Cal Quantrill and Dust Devils hand Spokane Indians eighth straight loss
In the span of a week, several of Cal Quantrill’s dreams came true.
Quantrill, who gave up one run in four innings in the Tri-City Dust Devils’ 7-3 win over the Spokane Indians on Friday at Avista Stadium, was drafted eighth overall by the Padres in the 2016 Major League Baseball draft on June 9.
Two days later, a Sunday, he received his degree from Stanford in Management Science and Engineering (which he finished in three years). He drove from Stanford’s campus in Palo Alto to San Diego to sign his contract on Monday, and then drove down to the Padres’ facility in Peoria, Arizona, to catch the end of a minicamp.
“It was a bunch of things I’ve been working for years coming true in a week-and-a-half’s time,” said Quantrill, who was called up from the AZL Padres on Aug. 2.
Quantrill, having been drafted in the 26th round by the Yankees out of high school, had a chance to start his career as sooner. But that wasn’t his desired route and he enrolled at Stanford, where he became the first freshman to start on opening day for the Cardinal since five-time MLB All-Star Mike Mussina in 1988.
“For me, I wanted to do the college route,” Quantrill said. “I didn’t want to get stuck in the minors at 18 years old. … I went to college, had a blast, met some great friends, played some good baseball and felt I was ready to play pro ball.”
Balancing rigorous coursework at Stanford and college athletics prepared him for the minor leagues. It also didn’t hurt that his father, Paul Quantrill, pitched 14 seasons in the major leagues and the right-hander was around professional clubhouses from an early age.
“You can’t really replace experience, right?” Quantrill said. “He lived it for me. It’s nice. I always have a little bit of guidance.”
In his first season in the minors, Quantrill is on a 50-to-60 pitch limit after undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2015, which shut him down for his sophomore and junior seasons at Stanford. While it’s frustrating at times, he says knows it’s the best option for his future.
“If I had it my way, no I wouldn’t want to be on a pitch count and it stinks when you’re not able to compete for a win every game,” Quantrill said. “But it’s the right thing to do. I’m fully support their decision and fully maximize all that I can in the 60 pitches I have.”
While he knows he won’t have the Padres’ fifth-ranked prospect, according to MLB.com, for long, Tri-City manager Ben Fritz is enjoying Quantrill while he can, pitch limit and all.
“He really is just a competitor,” Fritz said. “When guys get on he’s got another gear. It’s something a little special.”
The Dust Devils poured on five runs in the fifth inning to provide Tri-City a five-run cushion. Kyle Overstreet picked up an RBI on a ground-rule double, scoring Buddy Reed and chasing Indians starter Tyler Phillips.
Kevin Lenik relieved Phillips, and Fernando Tatis Jr. scored Hudson Potts on an sacrifice fly, followed by Overstreet scoring on a error by Indians first baseman Todd McDonald.
Lenik then served up back-to-back RBI doubles to Luis Asuncion and Josh Magee, capping off the five-run inning.
Spokane’s Leody Taveras was brought home on a ground out by Luis Terrero after leading off the fourth inning with a triple to right field, briefly cutting the lead to one.
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