California League (A-Advanced)

Alumni playing in the California League: 6
Most Numerous Team: Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (2)

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DiFazio earned a 16-game promotion to the Bakersfield Blaze of the California League after spending the majority of the season with the Hickory Crawdads of the South Atlantic League. He hit .283/.392/.536 for Hickory, with 39 hits, including eight doubles and nine home runs, 31 RBI, and 25 runs scored. He also spent time with the AZL Rangers of the Arizona League, going 6-for-15 (.400) in five games, with a double and a home run. For the year, DiFazio hit a combined .275 at three stops, collected 14 doubles and 12 home runs, walked 36 times, and struck out 46. The catcher was successful in both of his stolen base attempts in 2010.

Drafted for the second time in 2009, DiFazio played 47 games for the Spokane Indians of the Northwest League before travelling across the country for a late promotion to the Hickory Crawdads of the South Atlantic League. For Spokane, DiFazio hit .274/.414/.482 with 14 doubles, seven home runs, 29 RBI, and 36 runs scored. He fared even better after the promotion, going 18-for-62 (.290) with five doubles, a triple, and five more home runs. DiFazio drove in 17 runs for the Crawdads and scored 12 runs while posting a .423 on-base percentage and slugging at a .645 clip. Overall, DiFazio logged a stellar OPS of .943 in 2009. He collected hits in seven of his final 10 games.

Hose went 1-2, 6.41 with eight saves in 23 relief appearances for the Class-A Advanced Visalia Rawhide in 2010. He struck out 22 batters in 26.2 innings, but walked 19 and allowed 33 hits. Hose allowed 20 runs (19 earned) and only one home run.

Hose split time in 2009 between the South Bend Silver Hawks of the Midwest League and the Visalia Rawhide of the California League. He excelled with both teams, collecting 11 saves in 27 relief appearances as the Silver Hawks’ closer and another save in 15 appearances for the Rawhide. For the Silver Hawks, Hose went 3-2, 1.70 with 43 strikeouts to just 12 walks in 37 innings-pitched. He allowed 15 runs (but just seven were earned) on 24 hits and held opponents in the Midwest League to a batting average of .176. For Visalia, Hose went 0-0, 2.78 and struck out 27 batters to just five walks in 22.2 innings-pitched. He allowed eight runs on 22 hits.

Hose reported to the Yakima Bears of the Northwest League after being drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2008 and was immediately inserted into the starting rotation. He made 15 starts, going 4-5, 4.48 with 57 strikeouts and just 20 walks in 78.1 innings-pitched. Hose allowed 39 earned runs on 82 hits, including five home runs.

In an outfield patrolled by uber-prospects Mike Trout and Randal Grichuk, Long turned heads of his own for the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2010, hitting .305/.382/.446 with 142 hits, a team-high 30 doubles, a team-high 12 triples, and four home runs. Long drove in 74 runs and scored 87. second most on the team in both categories. He showed a good eye at the plate, walking a team-high 59 times to just 67 strikeouts, and he stole 23 of 32 bases in 125 games. Former Cal Ripken Leaguers Eric Oliver, Jon Karcich, and Max Russell also played for the Kernels in 2010. Long was promoted to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes at the end of the season.

Long made two stops in his professional debut in 2009. He began with the Angels of the Arizona League, hitting .283/.372/.435 in 50 games. He collected 52 hits, including seven doubles, nine triples, and a home run, and drove in 29 runs while scoring 37 hits. Long also walked 26 times to just 23 strikeouts and was successful in half of his six stolen base attempts. After being promoted to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes of the California League, Long collected four hits in 16 at-bats, with a double and a home run.

Moorer struggled to find his groove in 2010. He allowed 12 runs (ten earned) on 11 hits and six walks in nine relief innings with the Clinton LumberKings of the Midwest League. Despite those numbers, Moorer was promoted to the High Desert Mavericks of the California League and appeared in 19 games out of the bullpen. He went 1-1, allowing 23 runs (22 earned) on 34 hits and 25 walks in 28 innings. He struck out seven batters.

