Thanks to the miracle that is the internet, Dodger fans who simply could not go two days without baseball due to the Dodgers having Thursday as a scheduled day off and their game with the Hated Ones postponed due to heavy rains in the Bay Area on Friday were given the opportunity to listen to two very exciting games between the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and the Arizona Diamondbacks Advanced Single-A affiliate Visalia Rawhide via TuneIn Radio. Those who did began hearing a name that may not be too familiar to them … except, of course, for those who happen to be familiar with the Dodgers top prospects, that is.

That name is soon-to-be 22-year-old (on May 19) Dodgers 15th-ranked catching prospect Connor Wong who, to this point, is the only Quakes player to hit a home run, and he has already done so twice in as many games.

Although the Quakes lost their season opener to the Rawhide at Recreation Park in Visalia on Thursday evening by a score of 11-9, the right-handed-hitting Wong slugged a two-run home run to left field in the top half of the sixth inning for his – and the Quakes –  first home run of the brand new season. The 6′-1″ Houston, Texas native also doubled in the top of the ninth inning, but was left stranded on base with the tying run at the plate when the game ended.

And then on Friday evening, Wong homered again, this time an opposite-field solo laser shot to right field in the top of the second inning, to give the Rancho squad an early 1-0 lead in what would prove to be a brilliant pitchers duel, with the Quakes coming out on top 4-1 to pick up their first win of the season.

It’s a safe bet that Connor Wong will soon become a household name among Dodger fans.
(Video capture courtesy of Dodgers LowDown – Click on image to view video)

The Dodgers selected Wong in the third round of the 2017 First-Year Player Draft out of the University of Houston, behind outfielder and fellow first-year Quake Jeren Kendall (first round) and yet-to-be assigned right-hander Morgan Cooper (second round).

After playing in one game with the Arizona Rookie League Dodgers shortly after being drafted, Wong was promoted to the Low Single-A Great Lakes Loons, completely bypassing the Pioneer Rookie League Ogden Raptors. In his 27 games with the Loons, Wong posted a slash-line of .278 / .336 / .495 for an OPS of .831. He also slugged (wait for it…) five home runs and six doubles, while driving in 18 runs in his 107 plate appearances (97 at-bats).

In the simplest of terms, the Dodgers have yet another outstanding young catching prospect in their midst, to go along with Keibert Ruiz, Will Smith, Rocky Gale, and current Dodger Kyle Farmer.

Although it is ridiculously way too early to evaluate Wong after only two Cal League games, it is impossible to ignore his power with the bat. On the (very) young season, Wong is 4-for-9 (.444) with a double and two home runs, which adds up to a .444 on-base percentage, a 1.222 slugging percentage for an alien-like 1.667 OPS; numbers that he most certainly will not be able to maintain. That being said, there is absolutely no reason whatsoever to believe that he will not be among the best hitters on Drew Saylor’s 2018 Quakes team or in the entire highly-competitive California League. As such, it would behoove Dodger fans to keep an eye (or ear) on this Mike Piazza-like young catcher, who has also thrown out one of four would-be base stealers (25%).

It would be negligent not to mention the absolutely brilliant pitching performance by Rawhide right-hander Bo Takahashi on Friday evening. All the 21-year-old, 6′-0″ / 197-pound Presidente Prudente, Brazil native did was strikeout 12 of the 18 Quakes batters he faced in his 75-pitch / 5.0 innings of work. Takahashi left the game with the score knotted at 1-1 and did not figure in the decision. However, with Visalia being the Advanced Single-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks, there is an exceptionally good chance that Dodgers fans are going to become all too familiar with this hard-throwing, Zack Greinke-esque right-hander over the next few seasons.

Go Quakes!