ABC alum and Bowling Green Hot Rods second baseman Émilien Pitre (Repentigny, Que.) has been named the Canadian Baseball Network’s Minor League Player of the Week. Photo: Bowling Green Hot Rods/Facebook

May 18, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

The Greenville Drive, the High-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, had a difficult time keeping Émilien Pitre off the bases last week.

In six games for the Tampa Bay Rays’ High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods, Pitre (Repentigny, Que.) had 10 hits, eight walks, six stolen bases and nine runs. All of those numbers topped Canadians in the minor league ranks last week.

For his efforts, Pitre has been named the Canadian Baseball Network’s Minor League Player of the Week (May 12 to May 17).

The 23-year-old second baseman also topped Canadian minor leagues in batting average (.526) and on-base percentage (.633).

Batting cleanup for the Hot Rods, Pitre started the week by going 2-for-2 with a home run, a walk and three RBIs to lead his club to a 5-1 win over the Drive. He followed that up with three walks, a run and a stolen base in the Hot Rods’ 10-4 victory the next day.

On Thursday, he added another hit, two walks and two runs, while stealing three bases, to help the Hot Rods to their third straight win over the Drive.

He then had back-to-back three-hit games on Friday and Saturday to propel the Hot Rods to two more victories. One of his hits on Saturday was a solo home run.

To finish off the week, he collected a single and an RBI in the Hot Rods’ 12-10 loss to the Drive.

Thanks to his current hot stretch, Pitre boosted his batting average this season from .222 to 258.

The ABC grad was selected in the second round (58th overall) by the Rays in the 2024 MLB draft and is in his third pro season.

2026 CBN Minor League Player of the Week winners

Opening Day to April 5 - Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.), Rangers

April 7 to April 12 - Dante Nori (Toronto, Ont.), Phillies

April 14 to April 19- Matt Wilkinson (Surrey, B.C.), Guardians

April 21 to April 26 - Eric Hartman (St. Albert, Alta.), Braves

April 28 to May 3 - Jonah Tong (Markham, Ont.), Mets

May 5 to May 10 - Jordan Woods (Oakville, Ont.), Royals

May 12 to May 17 - Emilien Pitre (Repentigny, Que.), Rays

Top Canadian Minor League Batters (May 12 to May 17)

Player	Position	Current Organization	Team(s)	PA	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG	OPS
Connor Caskenette	C	Miami Marlins	Beloit Sky Carp (A+)	22	6	6	2	0	2	4	0	0.316	0.318	0.737	1.055
Lamar King	C	San Diego Padres	Fort Wayne TinCaps (A+)	23	4	7	0	1	0	3	0	0.318	0.348	0.409	0.757
Gavin Logan	C	Arizona Diamondbacks	Amarillo Sod Poodles (AA)	12	3	3	1	0	1	1	0	0.300	0.250	0.700	0.950
David McCabe	3B	Atlanta Braves	Columbus Clingstones (AA)	21	2	6	1	0	1	5	0	0.316	0.381	0.526	0.907
Jonny McGill	OF	Los Angeles Angels	Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (A)	26	4	7	3	0	2	4	0	0.333	0.462	0.762	1.223
Noah Myers	OF	Tampa Bay Rays	FCL Rays (Rk)	15	5	3	0	0	1	1	1	0.375	0.600	0.750	1.350
Myles Naylor	3B	Athletics	Lansing Lugnuts (A+)	23	6	5	0	0	1	6	0	0.263	0.391	0.421	0.812
Émilien Pitre	2B	Tampa Bay Rays	Bowling Green Hot Rods (A+)	30	9	10	2	0	2	7	6	0.526	0.633	0.947	1.581
Tom Poole	OF	Tampa Bay Rays	Bowling Green Hot Rods (A+)	15	4	5	0	0	3	6	0	0.357	0.400	1.000	1.400
Abraham Toro	1B	Kansas City Royals	Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA)	15	3	3	0	0	1	4	0	0.333	0.600	0.667	1.267
Sam White	3B	Toronto Blue Jays	FCL Blue Jays (Rk)	15	4	5	2	0	2	4	0	0.455	0.533	1.182	1.715

Top Canadian Minor League Pitchers (May 12 to May 17)

Player	Position	Current Organization	Team(s)	APP	IP	W	L	ER	HA	BB	ERA	WHIP	K
Tyler Boudreau	P	New York Yankees	Tampa Tarpons (A)	2	10	0	1	1	6	1	0.90	0.70	13
Mitch Bratt	P	Arizona Diamondbacks	Reno Aces (AAA)	1	4.2	0	1	2	4	0	3.86	0.86	3
Eric Cerantola	P	Kansas City Royals	Omaha Storm Chasers (AAA)	2	2.1	0	0	0	2	1	0.00	1.29	4
Cedric De Grandpre	P	Atlanta Braves	Rome Emperors (A+)	1	7	1	0	0	2	0	0.00	0.29	10
Vicarte Domingo	P	San Diego Padres	Lake Elsinore Storm (A)	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.50	2
Ryan Magdic	P	Athletics	Lansing Lugnuts (A+)	1	3.2	0	0	1	3	1	2.45	1.09	2
Adam Maier	P	Seattle Mariners	Everett AquaSox (A+)	1	5	1	0	0	1	0	0.00	0.20	5
Ryan McDonagh	P	Kansas City Royals	ACL Royals (Rk)	1	3.1	0	0	1	3	1	2.70	1.20	4
Adam Tulloch	P	Cleveland Guardians	Akron RubberDucks (AA)	2	2.2	0	0	0	1	4	0.00	1.88	2
Matt Wilkinson	P	San Francisco Giants	Richmond Flying Squirrels (AA)	1	5	1	0	0	2	0	0.00	0.40	6
Jordan Woods	P	Kansas City Royals	Columbia Fireflies (A)	1	4	0	0	1	3	1	2.25	1.00	3
Rob Zastryzny	P	Milwaukee Brewers	Nashville Sounds (AAA)	2	2	0	0	0	0	1	0.00	0.50	2
Jacob Zibin	P	Cleveland Guardians	Hill City Howlers (A)	1	5	0	0	1	3	1	1.80	0.80	6

CBN Minor League Player of the Week: Émilien Pitre