August 15th, 2016 at 8:42 pm 
by Harold Uhlman Right-hander Trevor Oaks got the call on Monday evening as the first-place Oklahoma City Dodgers squared off with the hard-hitting El Paso Chihuahuas. Oaks began his season with the AA Tulsa Drillers and since his mid-season promotion he was making his ninth starts with the Dodgers.
The 23-year-old right-hander from Riverside, California was selected by the Dodgers in the seventh-round of the 2014 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of California Baptist University in Riverside.
After a bit of a slow start with the Ogden Raptors of the rookie level Pioneer League in 2014 Oaks found his professional sea legs in 2015. He began the season with the Great Lakes Loons of the Midwest League before earning a late season promotion to the Advanced Single-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, where he helped them win the California League Championship.
Oaks returned to Rancho Cucamonga to begin the 2016 season. After four starts with the Quakes in which he posted a 3.60 ERA and a 1.16 WHIP, he hitched a ride to Tulsa to join the Drillers rotation along with former Quakes teammates Scott Barlow and Chase De Jong. With the Drillers he went 8-1 along with a 2.14 ERA and a WHIP of 1.03. Ordinarily not really a strikeout pitcher, Oaks puts the ball in play and keeps it in the yard. In 63 innings with the Drillers he struck out 38 and walked but 9 while giving up only one home run.
On June 21 Trevor Oaks hitched another ride, this time to the Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark in Oklahoma City. Heading into Monday’s action with the Dodgers Oaks had a 4-1 record along with a 3.38 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP.
Working quickly on Monday evening Oaks went through the first six innings using 11 or fewer pitches each inning to retire the Chihuahuas without a hit or a walk. In the sixth inning shortstop Charlie Culberson preserved the no-hitter to that point with an acrobatic play in which he threw out the runner from one knee. Meanwhile the Dodgers had spotted Oaks with an 8-0 lead by the bottom of the fourth inning.
In addition to his near no-hitter, Oaks had a rare four-strikeout inning on Monday night.
(Photo credit – Steve Roberts)
Dodgers play-by-play announcer Alex Freedman pointed out that Oaks was somewhat of a double play specialist, having induced 13 over his last six starts. On this night there had been no opportunity for a double play.
With one out in the seventh inning Oaks lost his bid for a no-hitter when El Paso’s right fielder Hunter Renfroe lined a double to left field on an 0-2 pitch. The Chihuahuas then got a second runner on base following the hit by Renfroe. El Paso’s catcher Hector Sanchez reached base when Dodgers catcher Austin Barnes couldn’t collect a third strike that went as a wild pitch. Oaks then struck out the next two batters to record an extremely rare four-strikeout inning. Through seven innings the 6’3”- 220-pound right-hander had thrown only 75 pitches.
In the bottom of the eighth inning a throwing error by shortstop Charlie Culberson gave the El Paso squad their third base runner of the game with one out. Oaks retired the side with no further damage.
El Paso second baseman Carlos Asuaje led off the ninth inning with a double and scored on a wild pitch and a single by Hunter Renfroe to break up the shutout. However, Oaks again retired the side to register the first complete game by an OKC Dodgers pitcher in 2016.
Although not usually a strikeout artist, Oaks sent 11 Chihuahua batters back to their dugout with their bats in their hands. His 11 punch outs were the most by an OKC pitcher this year. To add some insult to injury, Oaks issued no free passes and induced 13 ground balls by the most potent offense in the Pacific Coast League and first place Chihuahuas in the Pacific Southern Division of the PCL.
The Dodgers came away with an 8-1 victory for their fourth consecutive win. They now lead the second-place Colorado Springs Sky Sox by 10 games.
Posted in 
Great to see this young man succeed. Strike thrower who can pitch deep into games would be a nice addition to the Dodgers starting rotation at some point. The performances of Oaks, De Jong, Stewart, De Leon, Urias and Stripling along with the expected debut of Buehler this Fall in AZ is really encouraging for the immediate future.
And with Sopko, Sborz, Sheffield, Alveraz, Abdullah, White, May, Alexy, Crawford, and Ferguson, the pipeline to the immediate future should be pretty good as well.
Spot on!
I still include Victor Gonzalez in that group. Slowed down some DL time this year.
They rolled the dice in June on high schoolers Alexy and Ashcraft and got Alexy.
They also rolled the dice on high school pitchers Malisheski, Watson and Taglieri with their last three picks. Signed Malisheski.
I was hoping that they signed Ashcraft, but they apparently ran out of bonus $$$. I am going to follow his career at Mississippi State. Victor Gonzalez is deserving to be included in that list, and there are probably others. Malisheski is certainly a long shot, but he cannot be counted out because he is in the Dodgers organization. I do not say that because of bias (although I am), but because the Dodgers will play, promote, and push players regardless of their draft position. Not all teams treat their low draft picks very well.
…and the Dodgers did not under Dejon Watson, who blatantly gave top draft picks preferential treatment. Having come to know Gabe Kapler (albeit only slightly), he does not do this – at least not openly and I suspect not at all.
I’m not sure Malisheski is such a long shot. I think most teams thought he was not signable as a high school pitcher. The Dodgers were on him early and felt they could take him late as other teams wouldn’t draft him at all. Still 18 and has started well with the AZL Dodgers.
?
Of interest in Trevor’s game – nine El Paso hitters struck out swinging.
That is indeed of interest. Not only was he throwing strikes, he was throwing unhittable strikes. This is a good thing.