Shushkewich: CBN POW - Matt Duffy
Former Great Lake Canadians and Fieldhouse Pirates RHP Matt Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) earned Canadian Baseball Network minor league Player of the Week honours.
August 19, 2024
By Tyson Shuskewich
Canadian Baseball Network
For the first time this season, the American League East has a representative as the Canadian Baseball Network Minor League Player of the Week.
Right-hander Matt Duffy has earned the award after an impressive showing at home with the class-A Salem Red Sox.
Drafted in the fourth round by the Red Sox last summer, Duffy (Burlington, Ont.) has worked out of Salem’s rotation the entire season and has been throwing well since the calendar turned over into July.
In his outing against the Delmarva Shorebirds (a Baltimore Orioles’ affiliate) on Aug. 11, Duffy impressed the home crowd of just under 2,000 fans at Carilion Clinic Field for his third win of the season. He pitched five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and one walk, striking out nine, while lowering his ERA to 2.99.
Duffy got the “throwing a perfect game” jitters out of the way early in the form of a single to left field to the Shorebirds’ lead-off batter. Looking to bounce back, Duffy was able to strike out the following batter on three pitches – a called third strike that fooled the Shorebirds’ No. 2 hitter. Amidst his bounce-back efforts, Duffy also picked off the runner at first base, erasing the single that started the contest through an impressive individual effort on the mound. To finish off the inning, the right-hander struck out the third-place hitter on five pitches, getting his first swinging strikeout on the day.
The second started off well for the Red Sox prospect, as Duffy was able to get two quick ground ball outs using just seven pitches. A double to centre had a runner in scoring position for the first time in the game but Duffy made quick work of the next batter, producing a fly ball to right field on three pitches.
Duffy’s third inning started with another grounder. The former Fieldhouse Pirate and Great Lake Canadian would add two more strikeouts to his total, authoring a swinging strikeout on three pitches before battling for the third out in the form of a seven-pitch at-bat that saw Duffy getting a called third strike on a pitch low in the zone.
The fourth was Duffy’s most impressive of the day, as the Canisius College Griffin alum struck out the side on 14 pitches, collecting two swinging strikeouts before setting down the third batter on a called third strike that fooled his opponent and caught a good portion of the plate. The second strikeout against Jake Cunningham was perhaps the standout punch out in the inning, as Duffy continuously pounded the inside part of the plate to get the Shorebirds batter to foul off two pitches before setting him down on a swinging strike three call.
In his final inning of work, Duffy got the first out in the form of a ground out to first. The Red Sox pitcher allowed his third and final hit on the day in this frame, a double to left field (the same batter who doubled earlier in the outing), that had the pressure on once again with one out. Duffy got a bit of help from his defence here, as a fly ball to centre secured the second out of the inning before the team relayed the ball in to tag the runner trying to advance to third base, a double play to end the inning and Duffy’s day on the mound.
The 22-year-old left the game in line for the win (2-0 heading into the sixth) and the bullpen was able to hold their opponents to just one run, improving Salem’s record to 58-50 on the year.
The right-hander didn’t walk anyone and trailed only Christian MacLeod (Sydney, N.S.) for the strikeout total on the week – 13 through two starts. He was one of three starters to allow zero runs in their respective outings and continues his impressive stretch that has his ERA down to 3.18 while holding batters to a .223 average to the tune of a 1.13 WHIP on the year.
Former Winners
Opening Day to May 6 – LHP Matt Wilkinson (Ladner, BC), Guardians.
May 7- May 12 – INF Charles LeBlanc (Laval, Que.), Angels.
May 13- May 19 – RHP Adam Maier (North Vancouver, BC), Braves.
May 20- May 26 – INF Trei Cruz (Toronto, Ont.), Tigers.
May 27 – June 2 – RHP Lucas Wepf (Georgetown, Ont.), Dodgers.
June 3 – June 9 – C/DH Liam Hicks (Toronto, Ont.), Rangers.
June 10 – June 16 – OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.), Athletics.
June 17 – June 23 – OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.), Athletics.
June 24 – June 30 – RHP Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.), Mets.
July 1 – July 7 – OF Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.), Athletics.
July 8 – July 14 – LHP Matt Wilkinson (Ladner, BC), Guardians.
July 15 – July 21 – OF Jordan Nwogu (Ottawa, Ont.), Cubs
July 22 – July 28 – LHP Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.), Rangers
July 29 – August 4 – LHP Matt Wilkinson (Ladner, BC), Guardians.
August 5 – August 11 – Matt Duffy (Burlington, Ont.), Red Sox
Top Canadian Minor League Performances for August 5 to August 11 (Stats Compiled by Pete Berryman)
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