Glew - Canadian baseball notes: Beck, Cruz, Flewelling, Lascelles, Quantrill, Wilkinson
Team Saskatchewan alum Carter Beck (Carnduff, Sask.) has been promoted to the High-A Rome Emperors by the Atlanta Braves. Photo: Rome Emperors
August 19, 2026
By Kevin Glew
Canadian Baseball Network
Some Canadian baseball notes from Tuesday:
Beck promoted to High-A by Braves
After batting .409 with 18 hits in 11 games with the Atlanta Braves’ Low-A Augusta GreenJackets, Carter Beck (Carnduff, Sask.) was promoted to the High-A Rome Emperors on Tuesday.
Batting leadoff and playing centre field, the 21-year-old Canuck went 2-for-4 with two singles and an RBI in the Emperors’ 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers’ High-A Hub City Spartanburgers last night.
Selected 26th overall in the MLB draft in July, Beck was the first Canadian chosen.
The 5-foot-11, 206-pound outfielder and Team Saskatchewan grad rocketed up the draft rankings after his outstanding junior season with the Indiana State Sycamores in which he batted .346 with 17 home runs and 59 RBIs in 57 games. He also had 12 stolen bases.
Flewelling goes deep again
Catcher Nathan Flewelling (Innisfail, Alta.) belted his 21st home run of the season for the Tampa Bay Rays’ High-A Bowling Green Hot Rods on Tuesday. It was a solo shot in the first inning in the Hot Rods’ 6-4 loss to the Greensboro Grasshoppers.
Flewelling is tied for second among Canadians (with Charles Davalan (St-Bruno-De-Montarville, Que.), in the Dodgers’ organization) in the affiliated minor league ranks in home runs this season. Only Braves’ prospect Eric Hartman (St. Albert, Alta.) has more with 24.
A Junior National Team alum, the 19-year-old Flewelling owns a .242/.367/.460 slash line and an .827 OPS in 98 games for the Hot Rods this season.
On July 12, he homered for the American League in the MLB Futures Game and was named MVP of the contest.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound slugger is in his second season in the Rays’ organization after being chosen in the third round of the 2024 MLB draft by them.
Lascelles registers three hits in pro debut
San Diego Padres infield prospect Elliot Lascelles (Toronto, Ont.) had three hits for the class-A Lake Elsinore Storm in his pro debut yesterday.
The left-handed hitting infielder had two singles, a triple and a stolen base in the Storm’s 9-2 loss to the San Jose Giants.
Chosen in the second round (60th overall) by the Padres in the MLB draft in July, Lascelles signed with the club on July 27.
The 18-year-old infielder honed his skills with the Toronto Mets and the Junior National Team prior to making his pro debut.
Quantrill shines, boosts Rangers into last AL Wild Card spot
Right-hander Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) started and tossed seven scoreless innings to lead the Texas Rangers to a 5-0 win over the Washington Nationals at Globe Life Field on Tuesday.
The victory boosted the Rangers’ record to 62-64 and into the third and final American League Wild Card spot.
The win was Quantrill’s fifth of the season and it lowered his ERA to 3.13. He threw 61 of his 91 pitches for strikes.
It also marked the fourth consecutive start in which Quantrill has hurled at least five innings and permitted one earned run or less.
In total, the Ontario Terriers and Junior National Team grad has appeared in 26 games (nine starts) for the Rangers’ this season, his eighth in the big leagues.
Cruz outrighted by Tigers
Toronto-born outfielder Trei Cruz was outrighted to the Detroit Tigers’ triple-A Toledo Mud Hens on Tuesday.
This came two days after he was designated for assignment by the club.
The 28-year-old Cruz made his MLB debut with the Tigers on June 19. He went hitless in five at bats in three big league games before being returned to triple-A.
With the Mud Hens this season, Cruz has batted .230 with two home runs and 27 RBIs in 70 games.
The son of former Blue Jay Jose Cruz Jr., Cruz was taken in the third round of the 2021 MLB draft by the Tigers.
After some early struggles, he enjoyed a breakout year with the Mud Hens last season when he batted .279 and had a .411 on-base percentage with 13 home runs, 17 stolen bases and 102 walks.
Wilkinson expected to make MLB debut today
Left-hander Matt Wilkinson (Ladner, B.C.) is expected to be officially called up by the San Francisco Giants to make his MLB debut against the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field today.
Nicknamed “Tugboat,” the 6-foot-1, 250-pound left-hander has posted a combined 6-6 record with a 3.40 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 90 innings between the double-A and triple-A levels in the Giants and Guardians organizations this season.
Most recently he had a 3-4 record and a 5.15 ERA in 10 starts for the Giants’ triple-A Sacramento River Cats.
On May 9, the Guardians traded Wilkinson, along with the 29th overall pick in this year’s draft, to the Giants for catcher Patrick Bailey.
The Dawgs Academy alum was selected in the 10th round of the 2023 MLB draft by the Guardians.
In total, in parts of four pro seasons, he owns an 18-21 record and a 3.10 ERA in 70 appearances (69 starts). He has 390 strikeouts in 313 2/3 innings.
When Wilkinson makes his MLB debut, he’ll become the fifth Canadian to debut this year, joining Eric Cerantola (Oakville, Ont.) with the Kansas City Royals, Cruz with the Tigers, Adam Macko (Stony Plain, Alta.) with the Toronto Blue Jays and Mitch Bratt (Newmarket, Ont.) with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Per Canadian baseball historian Tyler Partridge, Wilkinson is set to become the first Canadian to play for the Giants since left-hander Ken MacKenzie (Gore Bay, Ont.) in 1964.