Early in the season the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League are experiencing a bit of a drought at the plate in critical situations. They need someone to get hot or else add a hot bat. Now it is a bit early in the season to classify the dry spell at the plate as an actual drought, but the Quakes are dead last in the league with a team batting average of 163.

Meanwhile further down on the farm, the Class A Great Lakes Loons are third in the Midwest League with a team batting average of .256 and are first in OBP at .348. The Loons lost all four games with the Lansing Lugnuts to open their season although three of the games, including two slugfests, were up for grabs until the last inning.

In the series with the Lugnuts, the two players who seemed to garner most of the attention were Lansing’s shortstop, Bo Bichette and third baseman/designated hitter, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Both of these teenagers are without a doubt exceptional players and certainly worthy of the attention they have attracted thus far this season.

However, 19-year-old Carlos Rincon of the Loons has forced the Lansing duo to share the spotlight and perhaps actually took it away from them. It seems Loons manager Jeremy Rodriguez knew that was a possibility as he had the native of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic in the clean-up spot of the lineup in the Loons first game of the season. Rincon has continued to bat either third or fourth in all subsequent games.

Carlos Rincon
(Photo courtesy of @greatlakesloons)

Rincon was one of nine international prospects signed by the Dodgers at that time and received a relatively small signing bonus of $350,000. That is, small in comparison to the $16 million bonus given to Cuban pitcher Yadier Alvarez who was signed on the same day.

Rincon split his time in 2016 equally between the DSL Dodgers and the AZL Dodgers, playing 26 games at each level. With the DSL Dodgers, he hit .364 with six home runs and 26 runs batted in. That performance earned the 6’3”/190-pound right-handed hitter a promotion to the AZL Dodgers on July 22. In the Arizona League, he hit .301 with seven home runs and 23 runs batted in. Seventeen of his 31 hits were for extra bases. He played primarily right field where he had seven outfield assists.

In his last three games Rincon has literally destroyed opposing pitchers. He has hit a league leading four home runs, driven in seven runs and has a league leading OPS of 1.767.

While listening to Loons games it was apparent that Rincon hits the ball hard with a loud, distinctive sound. One comment was that he did so in a fashion not unlike the senior Vladimir Guerrero.

In his game in Lansing on April 9, he hit his first home run of the season and it is one that won’t be soon forgotten.

His blast prompted Loons broadcaster Brad Tunney to tweet: “Oh my. Loons 19-year-old Carlos Rincon just hit a 455-foot HR off the top balcony next to the ‘Outfield Lofts’ sign. Unreal.'”

Rincon’s home run on April 9 traveled a remarkable 455 feet.
(Photo credit – Tomo San)

As mentioned, Loons manager Jeremy Rodriguez pretty much knew what Rincon is capable of doing at the plate. Besides hitting the ball hard, he has a rather unique set of hitting skills for a 19-year-old. He wants to be at the plate in critical situations.

“I think he knows the expectation when he’s hitting third or fourth,” Rodriguez said. “He’s just showing a lot of confidence. He comes to the plate knowing he’s the guy that needs to drive runs in to win ball games.”

Rincon is starting to develop a patience at the plate which will make him even more difficult to deal with as he progresses up the ladder.

“He showed a lot of patience. He was attacking fastballs and just sticking with his approach from the last few days,” Rodriguez said. “He’s hammered a couple of baseballs in ways I haven’t seen before.”

“His eye and his patience make him a special hitter,” Rodriguez said. “He knows what pitch he likes and he knows how to hit in the right count and the right situation.”

It might be a bit early to send his hot bat to Rancho Cucamonga, but there is little doubt that he will be wearing a Quakes uniform and sooner than later.