Cal notes: Hansen passing the test

When his career began, High Desert's Shaver Hansen was best known for his father's fame.

It may be hard to outshine the spotlight of a pro wrestler like Stan "The Lariat" Hansen, but Shaver has built a career in baseball thanks to the support of his dad.

"I was born at the end of my dad's [wrestling] career," Hansen said. "He put a lot of effort into being a part of my athletic career. I credit a lot of my success and opportunities to him."

One of the biggest opportunities of Hansen's career was a 2006 goodwill tour of baseball in Japan. Hansen traveled to the country with his younger brother Sam, currently a pitcher at the University of Texas-Arlington. Their mother is Japanese, and the family lived in Japan for several years when Shaver was young. He still speaks some Japanese today.

"It was a great opportunity out of high school," he said of his return to Japan. "I'd already committed to going to college, so it was more of a fun thing for the summer."

Hansen, a second baseman, was a sixth-round pick of the Mariners in the 2009 Draft out of Baylor. He is committed to finishing his degree in finance and economics but admitted to the difficulty in achieving the goal while playing pro baseball.

"It's tough during the offseason because you're going into school at least a month late," he said. "So far I haven't been able to do much other than a few online classes."

Hansen's main focus this year has been battling through injuries and searching for consistency as a hitter and a fielder. He strained his hamstring a week before Spring Training and missed a month. Later in the year he suffered a hip injury, which kept him out for another month.

The initial injury kept him from starting the season with the Mavericks, for whom he played 69 games last year. Class A Clinton was the best place for him to get playing time, so he logged 123 at-bats with the LumberKings before his promotion back to the California League in late June.

"I feel like I've been doing really well at the plate," said Hansen, who is hitting .291 in 41 games with the Mavs.

No matter where Hansen goes, he focuses on improving every part of his game.

"Even when you get to the big leagues, you have to work on everything," he said. "I try to be consistent, whether the at-bats come every day or every other day. You have to stay mentally in tune. August is the toughest time. It's a test of how hard pro ball is."

Winning beats losing: Lancaster reeled off three straight wins against Stockton this week, narrowly missing a sweep of the Ports when the JetHawks lost, 3-2, on Sunday. The mini-winning streak broke up a 10-game skid that ran from Aug. 7-17. Kirk Clark earned saves in back-to-back games, pushing his season total to 19.

Marshall's plan: Visalia right-hander Evan Marshall has blown away the competition since Arizona picked him in the fourth round of the 2011 Draft. Marshall has compiled a 1.07 ERA in 25 1/3 innings between short-season Yakima and the Rawhide. He has 26 strikeouts over 22 appearances this season and hasn't allow a run since Aug. 2. He picked up his third save with the Rawhide on Aug. 18, throwing a scoreless inning with three strikeouts.

Juedy on a hot streak: Lake Elsinore shortstop Jeudy Valdez is on fire in August, hitting .358 with 19 runs scored in 21 games. Lately he's boosted his batting average with a .421 pace over his last 10 contests. Valdez has nine RBIs and three doubles over that span and hit a home run against Modesto on Monday night. He's also creating havoc on the basepaths with six steals since Aug. 13.