Monthly Archives: July 2014

APPEL PROMOTION SPARKS ODD REACTION

Posted on July 29, 2014 by | Comments Off on APPEL PROMOTION SPARKS ODD REACTION

RHP Mark Appel, the top overall pick in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft, was promoted to AA Corpus Christi from Lancaster yesterday and will get his first start in the Texas League Wednesday.

A cause for celebration. Certainly champagne corks popped amid congratulatory pats on the back as another step toward the big leagues was taken.

Or, maybe not.

News of the promotion apparently irked some players on the major league club, especially after Appel showed up at MinuteMaid Park to throw a bullpen on his way to Corpus Christi. But then, Astros team leaders Jason Castro and Chad Qualls did damage control, indicating that there was no problem with Appel being promoted or being at MMP, and that things had been “blown out of proportion.”

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COTTON, LARA EARN WEEKLY HONORS

Posted on July 29, 2014 by | Comments Off on COTTON, LARA EARN WEEKLY HONORS

Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

PITCHER OF THE WEEK – JHAREL COTTON, RHP, RANCHO CUCAMONGA
A solid outing against Bakersfield earned Cotton the Pitcher of the Week award. Over seven one-hit innings against the Blaze, the right-hander out of East Carolina walked three and struck out nine with no runs allowed. Cotton ranks in the top 10 in the California League in strikeouts with 92 and has played the full season in Rancho after seeing action at three levels in 2013.

Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – JORDY LARA, 1B, HIGH DESERT 
Lara goes back-to-back with Player of the Week awards, and he has finally hit his way up to AA. He left the Cal League on a tear, hitting .500/.542/.1.227 for the week and his 1.022 OPS is the third-best mark in the circuit this season. Lara homered in five-straight games and finished his Cal League stint on a 17-game hitting streak before being promoted to AA Jackson.

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THE WEEK’S TRANSACTIONS

Posted on July 26, 2014 by | Comments Off on THE WEEK’S TRANSACTIONS

Cal-League1

Some of the notable transactions in the California League over the last 7 days:

PLAYER

DATE

FROM

TO
Blake Hassebrock 7/24 AA Midland Stockton
RHP Clint Sharp 7/24 loA Burlington Inland Empire
3B Patrick Brady 7/24 High Desert AA Jackson
RHP Tyler  Herb 7/24 High Desert loA Clinton
LHP Omar Duran 7/24 Stockton AA Midland
RHP Ben Klimesh 7/23 Bakersfield AA Pensacola
RHP Dylan Covey 7/22 loA Beloit Stockton
C Bruce Maxwell 7/22 Stockton AA Midland
1B Conrad Gregor 7/21 Lancaster AA Corpus Christi
SS Diego Goris 7/19 Lake Elsinore AA San Antonio
SS Corey Seager 7/18 Rancho Cucamonga AA Chattanooga

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FRIDAY NIGHT FINALS

Posted on July 26, 2014 by | Comments Off on FRIDAY NIGHT FINALS

Final scores and some notable performances from Friday night’s Cal League action:

BAKERSFIELD – 4
LAKE ELSINORE – 11

Colin Rea (LE) – W (9-5), 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
Sean Buckley (BAK) – 2-for-4, HR (6)
Mallex Smith (LE) – 2-for-5, HR (3)
Alberth Martinez (LE) – 2-for-5, HR (10), 2 RBI, 2 R

HIGH DESERT – 7
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 4
10 Innings

Andrew Kittredge (HD) – 3 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K
Jordy Lara (HD) – 2-for-5, HR (22), 3 RBI, GW homer in extras

INLAND EMPIRE – 1
MODESTO – 6

Mike Clevenger (IE) – 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 9 K
Ben Alsup (MOD) – 7 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Jon Keck (MOD) – 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K
Mark Shannon (IE) – 2-for-4, HR (9)
Patrick Valaika (MOD) – 2-for-4, HR (6), 3 RBI

