Visalia Rawhide open their Minor League Baseball season with a home stand April 8-10 against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes
VISALIA – The grass is cut, hot dogs are on the grill, beer is cold, it’s time for baseball in the Central Valley.
The Visalia Rawhide will take the field for Opening Night at Valley Strong Ballpark on Friday, April 8. Gates open at 5:30 p.m. with game time at 6:45 p.m. The team kicks off the season against the Rancho Cucamonga Quakes (affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers) for a three-game home series April 8 – 10. There will be exclusive giveaways all weekend including souvenirs and fireworks on April 8, veteran discounts and stadium replicas on April 9 and a 2019 Championship Pennant giveaway for the first 500 fans on April 10.
Taking the field for the Rawhide are 18 returning players on the 30-man roster. Three of those players are named in MLBpipeline.com Dbacks Top 30 list including SS Jordan Lawlar at No. 3, 3B Deyvison De Los Santos at No. 14, and OF Wilderd Patino at No. 29. Both De Los Santos and Patino ended the 2021 season with the Rawhide. De Los Santos became the everyday third baseman, batting .276 with 3 HRs and 20 RBI in 37 games. Patino was plagued with an injury that sent him back to Arizona for a majority of the season. However, he finished the season healthy in Visalia.
Lawlar, the 2021 first round pick of the Diamondbacks, will start his first full professional season in Visalia. He played in two games last season in the Arizona Complex League before a season-ending injury on his left shoulder.
Leading the Rawhide for the 2022 is Manager Jorge Cortes. 2022 will mark his sixth season with the Diamondbacks and first season managing. In 2019, he helped the Jackson Generals become Southern League Champions. Cortes spent last season as the bench coach for the Reno Aces.
Gabriel Hernandez will be the new Rawhide pitching coach in his third season as a coach with the Diamondbacks. Hernandez was the pitching coach last season for the Arizona Complex Team. He became a coach in the Diamondbacks organization after his two-year scouting career with Arizona.
Ty Wright will serve as the hitting coach under Cortes in 2022. This season is Wright’s first with the Diamondbacks. He spent 12 years in the Cubs organization, seven as a player and five as a coach.
The Visalia Rawhide are the Single-A Affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks and are the only professional sports team in Tulare and Kings counties. The team has been an affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks since 2007. Highlights coming up this season include three nights specifically designed for sensory challenged individuals, Richard Torrez Jr. and Derek Carr bobblehead giveaways, along with various nights celebrating first responders, veterans, active military, teachers, and more.
For more information on tickets, the Visalia Rawhide Ticket Office at 559.732.4433, visit us online at rawhidebaseball.com, or follow us on Facebook (TheRawhide), Instagram (@VisaliaRawhide), and Twitter (@VisaliaRawhide). For a group outing, call 559-732-4433 for details.
