By George Farelli

Canadian Baseball Network

Jordan Balazovic was perfect.

Only the length of the game was not.

Former Ontario Blue Jays RHP Balazovic was promoted to the class-A Florida State League on Friday and two days later made his debut for the Fort Myers Miracle.

In what was a miraculous start he retired every hitter he faced as the Miracle shut out Palm Beach Cardinals 4-0 before 519 fans at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium. The former Ontario Blue Jays RHP struck out 10 in a dominant performance.

It was 21 up.

And 21 down.

That outing made Balazovic, 20, the Canadian Baseball Network minor league Player of the Week. Scout Walt Burrows (Brentwood Bay, BC) drafted Balazovic in the fifth round in 2016 and gave him a signing bonus of $515,000 US to turn down a scholarship to Auburn University. This week the right-hander was the best of the 63 Canadians in the minors.

Hall of Fame LHP Whitey Ford always said that the perfect expenditure of pitches per inning was 14. Balazovic needed 15 pitches or fewer to get through five of his seven innings. He threw 18 pitches in the second and 17 in the seventh. Balazovic threw 95 pitches (62 strikes).

Of the 11 outs he recorded only five left the infield. At Cedar Rapids this season, he had a 2.18 ERA in 20 2/3 innings in four starts with 33 whiffs. Last year with the Kernels he had a 3.94 ERA in 61 2/3 innings walking 18 and fanning 78.

Highlights of the Week

INF Adam Hall, London, Ont. - Active with Single A Delmarva Shorebirds, was named the Baltimore Orioles organization’s Minor League Player of the Month for April 2019.

Top offensive performances

Player / Class / Team AB R H HR RBI AVG

Josh Naylor - AA San Antonio 27 5 11 1 4 .407

Charles Leblanc - AA Frisco 29 7 11 - 6 .379

Tyler O’Neill - AAA Memphis 17 6 6 3 6 .353

Ben Pelletier - A Lakewood 15 3 5 2 4 .333

Jared Young - AA Tennessee 23 2 7 - 6 .304

J.D. Osborne - A Clinton 11 1 3 - 3 .273

Mike Blanke - FGN Mainz 14 3 6 - 2 429

Will Thorpe - FGN Munchen-Haar 13 2 5 1 7 .385

Jamie Romak - FGN SK Wyverns KBO 20 4 6 2 4 .300

(Minimum 10 ABs)

Best pitching performances

JORDAN BALAZOVIC RHP - SINGLE A FT. MYERS MIRACLE

APP IP H R ER BB K W-L SV WHIP WK ERA

1 7.0 - - - - 10 1-0 - 0.00 0.00

It didn’t take long for Jordan Balazovic to demonstrate he was more than ready for his recent promotion, from Cedar Rapids in the Midwest League to Ft. Myers Miracle, the Twins affiliate in the High A Florida State League. In his very first start with the Miracle on May 5th, a 4-0 victory over Palm Beach Cardinals he was outstanding in pitching seven innings. He gave up no base hits and no runs while striking out ten Palm Beach hitters, to earn his first win with Ft. Myers.

NICK PIVETTA RHP - TRIPLE A LEHIGH VALLEY IRON PIGS

APP IP H R ER BB K W-L SV WHIP WK ERA

1 6.0 4 2 2 3 4 1-0 - 0.83 3.00

Following up on his excellent start in the previous week, Nick Pivetta had another very good outing on May 3rd, in a 7-2 win over Buffalo Bisons. He pitched six innings gave up four base hits and two earned runs while striking out four Buffalo batters, to earn his second win since his return to Lehigh Valley. If he continues to

pitch with these results, his stay at Triple A with the Iron Pigs will probably be a very short one. His International League record in three appearances, now stands at 2-0 with a 3.50 ERA.

Previous Players of the Week

Week 1 _ INF Charles Leblanc (Laval, Que.) Double A Frisco Roughriders (Rangers).

Week II _ RHP Cal Quantrill (Port Hope, Ont.) Triple A El Paso Chihuahuas (Padres).

Week III _ RHP R.J. Freure (Burlington, Ont.) Class-A Quad Cities River Bandits (Astros).

Week IV _ INF Adam Hall (London, Ont.) Class-A Delmarva Shorebirds (Orioles).

Week V _ RHP Jordan Balazovic (Mississauga, Ont.) Class-A Fort Myers Miracle (Twins).