Second baseman Willie Calhoun made his High-A debut with the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League on Tuesday, August 18th.

Calhoun attended Benicia High School in Benicia, California which is located in the San Francisco area of the state. With the Panthers he was twice named the school’s Most Valuable Player. As a senior he hit .433 with six home runs, seven doubles, three triples and 29 runs batted while leading his school to the league championship and Sac Joaquin Section Championship game. He was named 2013 Sac Joaquin All-Section for the second straight year and gained some national prominence by being tabbed a top 150 national prospect by Perfect Game.

Following his stellar career at Benicia, Calhoun was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 17th round of the 2013 First Year Player Draft. He chose not to sign and decided to attend the University of Arizona.

However, for the first time in his young baseball life Calhoun experienced some disappointment. For whatever reason things did not work out very well for Calhoun at Arizona. He hit .247 with 19 runs batted in while playing mostly third base. That was to be his only season with the University of Arizona Wildcats.

He decided to transfer to Yavapai Junior College which is located 200 miles north of the University of Arizona in Prescott, Arizona.

With the Yavapai Roughriders Calhoun had a year to be remembered. He would certainly have qualified for an Arizona triple crown if one had been awarded. He led the league in most offensive categories including his 63 games played, 83 runs scored, 98 hits, 85 runs batted in, 31 home runs and .520 OBP. His .432 batting average ranked second in the league as did his 23 doubles.

After only 38 Games with the Rookie League Ogden Raptors and 15 games with the Low Single-A Great Lakes Loons, Calhoun was promoted to the Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes.
(Photo credit – Stephen Smith)

During an interview with Thomas Gase of the Vallejo Times-Herald Calhoun suggested a reason for his resurgence during his second season of college ball.

“I wasn’t a power hitter at the University of Arizona,” Calhoun said. “I was more cautious and just tried to get on base. At Yavapai I want to be more of a run producer. I’m waiting on the ball more and I’m more relaxed now at the plate.”

Head coach Ryan Cougill at Yavapai was more than thrilled with Calhoun’s approach at the plate.

“His stats are impressive … the most impressive thing to me is his ability to not only recognize pitches in the strike zone but to separate pitches that are “attack” pitches and those that are “defensive” pitches,” Cougill said via email. “So many hitters work on developing the ability to recognize ball and strike but commit to strikes that they can’t attack.”

Calhoun was planning to begin his third season of college play with the Kansas State University Wildcats. He was not sure what he would do if he was drafted again but but was determined to weigh his options carefully after having learned from his first drafting experience: “I learned that I need to make a decision that fits me more,” Calhoun said.

He was soon to make that decision as the Dodgers selected him in the fourth round of the 2015 First Year Player Draft. A staunch Giant fan all his life, Willie Calhoun was now a Dodger.

“I grew up a big fan of the Giants but now it’s kind of a hate and love thing,” Calhoun said. “The Dodgers are my new favorite team. They have to be as I am now fully committed to them. This is really a humbling and exciting moment for me. It’s the biggest achievement in my life so far.”

Being drafted again was not a surprise for Calhoun and was actually an expectation, perhaps even that he would be drafted by the Dodgers.

Calhoun had a workout with the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium prior to the draft that he said went well. According to Calhoun’s former coach at Benicia High, Jim Bowles, the second basemen had 24 swings at that workout and hit 13 of those pitches for home runs.

“I had never been to Dodger Stadium and I hit a lot of home runs that day I worked out for them,” Calhoun said. “It was unreal. I had known it was one of the bigger ballparks in the big leagues but it looked like a small ballpark to me that day.”

The 5’9 and 177 pound Calhoun who has been likened by some to Dustin Pedroia of the Boston Red Sox reported to the Ogden Raptors of the rookie level Pioneer League and played his first game of professional baseball on June 18th against the Oren Owlz. He responded with a double in two official times at bat.

Calhoun played 38 games with the Raptors in which he hit .278 with seven home runs and 26 runs batted in. He has 42 hits including an 11-game hitting streak and nine multiple hits games. He also continued with his college trend of walking more than he struck out with 23 walks compared to 18 strikeouts.

The 20-year-old second baseman was selected to the Pioneer League All-Star team. The game for the first time featured members of the Pioneer Baseball League against the Northwest League to be played in Spokane, Washington on August 4th.

“I feel honored to be able to represent my family and the Ogden Raptors,” Calhoun said. “I expected to do well, but I definitely feel it’s a blessing from God to be in the All-Star game.”

Willie Calhoun did not get to play in his first All-Star game. On July 31st he was promoted to the Great Lakes Loons of the Class-A Midwest League where he made an immediate impression. He went hitless in his first game as a Loon but followed that with a 14-game hitting streak which included seven multiple hit games. He posted a .393 batting average and a .439 OBP.

Calhoun is now a member of the High-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes having been promoted once again on August 17th. In his first game the very next day Calhoun had two base hits, including a double, while striking out once and walking once.

It appears the Quakes have been fortified for their upcoming playoffs with the addition of Alex Verdugo, Kyle Garlick, Joshua Sborz, Trevor Oaks and now Willie Calhoun all recently promoted to the Quakes from the Great Lakes Loons.