June 9th, 2019 at 1:00 pm 
by Lauren Jennings With the 2019 California League – Carolina League All-Star Game just a little over a week away, the selections from each of the nine Cal League teams and 10 Carolina League have been announced.
Seven players from the Cal League South first place Rancho Cucamonga Quakes will represent the prestigious league, although only six of the seven will actually attend the festivities and game. The event will take place on Tuesday evening, June 18, 2019, at San Manuel Stadium in San Bernardino, CA, home to the Inland Empire 66ers (Angels).
Two Quakes players will be starting the mid-season showcase game for the California League against representatives from the equally prestigious Advanced Single-A Carolina League – Dodgers seventh-ranked shortstop prospect Jeter Downs and second base / third base prospect Devin Mann.
Downs was acquired by the Dodgers from the Cincinnati Reds in the off-season trade that sent Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Kyle Farmer, and Alex Wood to Cincinnati in exchange for Downs, top-ranked right-handed pitching prospect Josiah Gray, and 13-year MLB veteran right-hander Homer Bailey, who they immediately released.
In his first season at the Advanced Single-A level, Downs has appeared in 52 of the Quakes 60 games thus far. He has a current slash-line of .249 / .316 / .457 for an OPS of .773. He has hit 10 doubles, three triples, and 10 home runs, while stealing 13 bases.
(Photo credit – Ron Cervenka)
Mann is also in his first year in the Cal League and has been taking advantage of its hitter-friendly qualities. He is currently slashing a very impressive .271 / .338 / .476 / .814, with 11 doubles, 10 home runs, and has driven in 40 runs while scoring 33.
The reserve players for Rancho include catcher Connor Wong, outfielder Donovan Casey, left-handed pitcher Logan Salow, and right hander Wills Montgomerie.
Wong is in his second year with the Quakes and has 40 hits in 177 at-bats (.226). However, 24 of those hits have gone for extra bases. He has driven in 28 runs and scored 26.
Casey is also with the Quakes for a second time and is on track to have an even better year than last season. He’s currently batting .262 with 14 stolen bases, nine doubles, four triples, and seven home runs.
Salow is in his second season with the team as well. This season he has already accumulated more saves (4) than he had all of last year, and his ERA (1.80) is a full run lower than that of last season (2.82). Over 35 innings of work thus far this season, he has given up just eight runs (seven earned).
Montgomerie, also a right-handed pitcher, rounds out the list of 2019 Quakes All-Stars. His second year in Rancho has certainly been a success and his numbers make it clear why he deserves a spot on the team. He has also cut his ERA (3.24) nearly a run and a half from last season (4.67) and his 5-0 record ranks him with some of the best pitchers in the California League. Although he has pitched out of the bullpen in nearly all of his appearances thus far this season (11), he has gone at least four innings in all but one of them.
Lastly, right-handed pitcher Edwin Uceta was named to the team, but was promoted to the Double-A Tulsa Drillers last week and will not participate in the All-Star Game festivities or the game itself.
While with the Quakes this season, Uceta posted a 4-0 record, an outstanding 2.15 ERA, and struck out 65 over 50.1 innings as a starter.
Other notable players from around the league to be named California League All-Stars include: MLB’s 96th-ranked prospect left hander Ryan Rolison from the Lancaster JetHawks (Rockies); MLB’s 74th-ranked prospect Heliot Ramos from the San Jose Giants (Giants); MLB’s 30th-ranked pitching prospect Ljay Newsome from the Modesto Nuts (Mariners); MLB’s seventh-ranked prospect MacKenzie Gore, a right-hander for the Lake Elsinore Storm (Padres); and MLB’s fourth-ranked prospect Lazaro Armenteros, an outfielder for the Stockton Ports (Athletics). Also making the team is Lancaster JetHawks infielder Luis Castro, who is currently leading the California League with his 13 home runs, two ahead of Wong.
As they say: “Minor Leagues. Major Fun!”
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Very happy to hear that Downs, Mann, and Montgomerie made the All-Star cut. Too bad Uceta got promoted before being selected (should’ve stayed down at that level with Leo Crawford promoted instead:::sigh:::). Now sure that Wong should’ve made it, but his power numbers are without question this season.