Pioneer Baseball League Players of the Week: Week 9

The Pioneer Baseball League has named Ogden Raptors infielder Giuseppe Ferraro-Nahr and Idaho Falls Chukars right-hander Josh Leerssen its Players of the Week sponsored by RedPocket Mobile. Ferraro-Nahr earned Hitter of the Week honors after a powerful six-game stretch against Idaho Falls, while Leerssen was named Pitcher of the Week after throwing a complete-game shutout against Ogden.

Ferraro-Nahr put together a standout week for the Raptors, batting .458 with a 1.083 slugging percentage. Across six games, he went 11-for-24 with five home runs, 10 RBI, 10 runs scored, two walks, and 26 total bases.

He opened the week with his biggest performance, going 5-for-5 with five runs scored, five RBI, and two home runs in Ogden's 13-7 win over Idaho Falls on July 14. Ferraro-Nahr drove in a run with a solo homer in the fifth, added an RBI single in the seventh, and helped power a Raptors offense that finished with 18 hits.

Ferraro-Nahr followed with another huge night on July 15, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored, four RBI, and two more home runs. He hit a solo shot in the sixth, then launched a three-run homer in the eighth to help fuel Ogden's late comeback effort. After a quieter middle stretch, he added a two-hit game on July 17 before closing the week with another home run, three runs scored, one RBI, and two walks in Ogden's 14-6 win on July 19.

Leerssen delivered one of the league's strongest pitching performances of the week on July 17, throwing a complete-game shutout in Idaho Falls' 4-0 win over Ogden. He went all nine innings, allowing no runs on seven hits while walking just one and striking out seven.

The right-hander faced 32 batters and threw 106 pitches, including 73 strikes, to improve to 4-5 on the season. Leerssen kept the Raptors off the board from start to finish, did not allow a home run, did not throw a wild pitch, and held Ogden without an extra-base hit.

Between Ferraro-Nahr's elite power production and Leerssen's complete-game shutout, the week featured two of the Pioneer Baseball League's most impressive performances. Fans can watch talented players continue working toward future affiliate opportunities in an MLB Partner League all season long on HomeTeam Network by visiting PBLNetwork.com.