Moorer spent the majority of the 2009 season with the Clinton LumberKings of the Midwest League, going 3-1, 3.05 with one save in 32 appearances before an assignment to the Everett AquaSox of the Northwest League, where he made four starts. For Clinton, Moorer struck out 21 batters in 44.1 innings, allowing 21 runs (15 earned) on 53 hits and 22 walks. In his four starts for Everett, Moorer went 1-2, 5.51 with six strikeouts to four walks in 16.1 innings. He allowed 11 runs on 22 hits.

Moorer went 1-2, 4.18 with one save in 44 relief appearances for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Midwest League in 2008. The righty struck out 47 batters in 64.2 innings. He allowed 36 runs (30 earned) on 69 hits and 23 walks.

In 2007, Moorer went 2-2 with one save and a 4.96 ERA in 20 appearances for the Everett AquaSox of the Class-A Short-Season Northwest League in 2007. He struck out 32 batters in 32.2 innings-pitched. Moorer allowed 35 hits, including two home runs, and walked 13.

Oliver was in a line-up that featured two other Ripken League alumni with the Cedar Rapids Kernels in 2010 before earning a promotion to the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes. For Cedar Rapids, Oliver collected 38 hits in 155 at-bats (.245), including nine doubles and three home runs. He struck out just 26 times and walked 21 to post an on-base percentage of .374. After his promotion, Oliver hit .271/.340/.414 in 54 games for Rancho Cucamonga. He collected 49 hits, including 14 doubles and four home runs. His walk-to-strikeout ratio widened a bit, but was still a respectable 19 walks to just 32 strikeouts. Collectively, Oliver drove in 53 runs and scored 52 in 101 games in 2010.

Oliver spent his first professional campaign with former Ripken Leaguer Matt Long and the Angels of the Arizona League in 2009. He hit .274/.392/.399 with 46 hits in 49 games and earned a berth on the AZL League All-Star Team. Oliver collected seven doubles, a triple, and four home runs. He drove in 35 runs and scored 36, while walking 28 times to just 25 strikeouts. He stole two bases in as many attempts.

Zuanich torched Minor League pitching in 2010 at two stops. He hit .382/.447/.588 in nine games for the Asheville Tourists before earning a promotion to the Modesto Nuts. There he collected 64 hits in 197 at-bats (.325), including 16 doubles and three home runs. He drove in 26 runs and scored 30 for the Nuts, and walked 25 times to 46 strikeouts. Zuanich was also successful in all four of his stolen-base attempts. He finished the season with multiple hits in six of his final ten games. Zuanich’s best month was July, in which he hit a blistering .390/.471/.559 with four doubles and two home runs.

Zuanich had a breakout sophomore season in professional baseball in 2009, beginning with the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Northwest League, where he went 16-for-47 (.340) in 15 games before earning a promotion to the Asheville Tourists of the South Atlantic League. For the Dust Devils, Zuanich collected one double and belted seven home runs, driving in 16 runs and scoring 17. He walked eight times to 10 strikeouts. The trip across the country to North Carolina did nothing to hinder the slugger’s progress, as Zuanich hit .362/.450/.616 for the Tourists in 42 games. He collected 50 hits, including 12 doubles, a triple, and seven more home runs. Zuanich drove in 34 runs (hitting .397 with runners on base) and scored 23 for Asheville. He walked 20 times to 36 strikeouts. Overall in 2009, Zuanich hit .357 and posted a jaw-dropping OPS of 1.122.

In 2008, Zuanich collected 15 hits in 81 at-bats for the Casper Ghosts of the Pioneer League. He doubled six times and tripled once, while driving in eight runs and scoring 10 of his own. Zuanich walked 16 times in 30 games for the Ghosts.