Pioneer Baseball League Players of the Week: Week 2

The Pioneer Baseball League has named Long Beach Coast catcher Thomas McCaffrey and Ogden Raptors right-hander Nico Saltaformaggio its Players of the Week sponsored by RedPocket Mobile after both delivered dominant performances during the second week of the 2026 season. McCaffrey earned Hitter of the Week honors after powering Long Beach through an undefeated week, while Saltaformaggio was named Pitcher of the Week after two standout starts for Ogden.

McCaffrey was one of the league's most dangerous bats from start to finish, hitting .538 with a 1.192 slugging percentage, 14 hits, two doubles, five home runs, 16 RBI, and 13 runs scored across six games. He recorded at least one hit and one run in every game, helping Long Beach Coast go 6-0 with wins over the Oakland Ballers and Yuba-Sutter Freebirds.

His week started with a 2-for-4 performance, two runs scored, and a solo home run in Long Beach's 5-3 win over Oakland on May 26. The next night, McCaffrey went 3-for-3 with a double, a home run, five RBI, and two runs scored in a 14-10 comeback victory, including a three-run double in the eighth inning that helped flip the game. He added another hit and run scored on May 28 before exploding in the weekend series at Yuba-Sutter, going 4-for-6 with a double, home run, four RBI, and four runs scored on May 29, then following it with a two-homer, six-RBI night on May 30.

On the mound, Saltaformaggio gave the Raptors exactly what they needed: length, command, and two winning starts. Across 14.0 innings, he went 2-0 with a 0.64 ERA, allowing just one earned run while striking out 11. He held Missoula to 10 hits and one walk across the two outings, setting the tone in both games before the Ogden offense pulled away.

Saltaformaggio opened his week on May 26 with seven innings of four-hit baseball in Ogden's 9-3 win over the Missoula PaddleHeads, allowing one unearned run with no walks and four strikeouts. He followed that on May 31 with another seven-inning win, allowing six hits and one earned run while striking out seven in a 17-10 victory. The final score tightened after he exited, but Saltaformaggio had already done the heavy lifting, limiting Missoula to one run through seven innings while Ogden built a commanding lead.

Together, McCaffrey and Saltaformaggio represented the best of Week 2 in the Pioneer Baseball League: one carrying a lineup with elite power and run production, the other anchoring a rotation with back-to-back dominant starts. Their performances stood out across the league and earned them RedPocket Mobile Player of the Week honors.