Monthly Archives: May 2015

NEWSWIRE

Some Cal League news from around the web

Only one game on the schedule today as The Visalia Rawhide and Bakersfield Blaze finish up their unconventional three-game set. The Rawhide (22-8) hold a commanding 6 1/2 game lead in the North while the Rancho  Cucamonga Quakes (18-13) are two games up on the surging Lancaster Jethawks (16-15).

A LOOK AT THE BAKERSFIELD BLAZE

BlazeBakersfield first had pro baseball in 1941 with a Class C team and has had a long list of major league affiliations since 1946. This is the club’s first year of a second affiliation with the Seattle Mariners, the first one taking place in 1982-83. Since then, Bakersfield has been the home of the Dodgers, Giants, Rays, Rangers and, most recently, the Reds.

The Cincinnati ballclub was in town from 2011-2014, but left after last season for Daytona of the Florida State League. Enter the Mariners, who had been in High Desert most recently. So the players who call Sam Lynn Ballpark home are now property of Seattle.

LAST YEAR

First Half – 45-25, 1st
Second Half – 33-37, 4th

The first-half title for the then-Reds affiliate was rewarded with an automatic berth in the Cal League semifinals. The Blaze lost to the Visalia Rawhide 3 games to 1.

ORGANIZATIONAL LADDER

LEVEL TEAM LEAGUE
Majors Seattle Mariners American
AAA Tacoma Rainiers PCL
AA Jackson Generals Southern
High A Bakersfield Blaze California
Low A Clinton Lumberkings Midwest
Short Season Everett Aquasox Northwest

There are three Rookie level clubs as well.

2015 ROSTER
Org Prospect Rankings: (Baseball America/MLB.com)

RHP Trey Cochrane-Gill (20/20)
RHP Edwin Diaz (6/7)
RHP Jochi Ogando (28/-)
LHP Ryan Yarbrough (9/11)
C Tyler Marlette (14/9)
LF Tyler O’Neill (11/12)
CF Aaron Barbosa (27/-)
RF Austin Wilson (5/6)

Some highlights early on from the list above:

  • Cochrane-Gill entered the weekend having pitched in 10 games (19 2/3 IP) and a stellar BB/K ratio of 3/18. His record stands at 2-1 with a WHIP of 0.56 and a 1.37 ERA.
  • Diaz sits at 2-0 with a 0.77 WHIP and 1.45 ERA after six starts. Over 31 IP, he has walked just eight while striking out 34.
  • Marlette is currently slumping (5-for-38 over his last 10 games) but he came out of the gate swinging a lethal bat. His hitting line stands at .256/.330/415 with 4 homers and 13 RBI.
  • O’Neill leads the team in RBI (14) and is tied with Marlette for the team lead in homers (4).
  • Yarbrough has made six starts and yielded just four walks over 31 2/3 IP while striking out 19

Elsewhere on the roster, RHP Brett Ash has pitched 17 innings over eight appearances and has a 0.94 WHIP with a BB/K ratio of 4/11…..OF Ian Miller leads the Cal League with 13 SB’s.

 

RECENT ALUMNI

OF Billy Hamilton (’12) – Second full season with the Reds, starting outfielder
RHP Robert Stephenson (’13) – Reds’ (1/1) prospect, currently at AA Pensacola
RHP Michael Lorenzen (’13) – Ranked (4/4) prospect for the Reds. Currently with the major league club, has made two starts, got his first win Tuesday against the Pirates.
OF Jesse Winker (’14) – (3/2) prospect for Reds, currently at AA Pensacola
RHP Ben Lively (’14) – Phillies (6/7) prospect, included in Marlon Byrd trade. Pitching at AA Reading.

