Petru Balan

Petru Valentinovich Balan

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 0", Weight 185 lb.

• Born February 22, 1996 in Tiraspol Moldova

BR register page

Biographical Information

Petru Balan has pitched in the Czech Extraliga; his brother Vadim Balan was the first Moldovan minor leaguer. Petru was the second one.

He played in the MLB European Academy in 2012 alongside his brother. They both signed with the Extraliga's Arrows Ostrava for 2015. Petru was 0-1 with a 18.90 ERA, walking 10 in 3 1/3 IP. With the same team in 2016, he was much better (3-4, 3.50), striking out 109 in 72 innings and allowing a .l92 average but walking 63. He was second in Ks (6 behind John Hussey) and was second in walks (one behind Elroy Urbina).

Balan pitched for Russia in the 2016 European Championship U21, striking out 14 in 9 innings and going 0-1, 4.00; he lost to Ukraine. He led the event in Ks (one ahead of Anton Kuznetsov) and was 5th in opponent average (.156, between Viacheslav Shmelev and Heorhii Hvrytishvili).

He remained with the Russian national team for the 2016 European Championship. He got one start and was rocked by the British national team for four runs in two innings (3 H, 5 BB, 4 K, 2 WP, HB); Denis Leonov relieved and got the win as Russia rallied. He did not have Russia's highest ERA - Alexander Bolgov, Shmelev and Kiril Chermoshentsev were higher. He was then signed by Minnesota Twins scout Glenn Godwin.

The lefty was 1-3 with a save and a 7.23 ERA for the 2017 GCL Twins; control remained an issue as he walked 19 in 23 2/3 IP. The next year, he improved to 1-3, 2.35 with a save for the same team. He split 2019 between the GCL Twins (1-0, 9.28) and Cedar Rapids Kernels (3 UER in 1 1/3 IP), walking 10 and striking out 17 in 12 innings to end his time in the Twins chain.

Petru pitched twice for Russia in the 2019 B-Level European Championship. Against Greece, he relieved Rody Castelló in the 6th with a 8-4 lead, one on and two out. John Kalivas reached on an error by Balan, but he recovered to strike out Jamie Lekas on 14 pitches. Max Warren lined out to open the 7th but Nick Spiliotis singled,Thomas Roulis walked and Ari Sechopoulos walked. He struck out Dimitri Kourtis but walked yet another batter, George Tsiflikiotis, to force in a run. He struck out Alex Gounaris to escape further harm. His brother relieved him in the 8th with a 11-5 lead. His second outing came against tournament champion Israel. He replaced Victor Cole Jr. with a 7-7 tie in the 6th. He struck out Jake Rosenberg, made a two-base error on a grounder by Assaf Lowengart and whiffed Tal Erel. He walked Mitch Glasser and Robb Paller but escaped by getting Blake Gailen on a liner. Russia scored to make it 8-7. In the bottom of the 7th, he allowed a single to Simon Rosenbaum. He struck out Zach Penprase, threw a wild pitch and Rosenbaum stole third. Balan walked Noam Calisar and Rosenberg grounded in Rosenbaum. He walked Lowengart on four pitches then his brother relieved and got out of further harm. Israel won the slugfest, 13-12.

In the 2021 European Championship Qualifier, he pitched one game, relieving Leonov with a 15-3 lead in the 5th against Switzerland. He threw a scoreless inning, with two walks and one strikeout, then Alex Lukashevich relieved. Russia won the event and a spot in the 2021 European Championship.