June 15th, 2018 at 12:00 pm 
by Ron Cervenka It’s one of those things that, unless you follow the Dodgers minor league affiliates closely, it pretty much flew under the radar. But if you are indeed one of those who do, it is akin to the Dodgers (heaven forbid) losing Justin Turner, or Max Muncy, or even Matt Kemp.
During Tuesday night’s thrilling game between the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes and the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres) at The Diamond in Lake Elsinore, Dodgers 2016 first-round draft pick Gavin Lux was removed from the game in the bottom of the fifth inning for an apparent hamstring injury.
Sure enough, the 20-year-old Kenosha, Wisconsin native who, just last week, was named to the 2018 California League South All-Star team, was placed on the 7-day disabled list the following day. This from Baseball America’s Kyle Glaser:
Rancho Cucamonga shortstop Gavin Lux will be placed on the disabled list with a hamstring injury retroactive to June 13, the team announced Thursday. Lux, the Dodgers’ No. 14 prospect, injured the hamstring legging out a double in the fifth inning on Tuesday and was removed the next half inning. Lux’s injury means he won’t play in the California League all-star game next Tuesday. He was selected as the South Division’s starting shortstop after batting .312/.396/.515 with 17 doubles, eight home runs and seven stolen bases.
In addition to missing the Cal League All-Star Game at The Hangar in Lancaster next week, the hamstring injury to Lux also delayed his imminent promotion to Double-A Tulsa … temporarily, that is.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
This is a huge blow to the Rancho squad, who are currently in an extremely tight race to win the league’s first half title, which would guarantee them a berth into the Cal League Championship in September. Here are the current Cal League South standings with only three games remaining in the first half:
Needless to say, losing Lux and his team-leading .312 batting average puts tremendous pressure on the Dodgers Advanced Single-A affiliate to grab that highly coveted first-half title. To make matters even more difficult, the Quakes will conclude the first half with a three-game series against the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels) on the road at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino.
But as the old saying goes: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”
Stay tough, Quakes.
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Just terrible news. Lux was really playing well this year. It seemed as if he was really finally feeling comfortable as a professional. I hope this is a small strain and not a tear. No matter what, Gavin has certainly put himself in the top prospect group again.
If you hadn’t noticed by my articles, I am a HUGE Gavin Lux fan. He is my pick to become the Dodgers everyday 2B within the next one to two years. He and Seager up the middle will be incredible.
You heard it here first.
😉
I have become a big fan. Arguably I was originally a little put out because I was an advocate of Bo Bichette, but I have come around. I too see him as a future 2B and I thought he could start in LA by 2020. Hopefully he will recover quickly from this injury and get back on track. I thought he had Tulsa written all over him for the 2nd half.
He most certainly did. Hopefully he still does.
He injured that hamstring sliding very hard into 2B, too. Amazing how often these players hurt themselves right when they start playing some of their best baseball. Big loss for High-A Rancho to be sure considering where they are in that division race right now, but I already had Lux finishing up in AA Tulsa by the end of this season anyway. Only thing left for him to work on really is cleaning up his throwing mechanics because his bat has finally exploded dating back to the second half of last season for Low-A Great Lakes when he began to get himself in real physical shape after coming into pro-ball flat as can be. Dodgers selected a good one with that 2016 1st round pick, he’ll rise quickly through the ranks…
Gavin said that he expects to be back after the All-Star break, which is next week.
Fingers crossed.
I liked the Lux pick and think he will be at second base for the Dodgers on opening day 2020. Get back soon and get to Tulsa.
I have been pleasantly surprised by Lux this year. I watched him in ST 2017 and was unimpressed as he appeared to be out of shape (my description to my wife at the time, he was “chunky” and “looked more like a third baseman than SS”). At the time he did not move well on the infield, but what a difference in ST this year; slim and moved much better at SS. His defensive numbers at RC are really poor at SS with 14 errors and a .921 fielding percentage; 3 more errors at 2b (114 innings) for a .954 percentage. Of course Rylan Bannon also has 17 errors this season at RC and scouting report has him as a plus defender (looked excellent in ST). Second base may be the spot for Lux, but it may also be the best position for Bannon. It will not surprise me if Lux is used as a trade chip this season to help Dodgers return to the WS.
You’re not the only one on here who thinks Rylan Bannon’s ideal position at the next level is 2B. I’ve been really impressed with his overall progress since he entered pro-ball last year. Not only has he shown the power consistently, he’s also proven to be an equal opportunist when it comes to hitting both righties and lefties (unlike Lux, who looks completely overmatched against southpaws so far). Dodgers could very well have a future long-term fixture at the position in that guy if they choose to hold on to him and have him make the transition from 3B to 2B ASAP.
And I agree about Lux possibly being packaged in a deal to help the Dodgers in their current playoff push. Wonder who they could get back in return, though…