The Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League are currently in the race for a playoff berth to help manager Mark Kertenian celebrate his first year at the helm of the rookie level squad with an opportunity to win the league championship.

The Raptors are three games up on the Grand Junction Rockies in the second half of the season with 11 games to play in the regular schedule. Five of those games are with the Rockies. They are 19-8 since the All-Star break and have won nine of their last 11 games while scoring less than nine runs on only two of those occasions.

Needless to say, Ogden hitting coach Justin Viele has the offense firing on all cylinders. The offensive is being led by a quartet of players: first baseman Luis Paz, third Baseman Rylan Bannon, and outfielders Donovan Casey and Romer Cuadrado.

I expect many Dodger minor league enthusiasts have heard of Paz, Bannon and Casey. I would also hazard a guess that not nearly as many have heard of Cuadrado. The 19-year-old Cuadrado, along with teammate Luis Paz, have been the most significant driving forces behind the team’s explosive offense since the All-Star break.

The 6’4”/185-pound native of Maturin, Venezuela was signed by the Dodgers as an international free agent on July 2, 2014.

Ben Sadler of Baseball America at the time of his signing described Cuadrado as “a raw project in the field and at the plate, where he’s still smoothing out his swing and learning to recognize pitches.”

Romer Cuadrado
(Photo courtesy of leones.com)

His first two years of professional ball were subject to the challenges that quite often beset youngsters in their upper teens. With the Dominican Summer League Dodgers during the 2015 season, Cuadrado’s slash line of .222 / .309 / .308 no doubt was a bit discouraging. His 2016 line of .236/.354/.373 with the Arizona League Dodgers was improved but not significantly.

During the current season Cuadrado – batting in the middle of the lineup – is hitting .329 with an OBP of .405 and an OPS of .944. His 54 runs batted in trial Luis Paz by just two while his 75 base hits are second only to the 87 by Idaho Falls Chukars Robby Rinn. His total base count of 123 stands sixth best in the league yet only eight behind the aforementioned Rinn.

Perhaps the hottest hitter currently in the Dodgers minor league system, Cuadrado has 24 hits in his last 13 games during the Raptors stretch drive. His hit total includes four doubles, two triples and three home runs. He has driven in 17 runs and scored 21 times. During those 13 games, he is hitting at a Ted Williams .406 clip.

Cuadrado will lead the Raptors into a two-game series in Orem before returning home to face the Owlz again in a two-game set at Lindquist Field. Orem had secured a play-off berth in the first half of the season by finishing three and one-half games ahead of the Raptors in the Southern Division of the Pioneer League. The Raptors, with a 42-23 record, now trail the Owlz by one-half game for the overall league standings.