Julio Urias Begins Season in Rancho Cucamonga

The rosters of three minor league teams within the Dodgers’ farm system were announced on Monday. Rancho Cucamonga will be the landing point for several high profile Dodger prospects including 17-year old Julio Urias, Corey Seager, and the Dodgers’ first round draft pick for 2013 Chris Anderson.

Mar 15, 2014; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Julio Urias (84) throws in the first inning against the San Diego Padres at Camelback Ranch. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

I’m excited to plan a visit to LoanMart Field this season and get the chance to check out some of the Dodgers top prospects who are set to begin the 2014 season in High-A ball. The Quakes are the only minor league affiliate close enough for me to cover, and I had a great time last season watching the Quakes clinch a playoff berth. This season should be fun for manager P.J. Forbes since he will have Corey Seager returning to begin the season and a number of new players who are highly touted within the system.

Corey Seager struggled a bit last season with Rancho Cucamonga, but he was also the youngest player in the California League. He has been rated as the #1 prospect by MLB.com. Julio Urias, arguably the Dodgers’ most exciting prospect, did very well in Single-A Great Lakes last season finishing with a 2.48 ERA and 67 strikeouts in 54 1/3 innings of work. Urias gets the promotion to Rancho, and I will hopefully be there sometime this season to watch him pitch. I saw Urias make his Cactus League debut at Camelback Ranch, and you can watch the video of the young phenom’s impressive poise and command here. It’s not unfathomable to think that Urias could be pitching for the Dodgers before his 18th birthday.

The Dodgers’ top draft picks of 2013 will also be pitching for the Quakes this season. Right-hander Chris Anderson, left-hander Tom Windle, and third baseman Brandon Dixon will certainly shake things up in Rancho. The Quakes open their season this Thursday.

Erisbel Arruebarrena, the Cuban infielder, will join the AA-Chattanooga Lookouts in three to four weeks. Five players from the Quakes team last season are promoted to Chattanooga: Scott Schebler, Darnell Sweeney, O’Koyea Dickson, Jon Garcia, and Noel Cuevas.

The Lookouts are managed by Razor Shines.

Here’s the complete roster for the Quakes:

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

35

Chris Anderson

P

R

R

6′ 4″

215

07-29-1992

Active

No

27

Geoff Brown

P

L

L

5′ 11″

188

01-20-1989

Active

No

45

Freddie Cabrera

P

R

R

6′ 5″

210

01-25-1990

Active

No

29

Lindsey Caughel

P

R

R

6′ 3″

205

08-13-1990

Active

No

16

Daniel Coulombe

P

L

L

5′ 10″

185

10-26-1989

Active

No

31

Owen Jones

P

R

R

6′ 1″

190

06-12-1989

Active

No

40

Fabio Martinez

P

R

R

6′ 3″

190

10-29-1989

Active

No

34

Luis Meza

P

R

R

6′ 4″

200

07-13-1990

Active

No

18

Rob Rogers

P

R

R

5′ 11″

205

10-25-1990

Active

No

43

Matt Shelton

P

R

R

6′ 4″

205

11-30-1988

Active

No

21

Blake Smith

P

L

R

6′ 2″

225

12-09-1987

Active

No

17

Julio Urias

P

L

L

5′ 11″

160

08-12-1996

Active

No

38

Tom Windle

P

L

L

6′ 4″

215

03-10-1992

Active

No

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

10

Jose Capellan

C

R

R

6′ 0″

210

10-10-1990

Active

No

23

Pratt Maynard

C

L

R

6′ 0″

215

11-19-1989

Active

No

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

5

Brandon Dixon

3B

R

R

6′ 2″

215

01-29-1992

Active

No

44

Chris Jacobs

1B

R

R

6′ 5″

257

11-25-1988

Active

No

6

Adam Law

3B

R

R

6′ 0″

193

02-05-1990

Active

No

24

Tyler Ogle

1B

R

R

5′ 10″

210

08-09-1990

Active

No

19

Steven Proscia

1B

R

R

6′ 2″

210

06-26-1990

Active

No

12

Corey Seager

SS

L

R

6′ 4″

215

04-27-1994

Active

No

3

Scott Wingo

2B

L

R

5′ 11″

175

03-25-1989

Active

No

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

14

James Baldwin

OF

L

R

6′ 3″

205

10-10-1991

Active

No

11

Robbie Garvey

OF

L

L

5′ 8″

165

04-26-1989

Active

No

James McDonald

OF

S

R

5′ 10″

170

12-16-1991

7-day DL

No

13

Jeremy Rathjen

OF

R

R

6′ 5″

195

01-28-1990

Active

No

Here’s the Loons roster:

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

Victor Arano

P

R

R

6′ 2″

200

02-07-1995

Active

No

James Baune

P

R

R

6′ 3″

190

09-27-1991

Active

No

35

Zachary Bird

P

R

R

6′ 4″

205

07-14-1994

Active

No

James Campbell

P

R

R

6′ 1″

195

09-20-1991

Active

No

Luis Chirinos

P

R

R

6′ 2″

170

04-22-1990

Active

No

Greg Harris

P

R

R

6′ 2″

170

08-17-1994

Active

No

Michael Johnson

P

L

L

6′ 1″

185

01-03-1991

Active

No

Brandon Martinez

P

R

R

6′ 4″

150

11-25-1990

Active

No

Jonathan Martinez

P

R

R

6′ 1″

194

06-27-1994

Active

No

Jack McGeary

P

L

L

6′ 3″

195

03-19-1989

Active

No

Mark Pope

P

R

R

6′ 2″

203

08-29-1989

Active

No

Jacob Rhame

P

R

R

6′ 1″

190

03-16-1993

Active

No

Francisco Villa

P

R

R

6′ 0″

194

04-01-1992

Active

No

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

Kyle Farmer

C

R

R

6′ 0″

200

08-17-1990

Active

No

Webster Rivas

C

R

R

6′ 2″

200

08-08-1990

Active

No

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

Justin Chigbogu

1B

L

L

6′ 1″

240

07-08-1994

Active

No

Paul Hoenecke

3B

L

R

6′ 2″

205

07-08-1990

Active

No

Delvis Morales

2B

S

R

6′ 2″

144

08-29-1990

Active

No

Dillon Moyer

SS

R

R

5′ 11″

164

07-18-1991

Active

No

Alex Santana

3B

R

R

6′ 4″

200

08-21-1993

Active

No

Brandon Trinkwon

SS

L

R

6′ 1″

165

03-30-1992

Active

No

Jesmuel Valentin

2B

S

R

5′ 9″

180

05-12-1994

Active

No

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

Joey Curletta

RF

R

R

6′ 4″

225

03-08-1994

Active

No

Malcolm Holland

OF

S

R

5′ 11″

165

06-18-1992

Active

No

Jacob Scavuzzo

OF

R

R

6′ 4″

185

01-15-1994

Active

No

Here’s the complete Lookouts roster:

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

Pedro Baez

P

R

R

6′ 2″

230

03-11-1988

Active

Yes

22

Carlos Frias

P

R

R

6′ 4″

170

11-13-1989

Active

No

50

Garrett Gould

P

R

R

6′ 4″

190

07-19-1991

Active

No

18

Zach Lee

P

R

R

6′ 3″

195

09-13-1991

Active

No

Jarret Martin

P

L

L

6′ 3″

230

08-14-1989

Active

Yes

45

Hector Nelo

P

R

R

6′ 1″

205

11-05-1986

Active

No

23

Chris Reed

P

L

L

6′ 4″

195

05-20-1990

Active

No

46

Andres Santiago

P

R

R

6′ 1″

218

10-26-1989

Active

No

40

Steve Smith

P

R

R

6′ 2″

215

05-15-1986

Active

No

44

Ross Stripling

P

R

R

6′ 3″

190

11-23-1989

Active

No

49

Mike Thomas

P

L

L

6′ 2″

185

01-06-1989

Active

No

43

Duke von Schamann

P

R

R

6′ 5″

220

06-03-1991

Active

No

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

17

Griff Erickson

C

S

R

6′ 4″

220

03-11-1988

Active

No

6

Jan Vazquez

C

S

R

5′ 10″

165

04-29-1991

Active

No

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

Erisbel Arruebarrena

SS

R

R

6′ 0″

200

03-25-1990

Active

Yes

27

Elevys Gonzalez

3B

S

R

5′ 11″

175

10-23-1989

Active

No

37

Ozzie Martinez

3B

R

R

5′ 10″

200

05-07-1988

Active

No

13

Miguel Rojas

SS

R

R

6′ 0″

150

02-24-1989

Active

No

38

Angelo Songco

1B

L

R

6′ 0″

190

09-09-1988

Active

No

31

J.T. Wise

1B

R

R

6′ 0″

210

06-02-1986

Active

No

# 

Name 

Pos 

Bat 

Thw 

Ht 

Wt 

DOB 

Status 

MLB 40-man 

35

Brian Cavazos-Galvez

OF

R

R

6′ 0″

215

05-17-1987

Active

No

36

Jon Garcia

OF

R

R

5′ 11″

175

11-11-1991

Active

No

29

Joc Pederson

OF

L

L

6′ 1″

185

04-21-1992

Active

No

The rosters for AAA-Albuquerque and Rookie level Ogden haven’t quite been finalized yet, but we will post the rosters once they are announced.

The minor league system is where the future Dodgers are grown, and we look forward to delving in deeper into the Dodgers farm system this season. Julio Urias may be one of the best pitching prospects the Dodgers have had since the likes of Mr. Clayton Kershaw.

Julio Urias will start for the Quakes this Friday, April 4th at 7 p.m.

With injuries always in the background, the Dodgers will need to call upon some of their young prospects at some point in the season. Some players like Joc Pederson are closer than others, but I wouldn’t sound crazy when I say that we could see Chris Anderson and Julio Urias sooner than later.