LANCASTER – 5
STOCKTON – 7

Austin House (STK) – SV (13), 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K
Chad Pinder (STK) – 3-for-4, HR (12), 2 RBI, 2 R
Bobby Crocker (STK) 3-for-4, RBI
Matt Olson (STK) – 1-for-3, HR (28), 2 RBI

SAN JOSE – 2
VISALIA – 4
12 Innings

Kendry Flores (SJ) – 5 1/3 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Braden Shipley (VIS) – 7 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Enrique Burgos (VIS) – 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R 0 BB, 3 K
Daniel Gibson (VIS) – W (2-1), 2 IP, 2 H, 1 R (0 ER), 0 BB, 4 K
Alex Glenn (VIS) – 2-for-6, HR (19), 3 RBI, 2 R

 

 

 

 

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APPEL GOES 6 STRONG IN JETHAWKS WIN

Posted on July 25, 2014 by | Comments Off on APPEL GOES 6 STRONG IN JETHAWKS WIN

lancasterjethawksnewRHP Mark Appel turned in a clean six-inning outing against the Stockton Ports on Thursday night as Lancaster posted a 5-2 win. The top overall pick in the 2013 First Year Player Draft, Appel has famously struggled this season, entering the contest with a record of 1-5 and a 10.80 ERA.

But after making what Appel called a minor mechanical adjustment, the Astros’ #2 prospect put together what has clearly been his best outing to date: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 7 K.

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WEEKLY HONORS GO TO LAMB, LARA

Posted on July 24, 2014 by | Comments Off on WEEKLY HONORS GO TO LAMB, LARA

Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

PITCHER OF THE WEEK – CHRIS LAMB, LHP, STOCKTON
Lamb was recognized for a solid start at High Desert, going 6 IP while allowing 6 H, 0 R, 0 BB and 11 K’s. The lefty has converted to full-time starting duties with the Ports and improved to 3-1 at week’s end. Drafted in the 11th round in 2011, Lamb was a starter at two levels in 2012 before going to the bullpen in 2013 for all 32 appearances at Beloit. Back in the rotation now that he’s in Stockton, Lamb has put together a string of good outings.

Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – JORDY LARA, 1B, HIGH DESERT
For the second time this season, Lara takes player of the week honors with an impressive 4-homer week. His slash line was .417/.483/.958 and that is in line with what Lara’s been doing to Cal League pitchers recently. Over his last 10 games, the slugger form the Dominican Republic has an OPS of 1.451 and his .347 batting average is tops among active Cal Leaguers. Only Kyle Waldrop and Corey Seager have posted higher batting averages this year and they’re both off to AA.

 

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FRIDAY NIGHT FINALS

Posted on July 19, 2014 by | Comments Off on FRIDAY NIGHT FINALS

Scores and some notable performances from Friday night’s Cal League action:

VISALIA – 7
LANCASTER – 5

Andrew Barbosa (VIS) – 4 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
Enrique Burgos (VIS) – S (18), 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 K
Socrates Brito (VIS) – 2-for-4, 2B, 2 RBI
Tanner Mathis (LAN) – 1-for-2, 2 RBI
GAME STORY

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 0
SAN JOSE – 3

Kendry Flores (SJ) – W (4-6), 6 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Julio Urias (RC) – 3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
Brian Ragira (SJ) – 2-for-4, RBI
GAME STORY

MODESTO – 1
INLAND EMPIRE -4

David Bergin (MOD) – 2-for-4, RBI
Chad Hinshaw (IE) – 2-for-4, RBI
GAME STORY

STOCKTON – 10
HIGH DESERT – 9

Josh Reddick (STK) – 3-for-5, HR (2), 4 RBI, 2 R
Matt Olson (STK) – 3-for-5, HR (28), 2 RBI, 2 R
Jabari Henry (HD) – 3-for-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R

LAKE ELSINORE – 8
BAKERSFIELD – 6

Luis Domoromo (LE) – 2-for-4, HR (9), 4 RBI
Marquez Smith (BAK) – 1-for-3, HR (16), 3 RBI
GAME STORY

