Week in Review: Pacific Coast League is Heating Up

Mar 9, 2014; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks (79) throws during the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at HoHoKam Park. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports

The Los Angeles Dodgers outfield is arguably the most talented in all of baseball, and one of the hottest hitters in all of Minor League Baseball playing in the outfield for their Triple-A affiliate. After Joc Pederson’s two home run night on Thursday, he is up to 13 on the season and 6 in the past ten games. His season batting average is .361 and has already stolen eleven bases. He may be making the strongest case for a big league call-up by anyone not named Gregory Polanco, he just doesn’t have a place to play.

Another outfielder in the Pacific Coast League making a strong case for a big league call-up is Oscar Tavares. Tavares is currently hitting over .300 and slugging over .515, despite just one home run in his past ten games.

The best pitching line of the week belongs to Kyle Hendrick in Iowa for the Chicago Cubs affiliate. In his last outing, against Round Rock, he went eight scoreless innings while allowing three hits, walking none, and striking out eleven. On the season he now has an ERA of 3.06 and has struck out nearly five times the number of batters he has walked, all while striking out more than a batter per inning.

The Sacramento River Cats have rocketed up to the top of their division thanks to their current six-game winning streak, thanks in part to the acquisition of Nick “Chili” Buss off waivers from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Despite the latest hot streak, no team is even close to keeping pace with the Las Vegas 51’s, a New York Mets affiliate. While they have lost both Jacob deGrom and Rafael Montero in the past week to the big league roster, the team is still 29-11 overall, or a .725 winning percentage, with the second best win percentage in the league belonging to the Iowa Cubs who are winning at a .568 pace.