Cubs’ Minor League Daily: Javier Baez Is Very Good

Photo by Dennis Sievers/Peoria Chiefs

Javier Baez is a good prospect. Javier Baez is a very good prospect. How good of a prospect is he?

According to Baseball America, he’s the No 25 prospect in all of baseball. Sort of. He is also the only Cub in their Top 50. Sort of.

Baseball America’s mid-season list does not include this summer’s draft picks or international free agent signings. That means likely Top 50 guys Albert Almora (when he signs) and Jorge Soler were not considered for this ranking. I’m not sure either would rank above Baez, but both would be in that ballpark. When those two guys are included the Cubs are very likely to have three prospects among the Top 50 in all of baseball.

Scores From Yesterday

Iowa – Iowa was shut out 3-0.
Tennessee – Tennessee was rained out on Thursday. They will make up the game as part of a doubleheader today.
Daytona – Daytona scored early, but not often. They lost 5-2.
Peoria – The Chiefs had some very good pitching as they earned a 2-1 win.
Boise – Boise scored three times in the last two innings to pull out a dramatic 7-6 win at home.
Arizona – The Cubs rallied late and eventually won in ten innings, 12-11.

Performances of the Day

  • [Iowa] Alberto Cabrera and Ryan Rowland-Smith combined to pitch 2.1 scoreless innings in relief.
  • [Daytona] John Andreoli finished 3 for 4 with his 29th stolen base. Thanks to two walks and a double, Matthew Cerda also reached base three times.
  • [Peoria] Zach Cates got things started by scattering five strikeouts over 4.2 scoreless innings. Zach Rosscup topped that with three innings of scoreless, one hit relief in which he also struck out five. Luis Liria coughed up a solo home run, but he held on to the lead for a four out save.
  • [Peoria] Dustin Geiger homered in his first at bat, his third home run in his past two games. For the season the young third baseman now has six.
  • [Peoria] Javier Baez and Zeke DeVoss both had a stolen base in this game. It was the 12th steal for Baez and the 21st for DeVoss.
  • [Boise] Gioskar Amaya and Stephen Bruno both had three hit games.
  • [Boise] Marco Hernandez finished 2 for 5 with the first triple of his Boise campaign.
  • [Boise] Bijan Rademacher had the best game of the night for the Hawks. He finished 2 for 3 with a double and his first home run.
  • [Arizona] Timothy Saunders had another huge game. He finished 5 for 6 with a double and his first home run of the year. Rafael Lopez and Issac Garsez both had three hits apiece.
  • [Arizona] Nathan Dorris pitched three scoreless innings of relief. He allowed two hits and struck out one.
  • Other Minor League Notes

  • The Smokies were rained out, but the grounds crew deserves a lot of credit for putting up a fight against the storms that swept through Eastern Tennessee. And I mean ‘putting up a fight’ in a very literal sense. When the final bell rang the tarp was judged the winner, but the grounds crew did not go down easily.
  • As a followup to yesterday’s comments on the attendance and stadium situation in Boise, the attendance for the Hawk’s great come from behind was just a hair over 2100. That’s up quite a bit from their last Thursday home game. Maybe word is beginning to spread that the Hawks are not going anywhere.
  • Farm System Standings

    AAAIowa Cubs : 35 – 53.
    Pacific Coast League American Northern Division – Third Place: 21.0 Games Behind.

    AATennessee Smokies : 6-8
    Southern League North Division – Third Place : 3.0 Game Behind

    High ADaytona Cubs : 7-8
    Florida State League North Division – Fourth Place : 2.0 Games Behind

    Low APeoria Chiefs : 5-9
    Midwest League Eastern Division – Fifth Place : 4.0 Game Behind

    Short-Season ABoise Hawks : 7 – 14
    Northwest League East Division – Fourth Place : 4.5 Games Behind

    Rookie LeagueAZL Cubs : 9 – 4
    Arizona Rookie League East – Second Place : 1.5 Game Behind

    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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