Posted onJune 25, 2014byCLH|Comments Off on UNSWORTH, PETERSON EARN WEEKLY HONORS
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PITCHER OF THE WEEK – RHP DYLAN UNSWORTH, HIGH DESERT
Unsworth was dominant in his start at Modesto on Friday, going 7 shutout innings and allowing 3 hits while striking out 12. The right-hander out of South Africa bounced back from a tough outing at home against Lake Elsinore nine days earlier to have easily his strongest start of the season.
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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – 1B D.J. PETERSON, HIGH DESERT
In his last week before being called up to AA Jackson, Peterson earned his second player-of-the-week honor with a line of .533/.632/1.200 over four games. Ranked as the Mariners’ #2 prospect by both MLB.com and Baseball America, Peterson had little trouble with Cal League pitching and at the time of his callup he led the league in RBI (73) and was second in homers (18) and fifth in batting average (.326).
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The action resumed last night after a California League win in All-Star competition earlier this week. Tonight saw close wins for the Rawhide against the Giants (5-3) and for Lancaster at Lake Elsinore (3-2). Elsewhere, a couple of teams won by wide margins, as Rancho Cucamonga beat Inland Empire 8-1 and High Desert got five late runs for a 7-0 win at Modesto.
While all that was going on, Stockton topped Bakersfield by a score of 9-5.
Posted onJune 17, 2014byCLH|Comments Off on KITTREDGE, SILVA EARN WEEKLY HONORS
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PITCHER OF THE WEEK – RHP ANDREW KITTREDGE, HIGH DESERT
Kittredge had two clean outings from the Mavericks’ bullpen last week, going three innings against Lake Elsinore both times. Over six innings pitched, Kittredge gave up just one hit and walked two while striking out 10. In 18 appearances with High Desert, the right-hander is 3-0 and has logged 38 1/3 innings with nine walks and 46 strikeouts.
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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – OF JUAN SILVA, BAKERSFIELD
Silva finished the first half on a tear, with three hits in each of the last three games and a .417/.571/.583 line over his last 10 games played. The 2009 eighth-round pick has been an on-base machine this season (.417 OBP, sixth in the Cal League) and he drew four walks last week without being struck out once. With the 10-for-17 showing, Silva came around to score 10 times for the first-half champion Blaze.
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Posted onJune 10, 2014byCLH|Comments Off on SHANKIN, MILLER EARN CAL LEAGUE HONORS
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PITCHER OF THE WEEK – RHP BRETT SHANKIN, HIGH DESERT
The Mavericks’ right-hander had a pair of long-relief outings last week and was an out machine. Going a total of 7IP against San Jose and Stockton, Shankin didn’t allow a run and gave up just one hit while walking three and striking out 10. He struck out seven in 3 1/3 innings against San Jose while earning his third win of the season (3-1) against Stockton.
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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – OF AARON MILLER, RANCHO CUCAMONGA
A converted pitcher, Miller had a huge week a the plate for the Quakes, hitting .407/.467/.852 and blasting three homers. Over a three-game stretch vs. Visalia and Bakersfield, Miller went 8-for-12 with the three bombs and nine RBI. Drafted in the first round in 2009, Miller previously won Pitcher of the Week while in the Midwest League that season..
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Posted onJune 8, 2014byCLH|Comments Off on BLAZE WRAP UP FIRST-HALF TITLE
The Bakersfield Blaze outlasted the Quakes tonight, surviving a 9th-inning rally to win 8-7 in Rancho Cucamonga. The victory clinched the first-half title in the North division and a berth in the Division Series with the first two games at home. (The Cal League playoff procedures might be a tough read, but they make sense and are weighted toward the first-half winners). With a record of 41-23, the Blaze have opened up an eight-game lead on the Stockton Ports and Visalia Rawhide. The first half ends on Saturday, June 14th.
The Blaze have been led by ace Ben Lively (10-1, 2.28 ERA) who will start the California League/Carolina League All-Star Game on June 17th. The right-hander out of Central Florida has thrown 74 innings in the potent California League and allowed just 16 earned runs while walking 13 and striking out 86.
On the offensive side, the Blaze have two more all-stars, outfielders Kyle Waldrop and Jesse Winker. Waldrop is slashing .349/.401/.485 while Winker checks in at .311/.406/.544 with 10 homers and 41 RBI.
It’s been a great run for manager Pat Kelly and the Blaze in the first half as they have been up at the top of the North division behind these great individual performances as well as a solid team dynamic. The minor leagues are transient in nature, and surely some of these key players will be moving on before the season is out, but this club has come together and the results are impressive.
Stay tuned for the first-half winner in the South division. After tonight’s action, Lancaster holds a three-game lead on Lake Elsinore, with everyone else eliminated.
Posted onJune 7, 2014byCLH|Comments Off on FRIDAY NIGHT WRAP
As we enter another weekend, there is a little more than a week left in the first half of the season. A full slate of Friday-through-Monday 4-game sets are underway now, and there is another series ahead for all the clubs before things come to a brief halt after the games next Saturday, the 14th. The Carolina League/California League All-Star Game is on Tuesday, June 17th in Wilmington, DE. The Cal League roster can be seen on the official league page HERE.
GREAT PITCHING TONIGHT
It’s an offense-first league and the weather is starting to heat up out here, but there were several stellar pitching performances tonight. Lake Elsinore RHP Joe Ross, the Padres’ #9 prospect, went six strong innings, allowing just one unearned run on two hits, striking out seven against just one walk.
Up in Visalia, the Diamondbacks’ #2 prospect, RHP Braden Shipley, also went six innings, with an impressive line of 2H, 3R (0ER), 4BB and 8K.
In Rancho Cucamonga, facing the Bakersfield Blaze, RHP Jharel Cotton may have been even better than Ross and Shipley: 7IP, 4H, 1R (0ER), 0BB and 6K.
