Three members of the Ottawa Titans organization will be taking part in the 2025 Frontier League all-star game on Wednesday in Troy, New York. Among them are a hotshot rookie, a catcher who has stepped up to save the season and the man who makes everything happen on the pitching side of things.
Relief pitcher Billy Duby, catcher Victor Cerny and pitching coach David Peterson are officially all-stars, as they will participate in the July 16 game and associated activities at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium, home of the league’s Tri-City ValleyCats.
The 32nd annual Frontier League all-star game marks the mid-way point of the 2025 season. The Titans are currently third in the five-team Atlantic Conference’s North Division with 26 wins and 29 losses, well back of the division- and league-leading Québec Capitales (42-15), who have also won the last three Frontier League championships.
But the league’s playoff format grants a postseason berth at the end of the regular season to not only the top team in each of the FL’s four divisions — Atlantic Conference North and East, Midwest Conference Central and West — but also two wildcard spots in each conference to the league’s other top four finishers.
All three of the Titans selected for the all-star game have been key in the turnaround that took the team from the bottom of the division earlier this season to back in the hunt for a wildcard playoff spot.
Billy Duby, 25, hails from Orinda, California. After a college career that saw stops in Pleasant Hill, California, Kentucky and Nashville, Duby joined the Pioneer League’s Oakland Ballers. He would never play in Oakland, as the team traded him to Ottawa a few months later.
And he has not looked back since.
“I wasn’t really expecting to come in and be an All-Star,” Duby said. “We have a lot of veteran guys, and there are a lot of veteran guys in this league. So I’m very excited and blessed to have an opportunity to represent the Ottawa Titans as an All-Star.”
Duby has had an impressive season out of the bullpen for the Titans. He has only allowed five earned runs in 28 innings so far this season, which is impressive in a league that favours offence.
“He’s been unbelievable,” said pitching coach David Peterson about Duby’s stellar season. “He has a good three-pitch mix and really attacks the zone.”
Catcher and fellow all-star Cerny agrees that Duby has been a standout for the Titans this year.
“Duby, he’s a dog,” Cerny said with a big smile on his face. “He throws multiple pitches, he throws strikes and he’s totally unfazed when on the mound.”
Cerny, originally out of Winnipeg, took over as the Titans’ full-time catcher in early June.
“I was really excited hearing it from the manager,” Cerny said about the all-star nod. “It was in front of the team, Bobby let us know, and we were all pretty excited.”
“There’s a lot of really, really good coaches in this league — great coaches that I’ve admired for a long time. Just to be a part of this, it’s really special.”
— David Peterson, pitching coach, Ottawa Titans
Cerny’s offensive numbers have been impressive for someone who also has the duty of catching behind the plate. He leads all Titans batters with a .353 average, making him an on-base machine. He has also played a major role in helping pitchers like Duby find consistent success on the mound.
“Words can’t even describe how incredible he’s been for this team,” Peterson said about Cerny. “We wouldn’t be in the position we are now, which is back in the playoff race, without him.”
Peterson joins the Atlantic Conference’s coaching staff for the All-Star game as a second-year member of the Titans. He played a major role in the team making the postseason last year, and has been integral in guiding the development of Duby and the team’s other pitchers.
“There’s a lot of really, really good coaches in this league — great coaches that I’ve admired for a long time,” Peterson said. “Just to be a part of this, it’s really special.”
The Titans return to action in Brockton on Friday, July 18. They return home for a double-header against the Down East Bird Dawgs on July 22.
