Monthly Archives: April 2014

SAN JOSE’S WILLIAMSON OUT FOR 2014

Posted on April 29, 2014 by | Comments Off on SAN JOSE’S WILLIAMSON OUT FOR 2014

San JoseGiants #5 prospect OF Mac Williamson will have Tommy John surgery and miss the rest of the 2014 season, Henry Schulman reports. Williamson has been hitting well at San Jose, .318/.420/.506, in his second season at loA. Pitchers who need this surgery tend to take over a year to get back in action, whereas position players recover more quickly. But Williamson’s 2014 season has come to a premature end.

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LIVELY REPEATS AS PITCHER OF THE WEEK

Posted on April 29, 2014 by | Comments Off on LIVELY REPEATS AS PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

PITCHER OF THE WEEK – BEN LIVELY, RHP, BAKERSFIELD
Bakersfield’s Ben Lively had another stellar week, going 2-0 while striking out 17 batters in 12 innings. His season numbers are spectacular: 5-0, 0.31 ERA, 29 IP, 13 hits allowed and just one walk against 40 strikeouts. The right-hander from Central Florida came into the season as Cincinnati’s #9 prospect and he’s been dominant for Bakersfield in five starts. MiLB.com calls him the most consistent pitcher in all of the minor leagues so far this year.

Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – JORDY LARA, 1B, HIGH DESERT
Lara went 10-for-24 over the week with two longballs and a line of .417/516/.792. Hitting in the middle of the Mavericks’ order, Lara knocked in 11 runs and walked six times while only striking out twice. He finished up 2013 with a promotion to High Desert and had success in 15 games. Now the Dominican Republic native is showing that it wasn’t a fluke.

 

MiLB.com OFFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
MiLB.com PTICHERS OF THE WEEK

 

 

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FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP

Posted on April 26, 2014 by | Comments Off on FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP

The big news of the week has obviously been Clayton Kershaw’s rehab start for Rancho Cucamonga tonight, but there was plenty of  Cal League action involving those climbing the minor league ladder. The two divisions are looking like two-team races, both North and South, as the schedule approaches the 25-game mark. Here are some of the highlights:

NORTH DIVISION BATTLE

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KERSHAW TO PITCH FOR QUAKES TONIGHT

Posted on April 25, 2014 by | Comments Off on KERSHAW TO PITCH FOR QUAKES TONIGHT

IMG_3703Reigning NL Cy Young Award winner Clayton Kershaw will pitch for the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes tonight against Lancaster as he begins a rehab assignment. Kershaw pitched in the Dodgers’ Opening Day win over the Diamondbacks in Australia and went on the disabled list for the first time in his career shortly thereafter.

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DIVISION RACES HEATING UP

Posted on April 24, 2014 by | Comments Off on DIVISION RACES HEATING UP

CLBoth divisions are seeing compelling races for the first-half title with Visalia a game up on Bakersfield in the North and High Desert up by the same margin over Lancaster in the South.

NORTH DIVISION

The Blaze got out of the gates fast and have had two players recognized with Cal League weekly honors in 1B Marquez Smith and P Ben Lively. After last night’s action, Bakersfield has a 14-6 record. But Visalia has shot past them to the top of the North division by winning six straight and nine of it’s last 10 to post a 15-5 mark.

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LIVELY, KIVLEHAN EARN CAL LEAGUE HONORS

Posted on April 22, 2014 by | Comments Off on LIVELY, KIVLEHAN EARN CAL LEAGUE HONORS
Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: BillingsGazette.com

PITCHER OF THE WEEK – BEN LIVELY, RHP, BAKERSFIELD
Lively went six innings on Wednesday against Stockton, allowing just two hits and no runs while striking out 10. Now 3-0, the Reds’ #9 prospect still hasn’t walked a batter in 17 IP and has 23 K’s and a WHIP of 0.41. The 4th-round pick out of Central Florida (2013) is in his first full season of pro ball and Cal League hitters aren’t having any success against him so far.

Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – PATRICK KIVLEHAN, 1B, HIGH DESERT
Returning to High Desert after playing 68 games there in 2013, Kivlehan is on his way to posting big homerun numbers, The Mariners’ #12 prospect went 10-for-26 over last week with a double, a triple and five homeruns. Kivlehan had back-to-back two-homer games to take the Cal League lead with 7. He is now more that half-way to his 68-game total of 13 homers last season.

 

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ROAD TRIP: LANCASTER

Posted on April 21, 2014 by | Comments Off on ROAD TRIP: LANCASTER

IMG_4582On Saturday night I made my first trip to Lancaster to see a first-place showdown between the Jethawks and the High Desert Mavericks at The Hangar. The visiting Mavericks had won the first two games of the series to take a one-game lead in the South, including a 9-0 romp on Friday night.

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FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP

Posted on April 19, 2014 by | Comments Off on FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP

It was a great week of Cal League baseball but not such a great week for me to be posting here with any regularity. All kinds of craziness went on around here, money changed hands, mysteries went unsolved, innocence was lost….well, not anything that dramatic. I was just crazy-busy and only able to keep an eye on the goings-on in the high-octane hi-A league from a distance, with no time to post anything. Here are some observations as we head into the holiday weekend.

EARLY DRAMA

With the season just underway, both divisions were being tightly contested as the teams changed dance partners on Thursday. Visalia was looking to reel in the fast-starting Bakersfield Blaze in the North while Lancaster and High Desert, in the middle of six straight matchups, shifted from Adelanto to the confines of The Hangar, with the South division lead in the balance.  The rest of the Cal League clubs were scrambling to catch up to these four.

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VELASQUEZ, SMITH EARN CAL LEAGUE HONORS

Posted on April 15, 2014 by | Comments Off on VELASQUEZ, SMITH EARN CAL LEAGUE HONORS

Photo: MiLB.com

PITCHER OF THE WEEK – VINCENT VELASQUEZ, RHP, LANCASTER
Right-hander Vincent Velasquez has had some tough breaks with injuries in his early career, but in two healthy starts for the Blaze he has shown how dominant he can be. The 2nd round pick (2010) had two starts and a four-inning relief appearance where he totaled 13 innings, allowing just three hits and three walks while striking out 16. Baseball America ranks Velasquez as the Astros’ #6 prospect.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK – MARQUEZ SMITH, 1B, BAKERSFIELD
Marquez Smith has bounced around the minor leagues since being drafted in the eighth round in 2007 by the Cubs. After spending time with the Red Sox and Rangers organizations, Smith is playing 1B for the Blaze and he’s off to a torrid start. In 10 games to start the season, Smith batted .444/.500/.917 with 3 HR and 9 RBI.

Photos: MiLB.com

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LANCASTER, HIGH DESERT, BAKERSFIELD GO TO 7-2

Posted on April 12, 2014 by | Comments Off on LANCASTER, HIGH DESERT, BAKERSFIELD GO TO 7-2

CL**UPDATED**

The Lancaster Jethawks, High Desert Mavericks and Bakersfield Blaze all posted road wins on Friday night to improve their records to 7-2. At the end of the long night, The Jethawks stayed tied with the Mavericks in the South while the Blaze stayed two games ahead of Stockton in the North.

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