And in Modesto, the San Jose Giants and the Nuts had a tense battle, largely due to the starters having solid outings:
Ryan Bradley (SJ) – 6IP, 8H, 2R (1ER), 0BB, 6K
Ben Alsup (Mod) – 6 1/3IP, 7H, 2ER, 1BB, 6K
It can be done. Not very often out here. But it can be done.
MODESTO WALK-OFF
The Giants and Nuts went to extras tonight, tied at two, thanks largely to those great starts from Bradley and Alsup. San Jose struck for a run in the top of the 10th and Modesto had the daunting task of coming back against Steven Okert ahead of them. But they managed to pull it off. A Rosell Herrera single set the stage for a for a walk-off 4-3 Modesto win. Great late-night drama.
Here’s the call from Nuts announcer Keaton Gillogly:
APPEL RETURNS TO JETHAWKS
2013 top overall draft pick Mark Appel has had a difficult time adjusting to pro ball and his story is getting a lot of run a year after he was taken by the Astros at #1. With the First-Year Player Draft happening Thursday-Saturday, the struggles of last year’s top pick were sure to make the news.
Appel’s situation is a little unusual in that he had an appendectomy in the offseason that undoubtedly upset his preparation for spring training. The right-hander out of Stanford started the year with Lancaster and was underwhelming before getting sent to extended spring training. The adjustment to the Lancaster rotation was cited as a problem with Appel used to pitching on the college schedule.
The Astros’ #2 prospect returned to the Jethawks last Saturday night and it didn’t go well at all. After that 1 1/3 inning disaster, Appel is now on the Inactive list, apparently with tendinitis in his right thumb.
It’s early, but this has clearly been one of the more torturous starts to a career for a top overall pick.
FRIDAY-TO-MONDAY 4-GAMERS
With the first half careening into the Carolina League/California League All Star Game mid week on the 17th, the scheduling has spawned a round of four-game tilts that span the weekend and beyond. From tonight through Monday, here are the matchups:
LANCASTER @ VISALIA
BAKERSFIELD @ RANCHO CUCAMONGA
HIGH DESERT @ STOCKTON
INLAND EMPIRE @ LAKE ELSINORE
SAN JOSE @ MODESTO
BASEBALL AMERICA ALL-STAR GAME ARTICLE
Baseball America has an article up on the upcoming All-Star Game that has the full rosters for both the Carolina League and the California League HERE.
Posted onJune 5, 2014byCLH|Comments Off on CAL LEAGUE ALL STARS ANNOUNCED
Bakersfield’s Ben Lively will be the starter for the California/Carolina League All-Star Game on June 17th. The RHP led the list of All-Stars announced by the California League on Wednesday. His Blaze teammate OF Kyle Waldrop was also named as a starter.
Catching Lively (9-1) will be Stockton’s Bruce Maxwell. Around the infield, Rancho Cucamonga’s Chris Jacobs will start at 1B, Lancaster’s Anthony Kemp at 2B, Rancho Cucamonga’s Corey Seager at SS and Visalia’s Brandon Drury at 3B.
Posted onJune 1, 2014byCLH|Comments Off on ROAD TRIP: VISALIA
Visalia sits just about dead-center of the sprawling California League, a couple of hundred miles south and east of San Jose and about 250 miles north of Lake Elsinore. Saturday night I took the trip down Hwy 99 to Recreation Park to see the Rawhide take on the Lake Elsinore Storm and it was a true California League game on the field. The weather couldn’t have been better and the park was jammed with 2,623 fans who saw a real fireworks show, early and late.
Posted onMay 29, 2014byCLH|Comments Off on NEAL, SEAGER WIN WEEKLY HONORS
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PITCHER OF THE WEEK – RHP ZACH NEAL, STOCKTON Zach Neal signed with the A’s as a minor league free agent in March and began the year at AA, then pitched in AAA, before being sent to Stockton after six starts. His first outing in the Cal League was a beauty, 8 2/3 innings of three-hit ball against San Jose, with just one unearned run against him. The 6-3, 220-lb righty out of Oklahoma struck out 11 without giving up a walk.
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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – SS COREY SEAGER, RANCHO CUCAMONGA
It was another big week for Seager, who at or near the top of many significant offensive categories in the California League. Hitting in every game over the week, Seager posted a line of .552/.567/.931 with five doubles, two homers and eight RBI while only striking out three times. Ranked by MLB.com as the #28 overall prospect, Seager played 27 games with Rancho last season with unspectacular results. This year he is showing his elite talent and getting better as the year goes on.
Posted onMay 20, 2014byCLH|Comments Off on RODRIGUEZ, JACOBS EARN CAL LEAGUE HONORS
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PITCHER OF THE WEEK – RHP BRYAN RODRIGUEZ, LAKE ELSINORE
Rodriguez still doesn’t have a win this season, but against Modesto on Friday, the tall right-hander out of the Dominican Republic struck out 10 with no walks and only two hits over seven innings. It was easily Rodriguez’ best outing of the season for Lake Elsinore as he set season-highs for strikeouts and IP. Even with an 0-3 record, Rodriguez ranks eighth in the Cal League with a 1.17 WHIP and fourth with an ERA of 2.54.
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OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK – 1B CHRIS JACOBS, RANCHO CUCAMONGA
Jacobs had four homers over the week while posting a line of .458/.536/.875. In his third stint with Rancho, Jacobs is in the top 10 in OBP (.439, 2nd), Batting Average (.325, 7th), HR (10, T2), RBI (39, 2nd)Hits (52, 9th) and BB (29, 4th). After spending 2012 in the Cal League, Jacobs started 2013 at AA, then returned to Rancho, where he has played for all of the 2014 season so far.
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