Tag Archives: California League

SUNDAY SCORES

MODESTO – 9
SAN JOSE – 8
Box
Story
MODESTO leads the series 4-1

VISALIA – 3
RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 2
Box
Story
VISALIA leads the series 3-2

FRESNO – 10
STOCKTON – 2
Box
Story
FRESNO leads the series 4-1

INLAND EMPIRE – 5
LAKE ELSINORE – 4
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The teams split the series 3-3

SUNDAY SCORES

LAKE ELSINORE – 6
FRESNO – 1
GM 1, 7 Innings
Gameday

LAKE ELSINORE – 6
FRESNO – 2
GM 2, 8 Innings
Gameday
Lake Elsinore wins series 5-1

SAN JOSE – 3
VISALIA – 7
Gameday
San Jose wins series 5-1

STOCKTON – 8
INLAND EMPIRE – 9
Gameday
Inland Empire wins series 4-2

RANCHO CUCAMONGA – 2
MODESTO – 4
Gameday
Series split 3-3

 

RAWHIDE PLAY LONGBALL ON OPENING NIGHT

The Visalia Rawhide kicked off the 2022 California League season with a four-homer attack that took down the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes by a score of 8-4 Friday night. Righty starter Joe Elbis threw four shutout innings, allowing two hits and two walks while striking out eight in front of a home crowd of 3,093 at Valley Strong Ballpark.

The game and the season couldn’t have started any better for the Rawhide. Elbis struck out the side on 11 pitches in the top of the first inning to set the stage for 2021 first-round draft pick (#6 overall) Jordan Lawlar to take his first AB of the season. The SS batting out of the #2 hole with one out drilled one over the fence to put Visalia up 1-0.

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THE NEW CAL LEAGUE

After a season that didn’t happen and an endless stream of rumors, the California League has finally gotten some official news regarding 2021 and beyond. MLB, having completed its process of evaluating all things minor league, sent out invites to 119 clubs today for major league affiliation. Here’s the bottom line:

Seven of the existing eight Cal League cities will keep their major league affiliation well into the future. The eighth club was ultimately revealed to be the Fresno Grizzlies, who will replace Lancaster as the Rockies’ affiliate.

And the entire bunch will move from advanced-A ball to lo-A.

There’s a lot to digest here. Looking at last year’s North division, Modesto (Mariners), San Jose (Giants), Stockton (A’s) and Visalia (Diamondbacks) are all intact. The South division, Lake Elsinore (Padres), Inland Empire (Angels) and Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers) return with Lancaster no longer in the league.

With Fresno becoming the Rockies’ lo-A affiliate, there is a question of divisional alignment as Fresno clearly fits in the North but the South only has three remaining teams. With the seismic shifting that has gone on between MLB and MiLB this past year, today’s outcome makes the alignment issue rather insignificant.

The California League itself survived this shakeup quite well, aside from the devastating loss in Lancaster. Dropping from advanced-A to lo-A isn’t ideal, but it’s not the type of demotion Fresno is coping with.

The Grizzlies, for that  matter, didn’t take the demotion lying down. But with their affiliation with the Nationals over with and amidst MLB’s heavy-handed move to remake the MLB-MiLB relationship, they came out of this ok. Not  what they were hoping for, but ok.

On the  plus side for Fresno is the immediate regional rivalries, specifically with Visalia. The Rawhide are the closest team, about a 45-minute drive away, and the Grizzlies share Highway 99 with the Modesto Nuts and the Stockton Ports. A ton of people in the greater Fresno area make these drives from time to time already and they now have one more reason to make a reasonable road trip.

The travel for the team itself will no longer send them to the far-flung cities and states of the Pacific Coast League. I would expect that to be easier on the players and definitely easier on the  team employee who has to plan all that travel. The games are all in the same time zone now so it’s easier for fans to hear road games online or on the radio.

The  drop down multiple rungs of the ladder? Fresno is justified to be unhappy about that. But if it was a choice between  lo-A ball and unaffiliated or no baseball at all (it was), lo-A is going to work just fine. Is the team rooted in the community? Did the locals show up at the park regularly, and not just when an MLBer or top-ranked prospect was playing here? If the answers are yes, then the team will do well in the California League.

