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.
LATE DRAMA
Going back to the previous week, the California League saw at least one extra-innings game every day from April 7th through April 13th, seven straight days. Order was restored from Monday of this week through Wednesday, but then on Thursday night, Stockton and Inland Empire went 10 innings. That’s a lot of free baseball for Cal League fans.
WEEKEND MATCHUPS
High Desert went into Lancaster and took the first two games of the three-game set there to get out to a 1-game lead in the South. The Jethawks had taken two of three at High Desert earlier in the week to set up this series. Saturday’s finale either evens the division race or sees High Desert stretch the lead out to two games. The Jethawks have reigning Cal League Pitcher of the Week and Astros’ #6 prospect Vincent Velasquez taking the mound.
Meanwhile, Bakersfield has been atop the North since Opening Day, but the Visalia Rawhide are chasing them down. The Blaze has San Jose in town and the Giants have taken the first two games with a Saturday contest left. While that was going on, the Rawhide were taking advantage of the slow-starting Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and Visalia has pulled even with Bako at 11-5. Saturday sees the Rawhide face Dodgers #3 organizational prospect Julio Urias.
NOTABLE
Dodgers #5 organizational prospect Chris Anderson was dominant over six innings tonight for the Quakes against the Rawhide. Anderson allowed just two hits and no runs while striking out seven, and left with a 4-0 lead. But the RC bullpen gave up seven runs as the Rawhide came back for a 7-4 win.
San Jose’s Mac Williamson, the Giants’ #5 organizational prospect, found his stroke this week and hit his first two homeruns of the season last night and tonight. After breaking out with 25 homers last season, the Giants are expecting big things from Williamson this year and he is starting to deliver.
Patrick Kivlehan is swinging a power bat for High Desert. The Mariners’ #12 prospect hit two homeruns tonight, and he did the same last night. He was a big part of the 9-0 thumping of Lancaster that put HD up by a game in the South.
And I have to mention Modesto’s Trevor Story, who hit for the first cycle of the Cal League season, though that was back on April 7th. Story came into the season as the Rockies’ #9 prospect and is looking to bounce back from a lackluster 2013. So far, so good for the 2011 first-round draft pick. After tonight’s action, Story has a line of .322/.403/.542. That’s what the Rockies were expecting out of this talented Shortstop.
EASTER SUNDAY OFF DAY
The Cal League goes dark on Easter Sunday. After the Saturday finales, the teams shift around again:
Visalia @ San Jose
Bakersfield @ Modesto
Lake Elsinore @ Stockton
Lancaster @ Inland Empire
Rancho Cucamonga @ High Desert
