Former Okotoks Dawgs OF Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.), left, was the co-Canadian Player of the Week with Great Lake Canadians’ grad RHP Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.)

August 15, 2023

By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

Eric Cerantola and Tristan Peters were both selected in the 2021 draft.

Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.) was a fifth round pick by the Kansas City Royals from the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Peters (Winkler, Man.) was selected two rounds later by the Milwaukee Brewers from the Southern Illinois Salukis, Dave Stieb’s school. That’s a difference of 68 picks ... if you were counting along at home listening to MLB.com on your trusty laptop or phone.

Cerantola, of the class-A Quad Cities River Bandits, picked up a win in two outings while fanning 10 in eight innings.

Meanwhile, Peters, of the double-A Montgomery Biscuits, batted .529 (9-for-17) with a homer and six RBIs.

For their efforts, the pair shared Canadian Baseball Network minor league Co-Players of the Week for Week XIX.

* * *

Former Okotoks Dawgs and Team Mantioba OF Tristan Peters (Winkler, Man.) of double-A Montgomery.

Peters, an Okotoks Dawgs and Team Manitoba grad, has been moved a couple of times in recent years. Originally drafted by the Milwaukee Brewers, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants in mid-season 2022, and subsequently traded by the Giants to the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2022-23 off-season.

At only 23, he seems to have found a home with the Rays and has enjoyed a very good year with the double-Biscuits. In a five-game series against the Birmingham Barons this past week, Peters led his team to a 3-2 series win, with a slash line that any minor leaguer would envy ...

AB - 17, Runs - 7, Hits - 9, Average - .529, HR - 1 and RBIs - 6.

In recognition of his performance this week the Minor League Baseball.com named him as the Double A Southern League Player of the Week for Aug. 8-14.

* * *

Great Lakes Canadians grad RHP Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.) of class-A Quad Cities.

Cerantola, 23, is a key member of the bullpen with Quad Cities, the Royals’ Midwest League affiliate. To this point in the season he has been a consistent performer, and his overall record in 27 appearances includes a 3-3 record, with one save and a 4.39 ERA.

The efforts of the Great Lake Canadians grad, this week against league rivals Cedar Rapids Kernels demonstrate how effective he has been this season, and in his two game appearances he generated outstanding numbers ...

Games - 2, Wins - 1, Innings - 8.0, Hits - 1, Runs - 1, Earned Runs - 1, Walks - 0, Strikeouts - 10, ERA - 1.13 and WHIP - 0.125.

That kind of pitching performance persuaded the MiLB.com to name Eric Cerantola the Midwest League Pitcher of the Week.

Best Offensive Performances

Name Class Team AB R H HR RBIs AVG

Tristan Peters AA Montgomery 17 7 9 1 6 .529

Ryan Leitch A Clearwater 13 5 6 1 2 .462

Owen Caissie AA Tennessee 22 3 9 1 2 .409

David McCabe A Rome 21 3 7 - 9 .333

T.J. Schofield-Sam A Lansing 18 4 6 2 4 .333

Trei Cruz AA Erie 20 2 6 1 2 .300

Dylan O’Rae A Augusta 17 3 5 - - .294

(O’Rae includes two at-bats at lower level)

Malik Williams IND Trois Rivieres 21 8 10 4 11 .476

Jonathan Lacroix IND Quebec 17 2 8 - 1 .471

Marc-Antoine Lebreux IND Quebec 22 4 9 1 4 .409

Kole Cottam IND Spire City 23 6 9 2 6 .391

Noah Myers IND Evansville 21 4 8 2 3 .381

Matt Warkentin IND Joliet 27 7 10 6 10 .370

Taylor Wright IND Ottawa 11 4 4 1 3 .364

Riley Jepson IND Great Falls 20 5 7 - 2 .350

Mike Crouse IND Milwaukee 20 3 7 1 6 .350

David Glaude IND Quebec 21 4 7 1 4 .333

Brendon Dadson IND Trois Rivieres 19 6 6 - 4 .316

Connor Panas IND Lincoln 13 2 4 - 2 .308

Jake Sanford IND Ottawa 20 3 6 - 2 .300

(Minimum 10 ABs)

Best Pitching Performances

Name Class Team GM WIN S ERA INN K WHIP

Carter Loewen A Ft. Wayne 2 1 - 1.48 6.1 3 0.328

Maintaining a trend which has been evident since he joined the team, Loewen continues to be a key member of the Fort Wayne Tin Caps bullpen. This week, he made two more solid relief appearances. On Aug. 8, in a 3-2 win over Lansing Lugnuts, he pitched three innings, gave up one base hit and one earned run while striking out three Lansing batters, and was credited with his second hold of the year. Then on Aug. 10, in an 11-6 win over the Lugnuts, he tossed 3 1/3 scoreless innings, surrendering one hit and no earned runs, and in the process earned his second win of the season. These results improved Loewen’s record with the Tin Caps in 11 Single A Midwest League relief appearances to 2-0, with two holds and a 2.53 ERA. If we include his early season stint with Lake Elsinore Storm in the Single A California League, his overall totals in 27 relief appearances for the 2023 season, includes a 3-2 record with a 2.31 ERA.

Name Class Team GM WIN S ERA INN K WHIP

Chris MacLeod A Cedar Rapids 1 1 - 5.40 5.0 4 1.600

MacLeod, 23, in the Twins minor league system, is pitching well in a starting role with the Single A Cedar Rapids Kernels. His success should not be a surprise, in light of the fact that his father Kevin MacLeod, a native of Sydney, N.S., also pitched at the pro level in the Oakland and St. Louis organizations. This week, MacLeod made another solid start in an 11-5 win over the Quad Cities River Bandits. He pitched five innings gave up five base hits and three earned runs while striking out four, to earn his fourth win of the season. His overall record in the Midwest League after 12 games, now stands at 4-0 with a 3.86 ERA.

Name Class Team GM WIN S ERA INN K WHIP

Mike Soroka AAA Gwinnett 1 1 - 0.00 7.0 8 0.570

I know ... we’ve been here before in highlighting a pitching performance by Soroka but the fact is he’s deserved the recognition every time. And this week is simply another example of his excellent performance with the triple-A Gwinnett Stripers this season. On Aug. 12, in a 4-0 win over the Charlotte Knights, Soroka pitched seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and while striking out eight Charlotte batters, to secure his fourth win of the year. In seven innings pitched, he had only faced 25 batters. His overall record with Gwinnett in 14 triple-A International League games, now stands at 4-3 with a 3.21 ERA.

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)

Week XI _ Jared Young (Prince George, BC) triple-A Iowa (Cubs).