Former Gaucho gets called up and delivers

Former Gaucho gets called up and delivers

The Saddleback baseball program received some big news yesterday when it was announced that former Gaucho Josh Fuentes had been called up to the major leagues by the Colorado Rockies.  Fuentes delivered with a single in his first at-bat last night against the Dodgers.

Fuentes played at Saddleback in 2012, leading the Gauchos with a .357 batting average while making the All-Orange Empire Conference Team. 

Fuentes received a call on Saturday morning from his home in Albuquerque where he plays for the Colorado Rockies Triple-A minor league team.  They told him he was going to Denver to be a part of the Rockies team.  With no flights available, Fuentes got in his car and made the six hour trip to Denver, arriving with the squad in the second inning. 

Colorado wasted no time in getting Fuentes involved.  They inserted him into the lineup in the late innings and he promptly delivered a single in his first at-bat off of Dodger reliever Yimi Garcia through the left side of the infield. 

Fuentes was called up by the Rockies after infielder Ryan McMahon was placed on the injured list with a sprained elbow. 

Fuentes is the cousin of Rockies star third baseman Nolan Arenado.  He played at Missouri Baptist University after leaving Saddleback and was signed by the Colorado Rockies as an undrafted free agent in 2014.  His journey to the majors included stops with the Tri-City Dust Devils (Pasco, WA), the Ashville Tourists (Ashville, NC), the Modesto Nuts (Modesto, CA), the Hartford Yard Goats (Hartford, CT) and the Albuquerque Isotopes (Albuquerque, NM).