 

 

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CAUGHEL, GREGOR EARN WEEKLY HONORS

Posted on July 17, 2014 by | Comments Off on CAUGHEL, GREGOR EARN WEEKLY HONORS
Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

PITCHER OF THE WEEK – LINDSEY CAUGHEL, RHP, RANCHO CUCAMONGA
Caughel threw seven shutout innings against Lake Elsinore to pick up his second Pitcher of the Week award in three weeks. The right-hander out of Stetson won his fourth straight game and struck out nine without allowing a walk. In those four wins, Caughel threw 26 innings and walked just four while striking out 28.

 

Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – CONRAD GREGOR, 1B, LANCASTER
Gregor has been on fire since being promoted from Quad Cities in May. Last week he posted a line of .320/.441/.800 and smacked three homers while driving in nine. It continued the production that he put up in a red-hot month of June (.396/.464/.719, 6 HR) at Lancaster, as Gregor has thrived in the Cal League thus far.

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U.S. WINS FUTURES GAME 3-2

Posted on July 15, 2014 by | Comments Off on U.S. WINS FUTURES GAME 3-2

Futures-Game-logo-300x225The MLB All-Star Game festivities kicked off on Sunday with the Futures Game, and this one was a low-scoring affair with the U.S. team winning by a score of 3-2. RHP Braden Shipley of the Visalia Rawhide was part of the strong U.S. pitching performance while LHP Julio Urias (Rancho Cucamonga) and RHP Tayron Guerrero (Lake Elsinore) chipped in for the World team’s pitching staff.

A game recap with the box score is up on Bleacher Report. Here’s a rundown of the Call League players who participated:

U.S. Team

RHP Braden Shipley, Visalia – 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R
SS Corey Seager, Rancho, Cucamonga – 0-for-1

WORLD Team

RHP Tayron Guerrero (Lake Elsinore) – 1/3 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
LHP Julio Urias (Rancho Cucamonga) – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
SS Rosell Herrera (Modesto) – 2-for-2
3B Renato Nunez (Stockton) – 1-for-2
OF Gaby Guerrero (High Desert) – 0-for-2

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FRIDAY NIGHT FINALS

Posted on July 12, 2014 by | Comments Off on FRIDAY NIGHT FINALS

Scores and some notable performances from tonight’s Cal League action:

INLAND EMPIRE – 7
VISALIA – 5

Joey Krehbiel (VIS) – 1 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
Jose Rondon (IE) – 3-for-5, 2 runs scored
Cal  Towey (IE) – 2-for-4, 2 RBI, 1 run scored
Brandon Drury (VIS) – 3-for-3, HR (14), 2 RBI, 1 run scored

BAKERSFIELD – 1
MODESTO – 2

Jayson Aquino (MOD) – W (3-6), 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Rayan Gonzalez (MOD) – S (7), 1 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Sebastian Elizalde (BAK) – 2-for-4, 2 doubles, 1 RBI
Matt Wessinger (MOD) – 2-for-3, 1 double, 1 RBI

HIGH DESERT – 1
LAKE ELSINORE – 3

Zach Eflin (LE) – W (8-5), 6 IP, 8 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
Corey Adamson (LE) – 2-for-4, 2 RBI

LANCASTER – 8
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 5

Scott Elbert (RC) – 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R
Dan Gulbransen (LAN) – 3-for-4, HR (6), 2B, RBI, 3 runs scored
Jon Kemmer (LAN) – 2-for-3, HR (1), 3 RBI, 2 runs scored
Chris Jacobs (RC) – 1-for-3, HR (18), 2 RBI, 1 run scored

SAN JOSE – 2
STOCKTON – 1
12 INNINGS

Kendry Flores (SJ) – 7 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K
Nolan Sanburn (STK) – 2 2/3 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
Elliot Blair (SJ) – 3-for-5, HR (5), 2 RBI
Ryon Healy (STK) – 2-for-4, HR (12), RBI
STOCKTON VIDEO RECAP

 

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