There are a lot of 2012 Iowa Cubs playing for Chicago right now. Rizzo, Vitters, Castillo, Clevenger, Jackson, Valbuena, Cabrera, Beliveau, Maine, Raley, Corpas, Volstad, and Wood all played for Iowa at some point this season, and I may be missing one or two more. If all these Iowa guys are playing in Chicago, who is left in Iowa?
From a prospect standpoint, it is a very sparse list. Greg Rohan has emerged as a utility and bench bat prospect, and Dave Sappelt still projects as quality fourth or fifth outfielder. If we add Tony Campana, that is pretty much the list of position prospects (and one could argue that Campana does not belong on that list). There are a few minor league veteran types who could spend a few seasons as a useful bench player for a major league team, but the trio of Rohan, Sappelt, and Campana are best of the very sparse bunch.
The pitching situation is better, but it consists entirely of bullpen arms or potential back of the rotation starters. From a major league depth perspective those guys are very useful to have in the high minors, but they are not the sorts of players a team can build a future around.
Fortunately, it only gets better from there. The next few waves of talent are both deeper and better, and that trend will continue for the next several seasons.
[Iowa] Ty’relle Harris is still fairly new to the starter’s role, but he pitched a pretty good game for Iowa on Tuesday. The righthander lasted six innings and struck out five while giving up two runs on six hits. I’ll take that from a starter who was working out of the Tennessee bullpen just a few months ago.
[Iowa] Dave Sappelt picked up two more hits and raised his second half average to .286.
[Iowa] James Adduci is one of those minor league veterans I mentioned in the intro, but he is playing like he’s Anthony Rizzo. He was 1 for 3 with a double and three RBI in this game, and through 24 games in Iowa he is hitting .353/.421/.518.
[Tennessee] From Jacob Bringham giving up six hits in the first inning to Zach Rosscup walking five batters in 2.2. innings of relief, the Smokies simply did not enjoy a good day of pitching. Kevin Rhoderick, Brian Schlitter, and Dustin Harrington pitched the only scoreless innings, and Harrington is an infielder.
[Daytona] Austin Kirk pitched into the sixth inning and allowed just the one run on four hits. Jeffrey Lorick and A.J. Morris finished off the game.
[Daytona] John Andreoli reached three times on two singles and a walk, and he stole three more bases. His season stolen base total is now 47.
[Daytona] Javier Baez picked up his first High-A hit in this game. He finished 2 for 4 with a double.
[Peoria] Starling Peralta pitched one of the best games we have seen from anyone in the farm system this season. He struck out 14 and allowed just one run on two hits over seven innings.
[Peoria] Zeke DeVoss was 4 for 4 with a triple and two doubles in this game. He also stole his 31st base.
[Boise] Gioskar Amaya enjoyed a 2 for 5 day that featured his tenth triple. To put that total in perspective, Jeimer Candelario has also been playing well for Boise this season, and he hit his ninth double in this game.
[Boise] Daniel Vogelbach contributed his third Boise home run to the cause. He also walked in three at bats.
[Arizona] Ryan McNeil gave up just one hit and struck out four in his 2.1 inning start. He also walked three batters.
[Arizona] Anthony Preito pitched two more scoreless innings. He has now pitched nine innings in the Rookie League, and his ERA remains at 0.00.
[Arizona] Albert Almora and Jorge Soler each had two stolen bases in this game. Almora now has four on the season, and Soler has eight.
Other Minor League Notes
With yesterday’s loss, the Tennessee Smokies fell six games out of first place. They are now in last place, and their playoffs chances are all but dead. Regardless, I am still looking forward to being there on August 23 and 24.
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NEWSLETTER
There are a lot of 2012 Iowa Cubs playing for Chicago right now. Rizzo, Vitters, Castillo, Clevenger, Jackson, Valbuena, Cabrera, Beliveau, Maine, Raley, Corpas, Volstad, and Wood all played for Iowa at some point this season, and I may be missing one or two more. If all these Iowa guys are playing in Chicago, who is left in Iowa?
