Two pitchers at the Cubs’ Dominican facilities have been suspended for the use of performance enhancing drugs, specifically Stanozolol. Antonio Encarnacion and Juancito De la Cruz were both suspended for fifty games.
And if you just said “Who?”, are you are not alone. Based on their numbers, referring to either of these guys as a fringe prospect is being extremely generous. Encarnacion could be a fantastic prospect, I suppose, but since he has yet to appear on a Cubs’ roster this year, let alone in any games, it is very difficult to say for certain (his previous years in the DSL suggest he’s no prospect). Juancito De la Cruz has been pitching for DSL Cubs 1, but he has not been pitching well. His 20 innings have come entirely in relief, and in those 20 innings he has 20 walks, 19 strikeouts, an ERA of 6.30, and an opponents batting average of .333. Those are not good numbers.
The good news, then, is that neither of the players who got caught using the drugs are significant prospects (so far as I can tell). The bad news is that this is yet another case of DSL Cubs failing drug tests. It seems this is happening once or twice every season. The players committing the offense are usually very fringe prospects who are very unlikely to be promoted out of the Dominican Leagues, but I still don’t like it. I strongly suspect the offenders are not doing the drugs on the Cubs’ campus, but instead are doing it on their own before they arrive for the season. If that is the case, there may not be much more the Cubs can do about it. Still, I don’t like this trend.
Hopefully the new Cubs’ campus that is under construction in the Dominican Republic will encourage players to stay around and work out year round, thereby perhaps reducing the incidence of PED use by Cubs’ players. I really don’t know what else the Cubs can do. It looks bad, but there it is.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – It took eleven innings, but Iowa squeaked out a 2-1 win.
Tennessee – The Smokies had Wednesday off.
Daytona – Daytona was never out of this game, but they lost in end by a score of 3-1.
Peoria – The Chiefs opened a road trip with a 9-8 loss in ten innings.
Boise – The Hawks wrapped up a home stand with this 8-4 loss.
Arizona – The Cubs won in a rare AZL shut out, 4-0.
Performances of the Day
Other Minor League Notes
Farm System Standings
AAA – Iowa Cubs : 41 – 57.
Pacific Coast League American Northern Division – Third Place: 17.5 Games Behind.
AA – Tennessee Smokies : 12-14
Southern League North Division – Fourth Place : 4.5 Games Behind
High A – Daytona Cubs : 12-15
Florida State League North Division – Fourth Place : 4.5 Games Behind
Low A – Peoria Chiefs : 10-14
Midwest League Eastern Division – Fourth Place : 4.0 Game Behind
Short-Season A – Boise Hawks : 12 – 21
Northwest League East Division – Third Place : 8.0 Games Behind
Rookie League – AZL Cubs : 18 – 5
Arizona Rookie League East – First Place : 1.5 Games Ahead