What’s better than being named an All-Star?
Being named a starter in the All-Star Game. And four of the six Tennessee Smokies who were named to the Southern League All Star Team picked up that very honor yesterday.
Arismendy Alcantara is once again the headliner. He will start at shortstop for the North Division and bat second, right behind…
Matt Szczur. Generally considered a center fielder, Szczur will be playing in left for this game.
Joining Alcantara on the left side of the infield will be number seven hitter Christian Villanueva. With Alcantara on his left and Szczur behind him, the entire left side of the diamond will belong to the Cubs.
As will the pitcher’s mound. Right hander Kyle Hendricks will be the starting pitcher for his division.
The Southern League All-Star game is scheduled to be played on July 17th in Jacksonville. I suggest any Cub fans who plan to go buy tickets on the third base side of the diamond since that is where all the Cubs’ prospect action will be.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa could not find the bats and gave runs in bunches in this 9-0 loss.
Tennessee – Tennessee had the day off.
Daytona – Daytona gave up four in the seventh and lost 4-3.
Kane County – Kane County also had the day off.
Boise – Boise had the day off as well.
Arizona – The AZL Cubs managed just three hits in this 5-1 loss.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] After his pinch hit single in this game, Anthony Giansanti is now hitting .538 in Triple A. Naturally the sample size here is pretty small (13 AB).
[Iowa] New farmhand Jake Arrieta started for Iowa, and it did not go well. He lasted just 3.2 innings and surrendered 7 of the runs the Cubs allowed. To his credit, only three of those runs were earned.
[Iowa] Marcus Hatley, Casey Coleman, and Eduardo Sanchez all pitched well in relief.
[Daytona] Zeke DeVoss does not hit for a high average, but he has a genius for getting on base. After two more walks in this game his season line reads .247/.391/.359.
[Daytona] Ben Wells was solid in this start. Over 6 innings he gave up 2 runs on 1 hit and 1 walk while striking out 4.
[Daytona] Pin-Chieh Chen stayed red hot with another double (his second), two hits, and two more steals.
[Arizona] Erick Leal threw 3.2 innings in which he struck out 4 and allowed just one run on 5 hits.
[Arizona] The only extra base hit for Arizona came from Jeffrey Baez. It was his first double.
Other News
After about two and a half years of writing about the Cubs’ farm system, I just passed into quadruple digits of Twitter followers. Thanks to everyone who contributed to that milestone. And thanks as well to those of you who check on Bleacher Nation bright and early every morning looking for the Daily. Not everyone can say they get to write daily for the best audience on the internet, but the two of us who can are definitely happy that we have that privilege.