The season is finally upon us as the California League kicks of tonight with a full slate of five games. Each game is the beginning of a four-game set that runs through Sunday. Here are the opening night matchups:
SAN JOSE at LANCASTER, 6:30pm (Tyler Beede starting for San Jose)
HIGH DESERT at VISALIA, 7:00pm
MODESTO at LAKE ELSINORE, 7:00pm
STOCKTON at INLAND EMPIRE, 7:05pm
RANCHO CUCAMONGA at BAKERSFIELD, 7:15pm
News and notes from around the web
(Updated, all teams’ announcements/rosters)
Here are more roster announcements from the various Cal League pages. Opening Night is tomorrow with the first scheduled game in Lancaster as the Jethawks host the San Jose Giants at 6:30PM. The rest of the teams face off later that evening.
BAKERSFIELD BLAZE (Mariners)
INLAND EMPIRE 66ers (Angels)
LAKE ELSINORE STORM (Padres)
LANCASTER JETHAWKS (Astros)
MODESTO NUTS (Rockies)
RANCHO CUCAMONGA QUAKES (Dodgers)
SAN JOSE GIANTS (Giants)
STOCKTON PORTS (Athletics)
VISALIA RAWHIDE (Diamondbacks)
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Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS
Tagged California League, inland Empire 66ers, Lake Elsinore Storm, Modesto Nuts, Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, San Jose Giants, Visalia Rawhide
The Houston Astros announced roster assignments yesterday. The Jethawks’ website has the announcement and a FULL STORY by Jason Schwartz, and all of the Astros’ minor league assignments can be found on Brian McTaggart’s TAG LINES blog.
Here is Lancaster’s preliminary 2015 squad:
PITCHERS
Brunnemann, Tyler
Cotton, Chris*
Fant, Randall*
Feliz, Michael
Frias, Edison
Grills, Evan*
Holmes, Brian*
Houser, Adrian
Morton, Zach
Sanudo, Gonzalo
Scribner, Troy
Sims, Blaine*
Tiburcio, Frederick
CATCHERS
Holberton, Brian*
Morales, Jobduan#
INFIELDERS
Davis, JD
Fernandez, Jose
Mayfield, Jack
McDonald, Chase
Moon, Chan#
Reed, AJ*
OUTFIELDERS
Mitchell, Ronnie*
Phillips, Brett*
Ramsay, James*
Vasquez, Danry*
Wik, Marc*
* – left-hander
# – switch-hitter
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Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS
Tagged Lancaster Jethawks
News and notes from around the web
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Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS
Tagged Enrique Burgos, San Jose Giants, Tyler Beede, Visalia Rawhide
News and Notes From Around The Web
This collection of links goes back a little, covering some of the off-season news.
This past week there were two prospect lists of note posted that had the Cal League well-represented. FanGraphs.com put up the Top 200 Prospects List by Kiley McDaniel on Tuesday. There were many familiar names from the last several seasons including, in the top 100:
3. Addison Russell, STK ’13, ‘14
4. Julio Urias, RC ‘14
5. Carlos Correa, LAN ‘14
6. Corey Seager, RC ’13,‘14
11. Joc Pederson, RC, ‘12
18. Mark Appel, LAN ‘14
25. Robert Stephenson, BAK ‘13
28. Jon Gray, MOD ‘13
31. David Dahl, MOD ‘14
32. Archie Bradley, VIS ‘13
39. Jesse Winker, BAK ‘14
41. Matt Wisler, LE ‘13
42. Eddie Butler, MOD ’13, ‘14
43. Rio Ruiz, LAN ‘14
47. Braeden Shipley, VIS ‘14
49. Hunter Renfroe, LE ‘14
55. D.J. Peterson, HD ‘14
59. Aaron Blair, VIS ‘14
75. Vincent Velazquez, LAN ’13, ‘14
84. Brandon Drury, VIS ‘14
86. Andrew Susac, SJ ‘12
88. Michael Lorenzen, BAK ‘13
97. Daniel Robertson, STK ‘14
And on MiLB.com, Jake Seiner took a look at possible NL West rookies, with projected stat lines to measure expected impact. All five NL West teams have Cal League affiliates so there are many alums in this projection as well.
