Quakes Announce Opening Day Roster
The press release isn’t on-line yet, so it’s below, but the Quakes have posted their Opening Day roster.
Conspicuous by their absence are C Hank Conger, 2B Ryan Mount and 3B Matt Sweeney. All three suffered spring training injuries. I’ll get updates on their status when I’m out with Rancho this weekend.
The mild surprise, in my opinion, is that Jordan Renz and Drew Toussaint remain at Rancho rather than moving up to Arkansas. Maybe this is temporary until the big guns return from the DL, or maybe they just weren’t ready. But I can’t help to think that adding those two to a healthy lineup with Conger, Mount, Sweeney and Mark Trumbo could add up to the most potent offense in the league.
The pitching staff could be the best in the league. Dynamite starting rotation, dynamite bullpen. The pitchers should keep the Quakes in the first-half divisional hunt until the wounded return to active duty.
Rancho Cucamonga Quakes Announce 2008 Roster
Quakes Roster Has Nice Mix of Old and New
The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes will open up 2008 with quite a few new faces in the dugout. Twelve pitchers and thirteen position players will join Manager Ever Magallanes, Hitting Coach Francisco Matos, and Pitching Coach Dan Ricabal as announced by Director of Player Development with the Los Angeles Angels, Abe Flores.
The Quakes will feature five players that are rated in Baseball Americas “Top 30 Prospects” list headlined by pitchers Sean O’Sullivan (5) and Barret Browning (20), infielders Mark Trumbo (29) and P.J. Phillips (15), and outfielder Peter Bourjos (9). They will also feature former 1st rounder (37th overall) Trevor Bell in their starting rotation.
Rancho Cucamonga will bring back a few familiar faces for the 2008 campaign. With pitchers Aaron Cook and Jared Incinelli, catcher Flint Wipke, infielders Tadd Brewer and Larry Infante, and outfielders Jordan Renz, Cliff Remole, and Drew Toussaint, this version of the Quakes will have a good mix of young talent and strong veteran leadership.
To see the newest Quakes in action, they will host Azusa Pacific University Tuesday, April 1 at 6:05pm at the Epicenter, with the season opener scheduled for Thursday, April 4 at Lake Elsinore against the Storm.
The Rancho Cucamonga Quakes are the Advanced-A California League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and open their 2008 home schedule on Monday, April 7th at the Epicenter against the High Desert Mavericks. For information about ticket packages and group information, please call the Quakes at (909) 481-5000.
FutureAngels.com 