And the top-ranked prospects are still coming. Anyone who follows the draft will be happy to see the Nolan Arenado’s of the Rockies’ minor league world come through Fresno just as Arenado himself went through Modesto when they were a Rockies affiliate. Not all of them make every stop on the way up but there will be plenty.

All in all, today was a day to exhale. Not for Lancaster, of course. Here’s hoping they find another team such as one in the wooden bat league that MLB is launching. But the eight-team California League marches on, largely intact. No more wondering, hoping or dreading. We’ve still got all MLB West division teams as parent clubs, we still have the Dodgers-Giants rivalry with Rancho and San  Jose and now we have Visalia-Fresno. Collectively, for everyone who loves the California League, it could have been a whole lot worse. Roll with us Grizzlies, you’re gonna like it here.

 

 

MODESTO NUTS 2020 COACHING STAFF

The Modesto Nuts’ 2020 coaching staff will be led by Denny Hocking, returning for his second year as manager. The Seattle Mariners announced their entire 2020 player development staff with Hocking leading the way for the Nuts after a 65-75 record in 2019.

Full Staff:

DENNY HOCKING – Manager
SEAN MCGRATH – Pitching Coach
SHAWN O’MALLEY – Hitting Coach

LANCASTER JETHAWKS 2020 COACHING STAFF

The Lancaster Jethawks have announced their coaching staff for the 2020 season, headlined by the return of manager Scott Little. In his first year as Jethawks manger in 2019, Little guided the club to to a record of 68-70. This will be Little’s fifth season in coaching and managing in the Colorado Rockies’ organization.

Full Staff:

STEVE SOLIZ – Supervisor of Development
RYAN KIBLER – Pitching Coach
MICHAEL RAMIREZ – Hitting Coach
JOSH GUTERMAN – Head Athletic Trainer
JOEY SCOTT – Clubhouse Manager

 

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: CAL RALEIGH

Photo: MiLB.com

Modesto Nuts C Cal Raleigh was named Cal League Offensive Player of the Week as he batted .304/.433/.739 over seven games. The Mariners’ #13 prospect had a two-homer game against San Jose on June 26th and belted another one the following night against Visalia.

The 22-year old Raleigh was drafted out of Florida State in the third round of the 2018 draft and played 38 games at Everett of the short-season NorthWest League. He earned his promotion to Modesto by hitting .288/.367/.534 at Everett last year.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK: JOSH GREEN

Photo: MiLB.com

RHP Josh Green of the Visalia Rawhide was name Cal League Pitcher of the Week with 11 strong innings over two starts. Green went five innings against Stockton on June 26th and  followed it up with six shutout innings against Modesto on June 30th. Over 11 total innings Green allowed 2ER on 7H with 2BB and 14K.

In picking up the win over Modesto, Green’s record improved to 7-1 on the year. A 14th-round draft pick in 2018, Green appeared in 25 games for Hillsboro of the short-season NWL last year.

PLAYER OF THE WEEK: MICKEY MCDONALD

Photo: MiLB.com

Stockton’s Mickey McDonald earned Cal League Offensive Player of the Week  honors with a line of .556/.600/.944 over five games. The Ports’ RF went 10-for-18 with three doubles and two triples against Visalia and San Jose. On Saturday he went 4-for-4 with two doubles, a triple and three runs scored as the Ports beat the Giants 4-3.

McDonald was drafted by the A’s in 2017 in the 18th round and split 36 games between the AZL and short-season Vermont. Last season he batted .284/.356/.353 at loA Beloit.

PITCHER OF THE WEEK: GARRETT SCHILLING

 

Photo: MiLB.com

Garrett Schilling of the Lancaster JetHawks went six shutout innings against Rancho  Cucamonga on June 5th to earn Cal League Pitcher of the Week honors. The right-hander struck out 10 while allowing just three hits and a walk.

Schilling was drafted by the Rockies in the 18th round of the 2017 draft and made 10 starts in the short-season Northwest League that year. He spent all of 2018 with the Asheville Tourist of the South Atlantic League (loA) and went 8-5 with a 3.27 ERA over 26 outings, 25  starts. This season, Schilling is 4-2 for Lancaster after a win Monday over Lake Elsinore and has thrown 48 2/3 innings with 17 walks and 53 K’s.