With some exceptions, players from Bas-Saint-Laurent in the elite junior baseball league play with the Voyageurs de Jonquière. But, it was not long before Tuesday evening for the launcher / receiver battery of the Guerriers de Granby to be from our region.
The Saint-Pascal pitcher, Louis-Félix Pelletier, who threw six very good innings in the backhand (3-2) of the Guerriers against the Cards de LaSalle, could have had Antoine Abud as receiver, had it not been for an injury to the thumb that has kept the Rimouskois away for a week.
“I sprained my thumb in one game. It didn’t improve much. It’s been about a week and I plan to be back next week, ”he observes.
Abud has appeared in eight of the Warriors’ first 18 games this season. He missed the last five due to his injury. “So far, it’s been going pretty well. I know my role. I am the second receiver of the team. I played six or seven games behind the plate. I have a few small adjustments to make at batting, ”he said.
He does not hide that by graduating into the junior elite, his biggest challenge is precisely in the batting box. His batting average so far is .222. “The big challenge is especially to face very good pitchers with good rapids. In my minor baseball, I haven’t seen these guys throwing at 80-85 miles an hour. In Bas-Saint-Laurent, we don’t see that often. Defensively, I’m doing my best and it’s going well. In my first three games, I pulled out three runners in an attempt to steal. I’m starting to pick up my pace. “
Abud, 18, had not been protected or drafted by the Voyageurs de Jonquière. He ended up on the Montreal Orioles roster before being traded to Granby for a 3rd round pick in 2022.
On August 16, he will begin his second year in the baseball program at Laflèche Private College in Trois-Rivières, which annually brings together some thirty elite college-aged baseball players in Quebec.
Have a good trip
To come back to Louis-Félix Pelletier, he said he was happy with his exit to the mound. “I would have preferred that we win, but I’m happy with my start overall. I’m not here to wow the gallery with strikeouts, I’m just trying to throw strikes. It works pretty well for me, ”he told the daily La Voix de l’Est.
Pelletier was recently acquired by the Warriors along with a choice of 2e round, in return for Simon Després and a first-round pick who took charge of Trois-Rivières. With the Eagles and Warriors this season, he’s 1-1 with an excellent 1.68 earned run average in 17 innings of work.
