INF Otto Lopez (Montreal, Que.) had a week to remember with the triple-A Buffalo Bisons.

August 2, 2022

By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

During his 11-year career, Otto Velez played six seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays in the outfield, right field and DH.

He hit 72 homers for the Jays -- three seasons having 15 or more -- to earn the nickname Otto The Swatto from the late, great John Robertson.

No one has ever hung that moniker on middle infielder Otto Lopez ... yet there he was the best of the 142 Canadians in the minors this past week.

Lopez batted .556 (10-for-18) with two homers and six RBIs for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons to earn the Canadian Baseball Network’s minor league player of the week. His first win this season.

How the week that was went for Otto the Swatto 2.0 as he ...

_ Leading off and playing second he was hitless in a 2-1 loss to the Worchester Red Sox in front of 7,425 fans at Sahlen Field.

_ Playing shortstop and leading off he was 3-for-4 driving in three runs in a 7-2 win against Worchester in front of 6,683 fans. Lopez tripled to right field in the second inning, hit a run-scoring fly ball to right in the fourth for a 3-1 lead, singled to centre leading off the seventh and hit a two-run triple to right scoring Steve Berman and Logan Warmoth.

_ Back at second base and batting third, he was 1-for-3 in a 3-1 loss to the Red Sox in front of 7,752 fans. He singled to left leading off the fourth and walked in the sixth

_ Leading off and playing second he was 4-for-4 with three RBIs in a 7-6 triumph against Worcester in front of 11,249. Lopez hit his 12th double of the season to right leading off the game and scored, then hit an inside-the-park homer to right with one man aboard in the two-run second, hit a solo homer to left in the fourth inning, was hit by a pitch in the sixth and reached on an infield single in the eighth. The two-homer game gave him four for the season.

_ Playing left field and batting lead off he went 2-for-4 in a 5-3 win against the Red Sox before 7,196 fans. Lopez singled leading off the game and reached on an infield single in the eighth.

_ Had a day off in a 4-1 loss to Worchester in front of 7,344 fans.

Lopez was named the offensive player of the week in AAA International League, for the period July 25 to July 31. With the Bisons he played in five games, produced 10 base hits including five for extra bases, had a batting average of .556 for the week and drove in six runs.

Best Offense

Player Class Team AB R H HR RBI AVG

Otto Lopez AAA-Buffalo 18 7 10 2 6 .556

Tristan Peters A-Wisconsin 25 5 13 - 5 .520

Matt Warkentin A-Myrtle Beach 11 5 4 - 4 .364

Jordan Nwogu A-South Bend 21 5 7 1 4 .333

Edouard Julien AA-Wichita 19 7 6 3 8 .316

Liam Hicks A-Down East 10 1 3 1 2 .300

M.A. Lebreux IND-Quebec 11 2 5 - 2 .455

Connor Panas IND-Trois Rivieres 21 7 9 2 4 .429

Garrett Takamatsu IND-Quebec 12 - 5 - 1 .417

L.P. Pelletier IND-Trois-Rivieres 22 4 9 - 2 .409

Jake Sanford IND-Ottawa 17 4 6 1 2 .353

Jonathan Lacroix IND-Quebec 19 3 6 1 1 .316

Miles Gordon IND-Evansville 16 5 5 - 3 .313

(Minimum 10 ABs)

Best Pitching

Cade Smith RHP - AA Akron Rubber Ducks

GM W SV ER ERA H IP K WHIP

3 2 - - 0.00 1 5.0 5 0.600

Since his promotion from Single A Lake County to Double A Akron in Week 10, Cade Smith has continued to justify the move by becoming a solid member of the Akron relief core, and this past week he had three more very good outings. On July 26, in an 8-7 win over the Harrisburg Senators, he pitched two scoreless innings, gave up one base hit and struck out two, to pick up his first win for Akron. He followed that up on July 29 in 2-1 win over the Senators by throwing two scoreless, surrendering one hit while striking out two batters and securing his second win in a row. His final appearance of the week was on July 31, in a 10-5 loss to Harrisburg, when he pitched one scoreless gave up zero hits while striking out one batter, but was not involved in the decision. He improved his numbers with Akron, in 11 AA Eastern League relief appearances, to 2-1 with a 6.43 ERA.

His overall record for the 2022 season, including the earlier stint with Lake County, now features 31 relief appearances, four wins, five waves, an ERA of 4.26, and 63 strikeouts in 38 innings pitched. Pretty good I’d say, ... for a 23-year-old in only his second pro season.

Player of the Week

Week I - INF Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) Marlins

Week II _ OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) A’s

Week III _ OF Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) Brewers

Week IV _ RHP Landon Leach (Pickering, Ont,) Braves

Week V _ RHP Indigo Diaz (North Vancouver, BC), Braves

Week VI _ OF Owen Caissie (Burlington, Ont.) Cubs

Week VII _ C Bo Naylor (Mississauga, Ont.) Guardians

Weej VIII _ RHP Noah Skirrow (Stoney Creek, Ont.) Phillies.

Week IX _ OF Tanner Kirwer (Spruce Grove, Alta.) Mariners

Week X _ 3B Damiano Palmegiani (Surrey, BC) Blue Jays

Week XI _ RHP Matt Brash (Kingston, Ont.) Mariners