Austin Cates Named NWL Pitcher of the Week
Published on September 1, 2025 under Northwest League (NWL)
Vancouver Canadians News Release
VANCOUVER, BC - Minor League Baseball has named Canadians starter Austin Cates as the Northwest League Pitcher of the Week for August 25-31 after he turned in a pair of six-inning scoreless outings in which he scattered four hits and 17 strikeouts without issuing a walk. It's the first time in his career that he has been honoured with a weekly distinction.
He is the franchise-record 11th C's player to earn a league award this season, joining J.R. Freethy, /Fernando Perez, Javen Coleman, Nick Goodwin, Arjun Nimmala, Victor Arias, Adrian Pinto and Eddie Micheletti Jr. as a weekly honoree, Khal Stephen as Pitcher of the Month for June and Cutter Coffey as Player of the Month for July. The Canadians account for nearly half of the 24 MiLB league awards the Blue Jays organization has won this year.
Cates, 22, took the ball on Tuesday, August 26 in Hillsboro and - after allowing three singles over the first seven batters he faced - proceeded to 14 men in a row to lead the C's to their league-best 12th shutout win. He struck out eight that night.
The Henderson, NV native went back to work on Sunday, August 31 and picked up right where he left off. He was perfect for 5.1 innings - a stretch of 30 consecutive batters across his two starts - before a sixth inning single provided his lone blemish. Cates set down the next two hitters to finish with his second consecutive quality start while racking up nine Ks along the way.
A seventh-round pick last year, Cates has been a boon to the rotation since his call up from Single-A Dunedin on August 12. After a so-so debut on August 14, he has now allowed just one run on eight hits in his last 17.0 innings (three starts) while issuing two walks and collecting 27 strikeouts in that span.
Cates and the Canadians are back at The Nat this week to play the final six games of the 2025 season. Tickets are available now at CanadiansBaseball.com.
Northwest League Stories from September 1, 2025
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