IND Spire City 21 4 7 2 7 .333

L.P. Pelletier IND Trois Rivieres 10 2 3 1 4 .300

Matt Warkentin IND Joliet 10 2 3 - - .300

(Minimum 10 ABs)

Best Pitching Performances

Name Class Team GM WIN SAVE ERA INN K WHIP

Noah Skirrow AAA Lehigh Valley 1 - 1 0.00 4.0 6 1.000

Skirrow continues to perform at a very high level and, despite a slight change in his routine this week, the results were excellent as usual. This season with the Iron Pigs he has made 15 pitching appearances and 13 have been starts, but on July 15 he was called out of the bullpen for a rare relief stint and as usual, the results were positive. In 4-0 win over the Charlotte Knights, he pitched four scoreless innings, allowing four hits while striking out six, to earn his first save of the season. This outing improved his overall record with Lehigh Valley in the International League, to 7-3 with one save and a 5.50 ERA.

Name Class Team GM WIN SAVE ERA INN K WHIP

Christian Young IND Milwaukee 1 1 - 3.60 5.0 5 1.000

In his first appearance with Milwaukee since being named to the IND American Association East Division mid season All Star Team, in a game which is scheduled for July 18 at his home park, Young made another strong start. On July 15, in a 9-2 win, over Lincoln Saltdogs, he pitched five innings giving up four base his and two earned runs while striking out five, to earn his sixth win of the season. His overall record with the Milkmen in 11 IND American Association appearances, improved to 6-3 with a 2.73 ERA. At this point in the season, his six wins and his 2.73 ERA are tied for second best while his 69 strikeouts are third best totals in the league.

* * *

Previous Players of the Week

Week I _ Edouard Julien (Ancienne-Lorette, Que.) triple-A St. Paul Saints (Twins)

Week II _ Cade Smith (Abbotsford, BC) double-A Akron RuberDucks (Guardians).

Week III _ Abraham Toro (Longuiel, Que.) triple-A Nashville Sounds (Brewers)

Week IV _ Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) double-A Midland (A’s) and Trei Cruz (Toronto, Ont.) double-A Erie (Tigers)

Week V _ Wesley Moore (Surrey, BC) class-A Clearwater Threshers (Phillies).

Week VI _ Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.) class-A Inland Empire (Angels).

Week VII _ Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC) double-A New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Jays)

Week VIII _ Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.) class-A Inland Empire (Angels) annd David McCabe (Courtice, Ont.) and Augusta Greenjackets (Braves.)

Week IX _ Erik Sabrowski (Edmonton, Alta.) double-A Akron Rubber Ducks (Guardians)

Week X _ Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) class-A Hickory Crawdads (Mets)