Cubs’ Minor League Daily: Changing Of The Guard

There are a lot of things I do not like about the Major League All-Star Game, but the Final Vote is a feature that is growing on me. Any one of the players on the ballot would be a quality addition to the All-Star roster, so there is no bad decision. It is almost a fool proof way to involve the fans.

And sometimes, that Final Vote can be a very tough decision. That’s the case this year on the National League side. I’ve narrowed my decision to Bryce Harper or Chipper Jones, and between the two I am not sure which one to pick. Harper is a rising star with one of the brightest futures in the game while Jones is a retiring Hall of Fame candidate and one the brightest lights from a clouded era of the game. This is a battle between honoring the old and celebrating the new, between a veteran lifer and a kid just starting out, between a holdout from a previous generation and a player who will help carry the game into the future.

This vote is a wonderful example of the complex, tradition-laced, yet ever changing tapestry that is baseball. I love the fact that I get to make this choice, but I still have no idea which one to pick.

Scores From Yesterday

Iowa – Iowa mounted a furious comeback in the second half of the game, but the Cubs’ fell one run short. They lost 13-12.
Tennessee – The Smokies were shut out by a score of 3-0.
Daytona – Daytona slipped down to third place with their 5-3 loss.
Peoria – The Chiefs were outscored 7-2 in this loss.
Boise – It took ten innings, but Boise lost 2-1.
Arizona – Arizona had to rally to do it, but with this 9-7 win they moved into a tie for first place.

Performances of the Day

  • [Iowa] Jay Jackson struck out two in his one inning of relief. Michael Bowden struck out the side in his inning.
  • [Iowa] Brett Jackson tallied one walk, strikeout, stolen base, double, and triple.
  • [Iowa] Adrian Cardenas and Josh Vitters each had three hits, including two doubles apiece.
  • [Iowa] Dave Sappelt hit his fourth home run of the season in this game.
  • [Tennessee] Justin Bour doubled twice and Jae-Hoon Ha doubled once, but they were the lone bright spots for the Tennessee offense.
  • [Daytona] Rebel Ridling (two doubles and a walk) and Matthew Szczur (double and walk) formed a fairly effective combo as the number three and four hitters for the Cubs.
  • [Daytona] A.J. Morris pitched two perfect innings in relief, striking out two.
  • [Peoria] Starling Peralta pitched a pretty good game. In eight innings he gave up just four hits (including one home run), one walk, and struck out two.
  • [Peoria] Taiwan Easterling finished the game 3 for 3 with his 15th stolen base of the season.
  • [Boise] Starting pitcher James Pugliese struck out five over four innings while allowing just two hits. The bullpen pitched well behind Pugliese, especially Eduardo Orozco who threw two perfect innings while striking out two.
  • [Boise] Dong-Yub Kim was 2 for 4 with a double and a home run, his third. Jeimer Candelario also had two hits, and Chadd Krist had three.
  • [Arizona] Daniel Vogelbach has his first home run of the season. The powerful first baseman hit it in the middle of a 4 for 5 night that also included a triple. His SLG is now .824.
  • [Arizona] Timothy Saunders had another two hits and a walk in this game, raising his early season batting average to .483.
  • Other Minor League Notes

  • One of the concerns some scouts have with Jeimer Candelario addresses his ability to stay at third. While he has all the tools needed to handle that position today, there are some who think that as he gets older and puts on additional muscle, he will start to slow. His long term position, they say, may be at first or in the outfield. It is by no means certain that this will happen or that Candelario will not be able to continue to play third base in the future. I mention it by way of noting that he did shift to first base as a result of some defensive shuffling and pinch hitting later in this game.
  • Farm System Standings

    AAAIowa Cubs : 34 – 50.
    Pacific Coast League American Northern Division – Third Place: 19.0 Games Behind.

    AATennessee Smokies : 5-6
    Southern League North Division – Third Place : 3.0 Game Behind

    High ADaytona Cubs : 6-5
    Florida State League North Division – Third Place : 1.5 Games Behind

    Low APeoria Chiefs : 3-7
    Midwest League Eastern Division – Fourth Place : 3.0 Game Behind

    Short-Season ABoise Hawks : 6 – 11
    Northwest League East Division – Third Place : 3.0 Games Behind

    Rookie LeagueAZL Cubs : 8 – 2
    Arizona Rookie League East – First Place (tie) : 0.0 Games Ahead

    written by

    Luke Blaize is the Minor League Editor at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @ltblaize.

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