Being selected to the California League All-Star team in not like being selected to the Major League Baseball All-Star team. There are no punch ballots of which fans can submit as many as they are so inclined to punch (although these have been eliminated for the first time this year), nor can you vote on-line up to 35 times per email address – both of which have caused deserving players to be excluded and less deserving players to be voted in. And while it is great that fans have a voice in who they want to see in the Midsummer Classic, being allowed to vote (virtually) an unlimited number of times is just plain nonsense.

The MLB could learn a thing or two about how to do it right by looking an their own minor league system where the players, coaches and managers select the most deserving players to their respective All-Star Games, but then where’s the multi-millions of dollars of ad space and promotions (etc.) in that, right?

Being selected to the California League Mid-Season All-Star team by your peers and by coaches adds a tremendous layer of credibility to the process and makes landing an All-Star spot a tremendous honor. This is something that did not go unnoticed by 19-year-old Rancho Cucamonga Quakes star first baseman Cody Bellinger or second baseman Brandon Trinkwon, who were selected to start the June 23 California League versus Carolina League All-Star game representing the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate – a game that will be played at LoanMart Field, the Quakes home ballpark

“It’s a great honor, it shows that all of the hard work during the off-season pays off and the adjustments you have to make,” said Bellinger about his All-Star selection. “It’s good to see your name up there but you want to see your name up there after the season too, so it’s just the beginning of it.”

Cody Bellinger
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Bellinger, one of the youngest players in the Cal League, was selected by the Dodgers in the 4th round of the 2013 MLB First Year Player Draft. He found immediate success in professional baseball with the Arizona Rookie League Dodgers and Pioneer Rookie League Ogden Raptors in 2013 and 2014 – so much so, in fact, that he skipped over Low Single-A and began the 2015 season with the Advanced Single-A Quakes of the highly competitive California League. His selection to the League’s Midsummer Classic is proof that the skill set of the young Chandler Arizona native and son of former major leaguer Clay Bellinger did not go unnoticed by the Dodgers player development staff or the Quakes coaching staff when making their All-Star selections.

“He’s definitely a baseball player, everybody can see the talent,” said Quakes hitting coach Mike Eylward of Bellinger. “The way he goes about his business and understands the game and what pitchers are trying to do to him, it’s something special for a 19-year-old.”

As for Brandon Trinkwon, who was a 7th round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2013 out of UC Santa Barbara, he too is honored by his selection to the 2015 Cal League All-Star team.

“It’s an honor, it’s fun,” Trinkwon said. “It’s nice being able to play at home as well in front of the fans that watch you all season.”

Brandon Trinkwon
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)

Although Trinkwon isn’t the offensive threat that Bellinger is, he brings a lot to the team with his excellent plate discipline and his speed. He leads the Quakes in walks and is second in stolen bases. But where Trinkwon is most valuable is his ability to play multiple infield postilions, which seems to be a very valuable asset to the Andrew Friedman/Farhan Zaidi-led Dodgers.

“I’ve been playing mainly second this year but up until this year I haven’t played much at second,” said the 23-year-old All-Star. “But I’m pretty comfortable at second or short, and even third and it’s all pretty much the same at this point.”

Like Bellinger, Eylward sees Trinkwon as a true baseball player.

“He has a lot of energy and puts together a good at-bat consistently on a nightly basis,” Eylward said. “He’s a baseball player. You look at him everyday and you wouldn’t think nothing of it but he goes out there everyday and he’s doing something helpful.”

There were two other Quakes players named to the starting lineup of the 2015 Cal League All-Star team – hard-throwing right-hander Jose De Leon and catcher Kyle Farmer – but both were recently promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers and, as such, will miss the Cal League’s prestigious annual event.

“He’s a grinder, he’s really grounded and understands the game,” said Eylward of 24-year-old Kyle Farmer. “At the plate he understands how to hit, he understands what his strengths are and what he can do and rarely gets away from that, and that leads to consistency in the game.”

Although Eylward is the hitting coach and not the pitching coach, he certainly got a good look at Jose De Leon prior to his promotion to Double-A on May 18.

“I’m not the pitching guy but when you sit there and watch him, you wouldn’t want to be on the other side of that guy,” Eylward said laughingly. “He’s very composed on the mound, very understanding of what he wants to do on a daily basis. Obviously the stuff is there, it’s pretty fun to watch.”

As most De Leon observers have noticed, the 22-year-old Isabela, Puerto Rico native has excellent command of his fastball, which makes his off-speed stuff all the more effective.

“When you can locate your fastball and you’ve got that secondary pitch, it puts you deeper in the game,” Eylward said. “Obviously he’s had success with that.”

Although minor league All-Star Games don’t receive the publicity, hype and hoopla that the MLB All-Star Game receives (which now has its own All-Star Week), there is zero doubt that they are every bit as important to these aspiring major leaguers. And the fact that they were selected by their peers and coaches rather than some guy sitting at a computer with a dozen or more email addresses makes their selections even sweeter.