CBN Players of the Week, Week VIII - Matt Coutney, David McCabe
Spruce Grove White Sox alum Matt Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.), left, and Ontario Blue Jays grad David McCabe (Courtice, Ont.), right, have been named co-winners of the Canadian Baseball Network’s minor league Player of the Week award.
June 4, 2023
By George Farelli
Canadian Baseball Network
We remember Rod Allen, former Detroit Tigers broadcaster saying it:
“Who woulda thunk it?”
Yet the phrase has been around as long as their have been upsets, dormant outings and ninth inning comebacks.
Two Canadians earning Player of the Week honours in their respective affiliated minor league?
“Who woulda thunk it?”
Twice for the second time in four weeks.
“Who woulda thunk it?”
Two Canadians were selected Player of the Week: David McCabe of the class-A Augusta Greenjackets was top man in the Carolina League, while Matt Coutney of the Inland Empire 66’ers top dog in the California League.
Denzel Clarke (Pickering, Ont.) and Trei Cruz (Toronto, Ont.) shared Player of the Week honour in Week IV.
How the week that was went for Coutney (Wetaskiwin, Alta.) ...
Two weeks after being named by the Canadian Baseball Network as Player of the Week in Week VI, and less than a year since being named the CBN’s College Player of the Year for 2022, Matt Coutney suprised no one with another prestigious award.
He was drafted in the 10th round of the draft by Los Angeles Angels out of Old Dominion University, where he enjoyed a remarkable three years. He left with single season school records of 27 homers, 70 RBIs and 66 runs scored plus a list of NCAA Awards and All America nominations which are far too numerous to include.
Coutney batted .500 (11-for-22) with two homers and seven RBIs. Overall for the 2023, his numbers include a .294 average with seven home runs and 30 RBIs.
Although not ranked in the Angels current list of Top 30 prospects, it’s safe to assume that Coutney is doing his best to rectify that situation ... and I would not bet against him.
Ontario Blue Jays, Team Ontario grad David McCabe (Courtice, Ont.) shared CBN POW honors
How the week that was for McCabe (Courtice, Ont.) ...
_ Playing third base and hitting in the No. 3 hole, he had two hits in a 6-1 loss to the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers before 3,997 at SRP Park. McCabe hit his sixth double of the season -- a line drive to right which saw Ethan Workinger thrown out at the plate -- and hit a line-drive single to right in the eighth. RHP Cedric de Grandpre (Saint-Simon-de-Bagot, Que.) starter for Augusta pitching 5 2/3 innings allowing four runs -- two earned -- on five hits. He struck out seven in his 85-pitch (57 strikes, 67%).
_ Batting third and playing third, he went 3-for-4 with a double, homer and three RBIs in a 7-1 victory over Kannapolis before 4,482 fans. McCabe went deep in the third to left field for a two-run shot, his fifth homer of the season, singled to centre in the sixth and doubled to right field in the seventh.
_ Playing third base and hitting in the No. 3 hole, he was 1-for-4 and drove in a run as Augusta scored three times in the eighth for a 4-3 win in front of 5,142 fans. McCabe hit his sixth homer to right field for a 4-2 lead.
_ Batting third and playing third, he was 2-for-4 with four RBIs in an 7-2 Augusta win in front of 4,494 fans. He went deep twice with a line-drive two-run homer to left in the fourth and he hit a solo homer to right field in the fifth for a 5-2 lead giving him eight homers on the season.
_ Playing third base and hitting in the No. 3 hole, he was hitless in a 3-1 loss to Kannapolis.
On the week he batted .400 (8-for-20) with four homers and eight RBIs.
McCabe is a top rated prospect in the Atlanta Braves minor league system and, depending on the source of the evaluation, is ranked between 22nd and 27th in their current Top 30 list.
Drafted in the fourth round out of the University of North Carolina-Charlotte in 2022, the 23-year-old was very, very active with Augusta and the rising production numbers indicate a steady progress in his development.
In 42 games with Augusta this year, he has raised his numbers to .267 average and 25 RBIs. His selection as Carolina League’s Player of the Week is well justified.
Former Douglas Royals Kian Johnston (Fruitvale, BC) had a week to remember in Sweden.
Highlight _ Kian Johnston (Fruitvale, BC) Sweden’s Elitserien. The main focus of this weekly column is primarily on Canadians who are active with affiliated or Independent league teams here in North America and in some cases, exceptional performances by Canadians playing with Foreign teams may get overlooked. This week we chose to highlight
Johnston, 23, who completed his senior year with NCAA Eastern New Mexico Greyhounds in the Lone Star Conference, and is now active with Karlskoga Bats in Sweden’s five-team Elitserien.
On May 27, Karlskoga played a regularly scheduled double header with Sunbyberg Heat, and the result was a split with each team winning one game. In the first game Johnston had two hits in five at-bats, scored two runs, had a double and a solo homer.
In the second game he was 3-for-4 and all three were home runs, including seven RBIs. In the two league games was 5-for-9 (.556) with a double, four homers and eight RBIs.
Although the Swedish regular schedule is still in the early stages, Johnston currently ranks in the league’s top three with five home runs (first), an .892 slugging mark (1st), 37 total bases (first), 16 runs Scored (second) and 15 hits (third) and oh yes, his batting average is .405.
Obviously, a week worth noting by anyone’s standards.
BEST OFFENSIVE PERFORMANCES
NAME CLASS TEAM AB RUNS HITS HR RBI AVG
Matt Coutney A Inland Empire 22 5 11 2 7 .500
David McCabe A Augusta 20 4 8 4 8 .400
Trei Cruz AA Erie 25 6 9 1 6 .360
Jared Young AAA Iowa 25 3 9 - 3 .360
David Calabrese A Inland Empire 24 6 8 1 2 .333
Dasan Brown A Vancouver 21 4 7 - 4 .333
Owen Caissie AA Tennessee 22 6 7 3 6 .318
Bo Naylor AAA Columbus 23 5 7 - - .318
Denzel Clarke AA Midland 19 2 6 - 1 .316
Otto Lopez AAA Buffalo 20 8 6 - 2 .300
Matt Lloyd IND Sioux City 22 8 12 2 10 .545
Malik Williams IND Trois Rivieres 16 1 7 - 3 .438
Victor Cerny IND Trois Rivieres 15 1 6 - 2 .400
Connor Panas IND Lincoln 24 6 9 1 3 .375
David Glaude IND Quebec 20 3 7 - 3 .350
Brendon Dadson IND Lake Erie 22 4 7 - 3 .318
Jacob Robson IND Kansas City 23 5 7 3 6 .304
(Minimum 10 ABs)
Best Pitching Performances
NAME CLASS TEAM GM WIN SAVE ERA INN K WHIP
Eric Cerantola A Quad Cities 2 2 - 0.00 3.0 3 1.000
Cerantola is a 23-year-old pitching prospect with the Kansas City Royals, and is currently working out of the bullpen with their affiliate the Quad Cities River Bandits in Class A Midwest League, and this week made two very good relief appearances. On May 25 in a 6-1 win over the Beloit Sky Carp he pitched two innings, gave up no hits and no runs while striking out three to secure his first win of the season. He followed that up on May 28 in 10-3 win again over the Sky Carp throwing one scoreless, he surrendered one base hit with no runs, and earned his second win of the week. His overall 2023 record with the River Bandits in 11 Single A Midwest League appearances, is now 2-3 with a 7.45 ERA
* * *
Prrevious 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 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)