In the unlikely event that you turned on MLB Network today and saw the Bakersfield Blaze and Stockton Ports playing, were interested enough to keep it on the channel and head to Google to find more info on the teams and players and somehow ended up here, I thought it would be a good idea to summarize each team and some of the key players. This might be the most exposure the Cal League gets nationwide this season, so hopefully people like what they see.
Bakersfield Blaze
3-1, T-1st in CAL North (32-42, 5th in CAL North overall)
Offense: 10th out of 10 in runs scored
Pitching: 5th out of 10 in ERA
Today's starting pitcher: Carlos Pimentel
Season: 5-3, 4.52 ERA, 1.51 WHIP, 75.2 IP, 79 H, 35 BB 60 K
Starts against Stockton:
5/9 ND 7 IP 4 H 0 R 0 ER 0 BB 3 K
6/10 L 5 IP 6 H 5 R 4 ER 3 BB 5 K
6/15 L 3.1 IP 10 H 7 R 7 ER 3 BB 6 K
It's been an up and down season for Carlos Pimentel. After posting a 5.31 ERA in April, Pimentel bounced back in May with a 3.09 ERA, certainly one of the best in the league. June has proven to be his worst month despite posting his best K/9 split, and that includes a couple bad starts against Stockton. As one of the youngest pitchers in the league, he's going to have his ups and downs, especially in a challenging league for pitchers. Pimentel features a fastball, changeup and curveball and doesn't tend to get many groundballs.
Other players to watch
OF Engel Beltre: Beltre may already be familiar to some baseball fans for his involvement in a postgame brawl that was posted on Youtube and mentioned on Baseball America as well as several other baseball blogs. However, his tools merit attention too, and his production has picked up big time in his second year with Bakersfield. He was involved in the Eric Gagne trade a few seasons ago and if the light ever goes on for him, he could become a very good player.
OF Mike Bianucci: He's not having a good season to this point and missed some time due to injury, but Bianucci can definitely provide some power. Last year, he hit 15 home runs in just 50 games with the Blaze but struggled coming back to the team this year. Sometimes he's prone to not making good contact, but he dominated the South Atlantic League in the first half of 2009, and 30 home runs between two levels in 2009 proves he's capable of producing.
3B Tommy Mendonca: Mendonca's 2010 numbers certainly aren't impressive, but he could be one of the most popular in the leagues. He's still a California legend for his role in Fresno State's College World Series Championship. He was the CWS Most Outstanding Player in one of the best underdog stories of recent memory. Mendonca seems to receive quite a bit of fan and media attention at a number of venues around the league.
SS Davis Stoneburner: Stoneburner doesn't have the prospect recognition as some of the other guys in this section due to his age and the fact that he's repeating this level, but he leads the team in a number of offensive categories and deserves to be mentioned. He's improving on last season's numbers a lot, and if Bakersfield doesn't get off to a great start in the second half, he could be promoted to AA Frisco and challenged to continue his production.
C Jose Feliz: The offensive numbers don't stand out, but Felix was Bakersfield's only All Star representative. He earned that spot on the roster with great defense. He's throwing out 63% of base stealers which is by far the best in the league among players with a significant sample size, and I'd imagine it's also one of the best in the minors. Teams are still attempting a lot of steals against him, even though it's proving to be a waste of outs.
Stockton Ports
3-1, T-1st in CAL North (34-40, 4th in CAL North overall)
Offense: 4th out of 10 in runs scored
Pitching: 9th out of 10 in ERA
Today's starter: Ben Hornbeck
Season: 1-2, 4.50 ERA, 1.39 ERA, 36 IP, 38 H, 12 BB, 41 K
Starts against Bakersfield:
6/8 W 5 IP 6 H 3 R 2 ER 2 BB 7 K
Ben Hornbeck is a familiar name to Ports fans because he made 21 appearances (11 starts) for the team last year. He posted an insane K/9, but he struggled starting at AA Midland this season and ended up with the Ports again. He's struggling to find his consistency, but the stuff is obviously there. According to John Sickels, Hornbeck features a fastball in the upper 80's plus a breaking ball and changeup. His last two starts have not been good and he's not pitching many innings, but after what he proved with the Ports last year, it's probably only a matter of time until he turns his season around.
Other players to watch
SS Grant Green: Green is probably one of the most well known players in the Cal League because he was a first round pick by Oakland last year. His season didn't start off very well, but now Green is one of the hottest hitters in the league. He still needs to improve his defense, but lately his power has been coming around with nine extra base hits in his last 10 games. His stats have improved with each month.
3B Stephen Parker: Parker was Stockton's only All Star representative, and he had the go ahead hit late in the game that earned the Cal League a win. Like a lot of the Stockton hitters, Parker combines a very patient plate approach with some nice power. That also leads to quite a few strikeouts, but overall it has been a good tradeoff. He hasn't had a home run surge lately, but he leads the team in doubles.
C Ryan Ortiz: Ortiz is a personal favorite of mine, and like Grant Green, is hitting very well right now. As I've said probably a million times lately, he seems to be one of the best players on the roster yet still didn't see much action in the first half. He has seven home runs in just 133 AB, and statistically it doesn't seem like his defense is bad enough to keep him on the bench. He walks as much as you'd expect from other Stockton hitters.
RP Paul Smyth: I had to list one extra pitcher between both teams, and Smyth is a good candidate. He's one of the best relievers in the league, even if he has a few blown saves. He limits baserunners as good as any reliever in baseball and strikes out a lot of batters too. He probably won't see any action tomorrow unless Stockton is leading or the game goes extras as their closer.
OF Jeremy Barfield: I'm sure people are wondering, and yes, he is Jesse's son and Josh's brother. He may be more well known for that, but he has the potential to make a name for himself too. His season has been up and down, but in May, Barfield was one of Stockton's best hitters. Unfortunately, one of his most memorable moments this season was dropping a fly ball that cost his team the game, but if he keeps improving his production, everyone can forget about that.
Previous meetings this year:
4/13 Stockton 5-1
4/14 Stockton 4-1
4/29 Bakersfield 12-5
4/30 Stockton 6-5
5/1 Stockton 5-3
5/2 Bakersfield 14-3
5/7 Bakersfield 9-3
5/8 Stockton 5-4
5/9 Bakersfield 1-0
5/9 Bakersfield 4-2
5/10 Bakersfield 4-2
6/7 Stockton 9-8
5/8 Stockton 4-3
5/9 Stockton 3-2
5/10 Stockton 7-3
5/14 Bakersfield 6-4
5/15 Stockton 14-3
5/16 Stockton 8-6
6/28 Bakersfield 2-0
That's enough info for a basic overview of both teams. If this is your first time visiting and first time checking out the Cal League, I hope you like what you see and come back for more.
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