2013 Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Roster Review (Returning Players)

The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are the Class A Advanced affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers. They have been in their partnership with the Dodgers since 2011. This year we have 15 returning members from previous years and 12 new players. This post will be focusing on the returning players with one for the new players following shortly. In this post I will be using some shorthand, so before I jump into this, I'll provide an "answer key".

ERA: Earned Run Average                      IP: Innings Pitched
W: Win                                                    L:Loss
Sv: Save                                                 G: Games
AVG: Batting Average                           AB: At Bats
H: Hits                                                   HR: Home Runs
SB: Stolen Bases

GL: Great Lake Loons (Dodgers Class A Affiliate) OGD: Ogden Raptors (Dodgers Rookie Level Affiliate) RC: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (We already had this conversaton up there, so no need to repeat right?) CHA: Chatanooga Lookouts (Dodgers Class AA Affiliate) AZL Dodgers: Arizona League Dodgers (Dodgers Rookie Level Affiliate)

ARK: Arkansas Travlers (Angels Class AA Affiliate)


Now for the real fun. I'll begin with the returning pitching staff and some of their stats from 2012. Garret Gould was a starting pitcher last season and will be returning to that role again this year. Gould earned 5 wins over 130 IP throughout 27 games. He finished the season with a 5.75 ERA. Michael Thomas started off last season with GL, as did Jarret Martin. They both finished the 2012 season on the Quakes and are back at again this year for more. Thomas posted a 1.59 ERA while Martin ended with a 4.65. Thomas appeared in 47 games, and earned five saves, while Martin appeared in just 18. Both finished 2012 with 4 wins. Jon Michael Redding returns after a quick stint in Double CHA. He was awarded 11 wins while playing in only 29 games and pitching 140.2 innings. Craig Stem returns to Rancho after a brief 2012 visit. He started last season in OGD and finished in GL. In just 40 innings pitched, he earned 3 wins and 4 saves while posting a an ERA of 4.05. The last of our returning pitchers is Pedro Baez. No stats are available for him for 2012 because he was a third baseman then. During the off season, he converted to pitching after a year at third for RC. I personally am expecting good things from Thomas, Stem, and possibly Redding this season, based on their numbers from 2012.

Now on to the returning catchers. This season we only have two catchers at the moment and both are returning. I'll start with Pratt Maynard. He split last season between GL and RC while batting .248 with 77 hits, 3 HR and 7 SB in 310 AB. Chris O'Brien is our other catcher who spent all of last season in RC, while batting .252 with 76 hits in 302 AB. He hit 7 long balls and stole 1 base. Judging from this, both catchers have some power and could be very beneficial to this team.

To the infield we go! I'll start with first base and go on from there. At first base, we have Angelo Songco. He started as a Quake in 2011, even earning league MVP, but began 2012 in GL after recovering from a leg injury. His AVG was .201 at the end of 2012 while hitting 12 HR in 308 AB. He collected 62 hits and stole 1 base. To second we go now and find Scott Wingo, the former University of South Carolina Gamecock. Last season he had an AVG of .246 with 87 hits and 2 HR in 353 AB with 13 stolen bases. 2012 was a great year for him at the beginning, hitting wise, but a mid season  thumb injury slowed him down a little after the all-star break and he never really got back to where he started. I'm looking forward to seeing what he can do this year, because I know how well he can play. Another option we have for second base is Pedro Guerrero (no, not that one...). He played for the Quakes in 2011 and split 2012 between RC and GL. Last season, he posted a .220 AVG with 69 H in 313 AB. He hit 10 long balls and stole 7 bases.  At third base, we have Ryan Mount. He was with the Quakes in 2008 when they were the Class A Advanced Affiliate of the Angels. In 2012 for ARK, he hit .236 in 254 AB. He ended the season with 60 H, 5 HR, and 3 SB. Our returning short stop is Casio Grider. Not only does he play short, he also plays just about every position on the field. He spent most of the season on the disabled list and begins this season on it as well, but the times that he did get to play on the field, he certainly left an impression. He hit 2 HR in 152 AB and ended last season with 33 H and a .217 AVG. His speed certainly benefits the team as he had 7 SB last year and is quick to get the ball at short and get it out of his glove and to the necessary base.

Last, but not least, we move to the outfield where we have two returning players. Jonathan Garcia usually plays in right field. He posted a .378 AVG last season with 88 H in 378 AB. He knocked in 12 HR and stole 2 bases, but was notorious for striking out. I can already see a difference this year. He is making contact with the ball and hitting it well. Our final returning player is Noel Cuevas. He played for the Quakes for a short time in 2011, and split 2012 between the AZL Dodgers, OGD, and GL. In 288 AB, he managed to earn 2 HR and 77 H. He finished the season with a .267 AVG and with a whopping 35 SB.  Judging from his SB record, Cuevas has the speed the Quakes need in the outfield to make those noteworthy catches.