By IAN WILSON
Booming bats and magnificent mound performances highlighted the Western Canadian Baseball League season.
Whether it was hitters launching homers, base runners swiping bags or pitchers collecting strikeouts, WCBL players put on a show this summer.
Let’s dive in and take a closer look at some of the statistical leaders from the 2024 campaign.
The batting champ – infielder Antony Gilbert of the Brooks Bombers – smacked out 73 hits, including 14 doubles and 13 homers, in his 177 at bats to post a league-best .412 batting average. That was enough to finish ahead of Jackson Syring, who had a .404 average in 188 at bats. The Regina Red Sox outfielder had the highest on-base percentage (.506) in the WCBL and he was also hit by more pitches than anyone who stepped in the batter’s box this summer. Syring was plunked a total of 17 times.
Syring’s teammate, infielder Justin Carinci of Ajax, Ontario, scored more runs than any other player. The righty batter finished with 66 runs, just three short of the single-season record that was set by Zach Campbell of the Moose Jaw Miller Express in 2022. Carinci also had a .356 batting average and 22 stolen bases.
The Medicine Hat Mavericks duo of Marshall Burke and Jordan Phillips collected 85 hits each to finish atop that statistical category. Burke, a second sacker with the Mavs, also produced 18 doubles, 56 runs and 15 steals. Phillips had an excellent season at the plate with 19 doubles, 55 runs, 62 RBI, nine homers and 10 stolen bases.
Four players were deadlocked in a tie for the home run lead. Moose Jaw Miller Nate Mensik, Sylvan Lake Gull Cooper Ciesielski, Brooks Bomber Jacob Gillis and his bash brother Gilbert all swatted 13 long balls. Another five WCBL players reached the double-digit mark in homers.
In his final season with the Miller Express, Mensik topped the 11 homers he hit in 2022 with Moose Jaw and pushed his WCBL career total to 29 round trippers through 159 games. He also scored 50 runs, hit 18 doubles, produced 44 RBI and stole 12 bases in 2024.
Ciesielski had the best slugging percentage (.758) and on-base plus slugging (1.253) in the league. The Sylvan Lake outfielder was also tied for the lead in doubles (21) with Weyburn Beavers infielder Ryan Muizelaar.
Gillis and Gilbert helped the Brooks Bombers set a single-season team record for home runs. The Bomb squad batters launched a total of 80 home runs in their 56 games this season. In addition to earning batting champ honours, Gilbert scored 46 runs and registered 50 RBI. Gillis had a .343 batting average, 53 runs and 39 RBI.
Lefty slugger Kody Hanna came close to the single-season RBI record that was set by former Lethbridge Bulls hitter Kaleb Warden, who put up 66 RBI in 2019 and was named the WCBL regular season MVP that year. Hanna, a first baseman with the Red Sox, finished with 64 RBI in 50 games and 209 at bats. The South Carolina native also had 75 hits, 18 doubles, eight homers and 12 stolen bases. Hanna edged out catcher Nick Thibodeau of the Mavericks for the RBI lead. Thibodeau – a product of Burlington, Ontario – had 63 RBI, 11 homers, 16 doubles, 42 runs and a .332 batting average with Medicine Hat this season.
The top base stealer on the circuit was Gavin Roy of the Gulls, who swiped 33 bags in 55 games. The sophomore from Washington State University scored 61 runs, put up 49 RBI and batted .363 in his 55 games. Roy beat out Payton Matthews, who stole 29 bases for Brooks, and infielder Thomas Soto, who collected 24 swipes with the Miller Express.
PITCHING PROWESS
In a season punctuated by high-octane offence, it was even harder for pitchers to keep batters in check. A number of magnificent moundsman rose above their peers, however, and put zeroes on the scoreboard in impressive fashion.
Three southpaws flirted with the league’s pitching triple crown, an accomplishment which involves posting the lowest earned run average (ERA) while recording the most strikeouts and the highest win total during the season. This has happened twice previously in WCBL history, with Regina Red Sox hill toppers Michael Batten (2019) and Daniel Jones (2012) getting it done.
Colton Anderson, also of the Red Sox, and Matt Whitney – with the Fort McMurray Giants – finished tied for the most wins with Javier De Alejandro, who suited up for the Lethbridge Bulls.
All three lefty pitchers had six wins and Anderson posted a 2.94 ERA, which was the lowest figure for pitchers who logged enough innings to qualify for the ERA title. De Alejandro, who tossed a no-hitter for the Bulls in 2023, finished third with a 3.27 ERA, while Whitney was fifth with a 4.06 ERA.
Klevert Martina, a righty hurler with the Swift Current 57’s, was the king of the Ks. The product of Kanga, Curacao finished the year with 75 strikeouts in 64.2 innings. Martina beat out Whitney’s 66 strikeouts, Anderson’s 64 Ks, and De Alejandro’s 52 punch outs.
The pitcher with the 57’s also recorded seven saves during the summer, which placed him in a league-leading tie with Jack Kalisky, a two-way star with the Lethbridge Bulls, and reliever Tyler Fortin of the Red Sox. Kalisky was 1-1 with a 1.63 ERA and 31 Ks over 22 innings of mound work. At the dish, Kalisky batted .307 with seven homers, 17 doubles and 47 RBI in 202 at bats. Fortin was 5-1 with a 3.66 ERA and 33 Ks in 18 games and 27 innings.
Closer Ashton Luera of the Okotoks Dawgs appeared in 25 games and racked up 47 Ks while posting six saves and a 1.47 ERA.
Daniel Crabtree, a right-handed starting pitcher with the Red Sox, was the WCBL workhorse, putting in 69.1 innings on the mound. Crabtree – who also led the league in innings pitched in 2023 – finished this season with a 4-3 record, a 4.54 ERA and 43 strikeouts.
Other notable performances from starting pitchers came from Ian Heck of the Weyburn Beavers and Jacob Petersheim of the Medicine Hat Mavericks. With the Mavs, Petersheim was 5-1 with a 3.25 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 63-plus innings. Heck was a two-way star who represented the Beavers in the Home Run Derby at the 2024 WCBL All-Star Game. On the mound, he went 2-4 with a 3.75 ERA and 64 Ks in 60 innings.
Kenny Jinks finished third in the WCBL in strikeouts with 65 Ks in just 49.2 innings. The veteran southpaw with the 57’s set a single-game record for strikeouts with 18 Ks in one outing before signing a professional contract with the Missoula Paddleheads of the Pioneer Baseball League.
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