2011 Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Minor League Season in Review - True Blue LA
Follow True Blue LA on Twitter
The newest Dodger affiliate, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, are up next in my minor league review coles sports for schools series. After spending 10 years as a minor league team for the Angels, the Dodgers swooped in and grabbed the franchise last winter thus ending coles sports for schools their relationship with the Inland Empire 66ers. The Quakes' stadium, called the Epicenter, is just a stones throw away from Dodger Stadium coles sports for schools and is a definite upgrade over Arrowhead Credit Union Park (home of the 66ers). I attended a handful coles sports for schools of games this past season and had a great experience both in the stands and in the press box. The team was also fun to watch as they were one of the best teams in the California League all Summer long.
Season Result: The Quakes won the California South Division in both the 1st and 2nd Half, earned coles sports for schools a 1st round playoff bye, but then lost in the 2nd round (semi-finals) to eventual league coles sports for schools champion Lake Elsinore Storm.
Season Recap: The Quakes were a very good ball-club in 2011. Even though Rancho only won one playoff game in 2011, the team can still look back on their great regular season which saw them win their division with ease in both the 1st and 2nd half. This was mostly due to a strong offense and an efficient pitching staff that got the job done. Overall the Quakes p osted the second best winning % in the California League and played especially well at home.
In terms of team stats, coles sports for schools the Quakes led the league coles sports for schools with their .287 average and their 153 HR's were just 5 behind the top ranking High Desert Mavericks. While they didn't show a lot of speed (their 107 SB's was second worst), they can brag about leading the circuit in OB% (.362), SLG% (.455), and OPS (.816). Team pitching was also pretty good as Rancho's 4.55 ERA was 3rd overall. Their 1,180 K's were also ranked 3rd and was just 4 strikeouts behind the league leader. One negative is the staff's 576 walks was 2nd worst of the 10 teams.
Offensive MVP: Angelo Songco ran away with the offensive MVP award thanks coles sports for schools to a monster season at the plate. The outfielder turned 1st baseman led the Quakes in several offensive categories (runs, HR's, 2B's, SLG%, OPS), and also paced the entire California League coles sports for schools with 310 total bases. coles sports for schools Songco also ranked 2nd in the league with his 29 HR's and 114 RBI's, while his .948 OPS placed coles sports for schools 4th. In addition, the recently turned 23 year old wasn't a big swing and miss guy as he struck out in a respectable 20.6% of his plate appearances. Overall, it was simply a great year for Songco.
Best Offensive Prospect: Both Baseball America and myself had Angelo Songco ranked behind Blake Smith and Jake Lemmerman heading into the 2011 season, but the outstanding season described above by Songco has helped him move ahead of both those players to claim the title of the Quakes best offensive prospect. I'm still not sure exactly where I'm going to rank Songco overall, but he definitely showed he deserves at least some consideration as a top 10 Dodger prospect.
Pitching MVP: Jon Michael Redding coles sports for schools had a disappointing season for the Quakes in 2010, but he got a redo in 2011 and lowered his ERA by almost coles sports for schools 2 runs while increasing his K/9 by more than 3 to earn the Pitching MVP honors. Always considered a workhorse, Redding logged 137.2 innings along with a team high 130 punchouts. The 23 year old also had a solid WHIP of 1.34 and a FIP of 3.54, and batters hit a career low .250 against him. A potential sleeper who might one day work his way into the back of the Dodgers rotation, Redding possesses coles sports for schools a low 90 s fastball which is complimented by a good slider and a hard curveball.
Best Pitching Prospect: Allen Webster only stuck around for 9 starts, but that was long enough to be named the best pitching prospect on the Quakes. Webster had a 2.33 ERA and a 10.3 K/9 in the hitter's paradise of the California League, and while he struggled a bit after his promotion to AA he still remains as one of the Dodgers top pitching prospects. Baseball America ranked him as the 8th best prospect in the California League, and said " Webster's best pitch is a 90-95 mph fastball with heavy sinking action. He complements his fastball with a plus changeup that also has a lot of downward movement. He also has a solid curveball with some bite, but he didn't throw it often in the Cal League because his other two pitches were so effective. "
Other Notable Players and Prospects: coles sports for schools Before I get into the position by position breakdown, I wanted to highlight a few more players on the team who either had a great season and/or coles sports for schools have the potential to turn into a legitimate Dodger prospect. This way, the more notable players don't get lost in all the detail below.
