American Association Daily provides insights, features, and recaps of the action from around the American Association of Professional Baseball League, as well as player and coaching profiles and transactions. In today’s edition, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report name Kane County Cougars right-hander C.J. Eldred as American Association Pitcher of the Week for Week 13 of the 2023 season.

Cougars RHP C.J. Eldred Named Pitcher of the Week

On Monday, This Week in the Association and the Minor League Sports Report named Kane County Cougars right-hander C.J. Eldred as the Pitcher of the Week for Week 13 of the 2023 American Association season. It is the second straight week that Eldred has been selected as the top pitcher.

The Kane County starter had a monster week, beginning on July 31 when he tossed six shutout innings against the Lincoln Saltdogs. The right-hander found himself in trouble right off, loading the bases with two down in the first, but got a popout to end the threat. That started a run where the Cougars starter retired 14 of the next 15 batters he faced, with a walk the only blemish. The streak come to an end when Nate Samson singled with one down in the fifth. Eldred allowed three hits and three walks while striking out five.

On Friday, the right-hander carried a perfect game into top of the ninth inning before the bid ended. Eldred was absolutely spectacular in this contest, striking out seven batters through the first eight innings. His perfect game bid finally came to an end when Elmer Reyes singled to lead off the top of the ninth and a two-out double by Bret Boswell ended the shutout. Eldred threw only 108 pitches in nine innings of work, 81 of which were strikes. The ninth inning run was the first earned run scored against the right-hander in 36.0 innings pitched.

For the week, Eldred tossed 15.0 innings, allowing just five hits and three walks while striking out 13. He posted a 0.60 ERA with a microscopic .102 opponent batting average and a 0.53 WHIP.

C.J. Eldred was an undrafted free agent coming out of the University of Iowa. He signed with the Kansas City Royals organization, spending four seasons with the club. He reached AA-Northwest Arkansas in both 2021 and 2022. In four seasons, the right-hander was 12-11 with a 5.70 ERA in 69 games. Eldred was released following the 2022 season and signed with the Kane County Cougars. This season he is 6-5 with a 4.77 ERA.

2023 American Association Pitchers of the Week

Week 1 – Akeem Bostick, RHP, Sioux Falls Canaries
Week 2 – Jake Dahlberg, LHP, Chicago Dogs
Week 3 – Davis Feldman, RHP, Fargo-Moorhead RedHawks
Week 4 – Nick Herold, Lake Country DockHounds
Week 5 – Jalen Miller, Kansas City Monarchs
Week 6 – Nick Green, Chicago Dogs
Week 7 – Solomon Bates, Sioux City Explorers
Week 8 – Travis Seabrooke, Winnipeg Goldeyes
Week 9 – Trenton Toplikar, Sioux City Explorers
Week 10 – Kevin Hilton, Cleburne Railroaders
Week 11 – Kyle Mora, Milwaukee Milkmen
Week 12 – C.J. Eldred, Kane County Cougars

By Robert Pannier