The San Jose Giants announced the 2015 coaching staff this week, headlined by Russ Morman taking over as manager. The Giants missed the playoffs in 2014 but finished over .500 at 73-67 overall. Morman and his staff will look to get San Jose back into the post-season mix in 2015. Here’s the new staff roster:
Russ Morman – Manager
Lipso Nava – Hitting Coach
Mike Couchee – Pitching Coach
Garrett Havig – Athletic Trainer
Mike Lidge – Strength and Conditioning Coach
FULL STORY at SJG website
The Visalia Rawhide announced the 2015 coaching staff and front office this week which included promotions and new personnel. The club is coming off a berth in the Cal League Finals and has put the administrative pieces in place as it prepares for the 2015 season:
Press Release
VISALIA—After a highly successful 2014 season, the Visalia Rawhide have never been more set to take on a new season both on the baseball field, and in the front office.
FRONT OFFICE STAFF
The Rawhide front office now has 10 members. With just one new face in the front office, the Rawhide will have their highest number of veteran staff in club history.
Eric Clark, a Visalia native, is the sole addition to the staff, joining as a Ballpark Operations Coordinator & overseeing the Food and Beverage operation. Eric has worked in the Rawhide kitchen seasonally for the past 5 seasons, and is looking forward to his new role in the front office. Eric and his wife have a young daughter, Joleigh.
The Rawhide are happy to announce several promotions:
Other returning staff include:
In recent years, the Rawhide front office has received recognitions for California League Executive of the Year (Tom Seidler), California League Female Executive of the Year (Jennifer Pendergraft), California League Organization of the Year, Visalia Medium-Sized Business of the Year, and Minor League Broadcaster of the Year (Donny Baarns).
COACHING STAFF
The 2015 Rawhide coaching staff is in place, as former Major League catcher J.R. House will manage the 2015 Visalia Rawhide, the Arizona Diamondbacks announced today.
Arizona also sends former minor league infielder Jon Matthews to Tulare County as the Rawhide Hitting Coach, while 10-year Major League veteran Gil Heredia returns for his 3rd season as Pitching Coach.
House, 35, played in parts of 5 Major League seasons for the Pirates, Astros, and Orioles, and enjoyed 12 professional seasons overall; he made his Big League debut in 2003, and retired after the 2011 campaign.
House spent last season as Manager of the Hillsboro Hops, the Diamondbacks Short-Season Class A affiliate. He led the Hops to the Northwest League championship, as they went 48-28 in the regular season and defeated Vancouver in the league finals. This will be his 2nd managerial season overall. He originally hails from Charleston, West Virginia.
Matthews, 42, also makes his Visalia debut as Hitting Coach in 2015. Matthews is from Centerville, Iowa, and was a 42nd round selection by the Colorado Rockies in 1994. He spent last year at South Bend as the SilverHawks batting guru, and begins his 2nd season in the D-backs farm system.
Gil Heredia, meanwhile, returns for his 3rd season as Rawhide Pitching Coach. It will be his 6th year in the D-backs organization. He spent parts of 10 seasons in the Major Leagues, making his debut with the San Francisco Giants and ending his career with the Oakland A’s, where he once defeated Roger Clemens in a playoff game.
With a new Diamondbacks front office in place and exciting draft picks working their way through the system, the Rawhide coaching staff figures to have plenty of talent to work with. The club won the North Division Championship last year, before falling in the decisive 5th game of the California League Finals.
“We look forward to having J.R. House and the rest of this terrific coaching staff lead the 2015 Rawhide,” said club General Manager Jennifer Pendergraft. “It will be our 9th season with the Arizona Diamondbacks, who have been a great partner to the ballclub and the Visalia community.”
The Lancaster Jethawks have announced their 2015 field staff, with both new and familiar faces in the various roles. After winning his second California League championship in three seasons, Rodney Linares has moved up to AA Corpus Christi to take over the managerial position there.
Here is Lancaster’s staff for 2015:
Manager: OMAR LOPEZ
Pitching Coach: DON ALEXANDER
Hitting Coach: DARRYL ROBINSON
Developmental Assistant: RAMON VASQUEZ
Trainer: MICHAEL RENDON
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Posted in CAL LEAGUE NEWS
Tagged Lancaster Jethawks, Omar Lopez