Blake Smith - OF - Despite missing a significant chunk of the season coles sports for schools due to sports hernia surgery, Smith ranked 3rd on the team with 16 homers and recorded a ridiculous 13 outfield assists with his cannon
Follow True Blue LA on Twitter
The newest Dodger affiliate, the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, are up next in my minor league review coles sports for schools series. After spending 10 years as a minor league team for the Angels, the Dodgers swooped in and grabbed the franchise last winter thus ending coles sports for schools their relationship with the Inland Empire 66ers. The Quakes' stadium, called the Epicenter, is just a stones throw away from Dodger Stadium coles sports for schools and is a definite upgrade over Arrowhead Credit Union Park (home of the 66ers). I attended a handful coles sports for schools of games this past season and had a great experience both in the stands and in the press box. The team was also fun to watch as they were one of the best teams in the California League all Summer long.
Season Result: The Quakes won the California South Division in both the 1st and 2nd Half, earned coles sports for schools a 1st round playoff bye, but then lost in the 2nd round (semi-finals) to eventual league coles sports for schools champion Lake Elsinore Storm.
Season Recap: The Quakes were a very good ball-club in 2011. Even though Rancho only won one playoff game in 2011, the team can still look back on their great regular season which saw them win their division with ease in both the 1st and 2nd half. This was mostly due to a strong offense and an efficient pitching staff that got the job done. Overall the Quakes p osted the second best winning % in the California League and played especially well at home.
In terms of team stats, coles sports for schools the Quakes led the league coles sports for schools with their .287 average and their 153 HR's were just 5 behind the top ranking High Desert Mavericks. While they didn't show a lot of speed (their 107 SB's was second worst), they can brag about leading the circuit in OB% (.362), SLG% (.455), and OPS (.816). Team pitching was also pretty good as Rancho's 4.55 ERA was 3rd overall. Their 1,180 K's were also ranked 3rd and was just 4 strikeouts behind the league leader. One negative is the staff's 576 walks was 2nd worst of the 10 teams.
Offensive MVP: Angelo Songco ran away with the offensive MVP award thanks coles sports for schools to a monster season at the plate. The outfielder turned 1st baseman led the Quakes in several offensive categories (runs, HR's, 2B's, SLG%, OPS), and also paced the entire California League coles sports for schools with 310 total bases. coles sports for schools Songco also ranked 2nd in the league with his 29 HR's and 114 RBI's, while his .948 OPS placed coles sports for schools 4th. In addition, the recently turned 23 year old wasn't a big swing and miss guy as he struck out in a respectable 20.6% of his plate appearances. Overall, it was simply a great year for Songco.
Best Offensive Prospect: Both Baseball America and myself had Angelo Songco ranked behind Blake Smith and Jake Lemmerman heading into the 2011 season, but the outstanding season described above by Songco has helped him move ahead of both those players to claim the title of the Quakes best offensive prospect. I'm still not sure exactly where I'm going to rank Songco overall, but he definitely showed he deserves at least some consideration as a top 10 Dodger prospect.
Pitching MVP: Jon Michael Redding coles sports for schools had a disappointing season for the Quakes in 2010, but he got a redo in 2011 and lowered his ERA by almost coles sports for schools 2 runs while increasing his K/9 by more than 3 to earn the Pitching MVP honors. Always considered a workhorse, Redding logged 137.2 innings along with a team high 130 punchouts. The 23 year old also had a solid WHIP of 1.34 and a FIP of 3.54, and batters hit a career low .250 against him. A potential sleeper who might one day work his way into the back of the Dodgers rotation, Redding possesses coles sports for schools a low 90 s fastball which is complimented by a good slider and a hard curveball.
Best Pitching Prospect: Allen Webster only stuck around for 9 starts, but that was long enough to be named the best pitching prospect on the Quakes. Webster had a 2.33 ERA and a 10.3 K/9 in the hitter's paradise of the California League, and while he struggled a bit after his promotion to AA he still remains as one of the Dodgers top pitching prospects. Baseball America ranked him as the 8th best prospect in the California League, and said " Webster's best pitch is a 90-95 mph fastball with heavy sinking action. He complements his fastball with a plus changeup that also has a lot of downward movement. He also has a solid curveball with some bite, but he didn't throw it often in the Cal League because his other two pitches were so effective. "
Other Notable Players and Prospects: coles sports for schools Before I get into the position by position breakdown, I wanted to highlight a few more players on the team who either had a great season and/or coles sports for schools have the potential to turn into a legitimate Dodger prospect. This way, the more notable players don't get lost in all the detail below.
Blake Smith - OF - Despite missing a significant chunk of the season coles sports for schools due to sports hernia surgery, Smith ranked 3rd on the team with 16 homers and recorded a ridiculous 13 outfield assists with his cannon
No comments:
Post a Comment