MEDIA COVERAGE

For team news, results, etc:

OFFICIAL CAL LEAGUE PAGE
BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN

For prospects:

MLB PIPELINE
PROSPECT INSIDER
MINORLEAGUEBALL.COM -Top 20 Prospects for 2015

And for Reds players:

MLB PIPELINE
REDSMINORLEAGUES.COM
SPORTSPYDER.COM

Sam Lynn Ballpark:

WIKIPEDIA
STADIUM JOURNEY
BALLPARK REVIEWS

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

Heading into tonight’s games, here are the leaders in a few offensive categories approaching the 30-game mark:

AVG

Adam Law (RC) – .394
Brett Phillips (LAN) – .349
Brandon Trinkwon (RC) – .348
Jose Fernandez (LAN) – .347
Austin Slater (SJ) – .345
OBP

Adam Law (RC) – .457
Jose Fernandez (LAN) – .429
Alex Burg (HD) – .427
Jordan Patterson (MOD) – .423
Devan Ahart (RC) – .419
 
SLUGGING

Stewart Ijams (VIS) – .713
Jordan Patterson (MOD) – .637
Brett Phillips (LAN) – .613
Alex Burg (HD) – .569
Raimel Tapia (MOD) – .545
 
HOMERS

Steward Ijames (VIS) – 9
A.J. Reed (LAN) – 8
Michael Benjamin (MOD) – 5
Kevin Cron (VIS) – 5
Chase McDonald (LAN) – 5
Brett Phillips (LAN) – 5
 
RUNS SCORED

Brett Phillips (LAN) – 25
Jose Rondon (LE) – 22
Cody Bellinger (RC) – 21
Jordan Patterson (MOD) – 21
A.J. Reed (LAN) – 21

 

CAL LEAGUE PITCHER/PLAYER OF THE WEEK: BLAKE PERRY (VIS), JORDAN PATTERSON (MOD)

Perry

Photo: MiLB.com

For the week ending May 3

Visalia’s Perry pitched six clean innings for the Rawhide against San Jose, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out five. The right-hander was drafted in 2010 and made his debut at Visalia after an oblique injury kept him in Arizona to start the season.

Pitchers of the Week at MiLB.com

 

 

 

Photo: MiLB.com

Photo: MiLB.com

Patterson put up an impressive .542/.577/.917 line over six games (13-for-24). Listed as Colorado’s #27 organizational prospect by Baseball America, Patterson was a fourth-round pick in 2013 and is having no trouble in his Advanced-A debut in Modesto.

Players of the Week at MiLB.com

 

 

 

MONDAY MATCHUPS

Bakersfield took two of three games in Visalia over the weekend to slow down the runaway Rawhide and shrink their lead in the North to five games. In the South, Rancho Cucamonga took two of three from Inland Empire and now hold a two game lead. The first-place clubs face each other this week, highlighting a schedule of four-game series from Monday through Thursday:

LAKE ELSINORE (11-13) at SAN JOSE (8-16)

INLAND EMPIRE (12-12) at HIGH DESERT (11-13)

BAKERSFIELD (13-11) at MODESTO (11-13)

VISALIA (18-6) at RANCHO CUCAMONGA (14-10)

LANCASTER (11-13) at STOCKTON (11-13)

FRIDAY NIGHT FINALS

All the scores are in for tonight and, …let me check….Yeah, the Visalia Rawhide won. That’s four straight, eight of their last 10 and, overall, 18 wins against four losses. And it’s good for a 7-game lead in the North. Here are all the finals:

BAKERSFIELD – 2
VISALIA – 9

HIGH DESERT – 2
LAKE ELSINORE – 6

INLAND EMPIRE – 0
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 6

LANCASTER – 2
MODESTO – 3

SAN JOSE – 1
STOCKTON – 6

The tops of the standings now sit this way:

NORTH DIVISION

Visalia (18-4)
Bakersfield (11-11), 7 GB
Stockton (10-12), 8 GB

SOUTH DIVISION

Rancho Cucamonga (13-9)
Inland Empire ( 11-11), 2 GB
Lancaster (11-11), 2 GB

ON DECK

The matchups for Saturday and Sunday are same as tonight, so Inland Empire has Rancho right in front of them and Bakersfield has the task of trying to slow Visalia down.

Coming this week, I will start a team-by-team look at the California League clubs with the Bakersfield Blaze leading off.

 

NEWSWIRE

Some Cal League News From Around The Web