Jorge Soler’s fifth homer with the Iowa Cubs reminds us that if you homer on the road in the minors …
… the announcers might describe it with all the excitement of a groundout to the pitcher.
The homer came as part of another huge game for Soler – the only kind of game he has, it seems – going 2-3 with a double and a homer, walking twice, and striking out once.
With the I-Cubs, Soler is hitting .313/.431/.750, with as many extra-bast hits (11) as strikeouts. He also has 10 walks over his 16 games there.
If Soler’s hamstrings are ready for it, I’m starting to think we’re not going to have to wait until September to see him with the big club. Consider that, while he’s got limited minor league experience, Soler is dominating at the highest level in the minors right now despite that lack of experience. Further, it’s a very small sample, but it’s the way he’s dominating that is most impressive: he’s controlling the strike zone, he’s showing tremendous power, and he looks completely in control at the plate (not unlike a Manny Ramirez type). A microcosm of all of this: Soler’s strikeout last night wasn’t some wild whiff, it was a “called out on strikes” variety; and one of his two walks was intentional, in the fifth inning of a 4-3 game with a runner on third.
Nobody is going to mess with Soler right now. So I wonder if it might soon be time to see if he can mess with some big league pitchers.