ARMED AND DANGEROUS
The California League’s reputation as a hitter’s league continues to take a hit. Now three years removed from High Desert and Bakersfield being contracted, teams in the league scored an average of 4.71 runs per game in 2019, the lowest mark in 30 years. As a result, clubs have become less afraid to send their top pitching prospects to the circuit.
In some ways, 2019 was the year of the pitcher in the Cal League. Lake Elsinore lefthander MacKenzie Gore, the top pitching prospect in baseball, recorded a 1.02 ERA in 15 starts. Visalia’s Josh Green and Modesto’s Logan Gilbert each posted sub-2.00 ERAs during their stops in the league. An additional five starters who pitched at least 60 innings finished with ERAs below 3.00.
The combination of pitching standouts and the usual hitting stars made 2019 one of league’s better seasons in terms of talent. In addition to the strong group of players eligible for this year’s prospects ranking, Modesto’s Julio Rodriguez, Visalia’s Alek Thomas and Geraldo Perdomo, Inland Empire’s Jordyn Adams and Chris Rodriguez and Stockton’s Daulton Jefferies headline a talented group of players
