A cannon for an arm, good instincts on the basepaths, and a bat that is more than capable of hitting over .300 are just a few great attributes scouts see in Los Angeles Dodgers' prospect Alex Verdugo. And with tonight's performance, the 19-year-old has shown teams that he shall not affected by jet lag.
Verdugo, who was taken with the 62nd pick in the 2014 MLB Draft by the Los Angeles Dodgers, showed much dedication to his organization in the last 24 hours as he refused to take a day off after making a 1,940 mile trek from Geneva, Illinois, to Rancho Cucamonga, California, and batted second for the Quakes in their matchup versus the Lake Elsinore Storm (affiliate of the San Diego Padres).
Prior to his Single-A Advanced debut, the Arizona native had not missed a beat after making a huge jump from Rookie level (.353 BA, 3 HR, 41 RBI, & 18 SB) to Single-A by hitting .295 with 5 home runs, 42 RBIs, and 13 stolen bases for the Great Lakes Loons in his first full professional campaign (101 games). Tonight he continued his good play.
When stepping into the batter's box in the bottom of the first, Verdugo did not look nervous but ready to meet the next challenge of his career head-on. With that the case, the Dodgers' number seven prospect ripped a single off of Storm starter Michael Kelly for his first career hit at the level. One at bat, one hit!
After flying out to right in his second plate appearance, the 2013 Under Armour All-America Game MVP was back on base with another single, this time off of Ryan Butler, which notched his first multi-hit game with Rancho Cucamonga. Would he be able to add another base knock in his final AB? Unfortunately not on this night as the six foot tall outfielder grounded out in his last at bat, finalizing his California League debut stat line at 2-4 with 2 runs scored in a 6-3 Quakes' victory.
Tomorrow night, Alex Verdugo and the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes will look to continue their winning streak versus Lake Elsinore at 10:05 Eastern Standard Time in Rancho Cucamonga.