Any baseball card collectors out there? While they can be harder to find, there are minor league baseball cards for many of the players in the Cubs’ farm system hiding in those foil wrapped packages. If you’re interested in picking up some of those cards, be sure you are one of the first 2,000 people through the gates in Iowa on August 20. Not only will that ensure you receive the Iowa Cubs card set (possibly featuring one Anthony Rizzo), but you will also have the chance to get those cards autographed by the Iowa players.
Baseball cards are nice and all, but what we really need are baseball blogger cards. Get on that, Topps. I know where you can score some great pictures of some writers, their cats, and maybe even their cats’ pajamas.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa gave up three runs in the ninth and fell 10-7. Tennessee – The Smokies fell 4-1 in a rain shortened contest. Daytona – Daytona scored five times in the final two innings but lost anyway by a score of 12-8. Peoria – Peoria scored four times in the top of the eleventh to win 9-6. Boise – Boise never led in this 7-2 loss. Arizona – The Arizona Cubs had the day off on Friday.
Performances of the Day
[Iowa] Brett Jackson hit his 13th home run in this game.
[Iowa] If the Cubs need him, Adrian Cardenas will be ready to go. The second baseman hit two more doubles on Friday night.
[Iowa] After a day off, Josh Vitters immediately got to work on a new hitting streak with a two hit game that included his 29th double.
[Tennessee] Logan Watkins had the Smokies’ only extra base hit (a double) and their only run.
[Tennessee] Dae-Eun Rhee gave up three runs (two earned), but he did so while allowing just two hits and a walk over six innings.
[Tennessee] Trey McNutt made his third relief appearance and easily breezed through the seventh inning. He ran into some trouble in the eighth, but rain finished the game before he had a chance to pitch out of it.
[Daytona] Frank Del Valle came out of the bullpen to pitch four innings of one hit baseball.
[Daytona] Rubi Silva had a great game. Not only did he finish 4 for 5 with his tenth triple, he also picked up an outfield assist by throwing out a runner at second from center field.
[Daytona] Ronald Torreyes stayed red hot with another two hit, one double game. He also stole his 11th base.
[Peoria] Michael Jensen had another good start. He struck out five while allowing one earned run over six innings.
[Peoria] Pete Levitt and Jeffry Antigua also pitched well. They combined to record eight outs, five of them by the strike out.
[Peoria] Dustin Geiger hit his ninth home run as part of his two hit night. Considering that he has only played in 35 games this season, nine home runs is pretty impressive.
[Peoria] Taiwan Easterling also had a good game. In addition to a double and his fourth home run, the outfielder stole two more bases and now has 18 this year. Unfortunately he left the game early after an ugly crash into the wall.
[Peoria] Pin-Chieh Chen had three hits, including a double. He is hitting .361/.465/.472 in his last ten games.
[Boise] Michael Hamann pitched a nearly perfect innings of relief. He struck out one, and hit one batter with a pitch.
[Boise] Rock Shoulders provided the offense for the Hawks. His 4 for 4 game included his seventh double and his fifth home run.
Other Minor League Notes
Robert Whitenack had the start in Daytona’s game. It did not go well. Whitenack faced seven batters before being lifted and he failed to retire any of them. Now that three of Whitenack’s last four starts have gone poorly, I would not be surprised to see the Cubs shift him back to Arizona to continue his rebound from elbow surgery in non-game situations.
Elieser Bonne has had an interesting season. Including his three hit performance on Friday, his monthly OPS totals look like this: April – 0.579, May – 0.755, June – 0.429, July – 0.867. Since he jumped from the DSL to High A Daytona in a single leap, I expected him to be somewhat erratic. Even so, I’m not sure if that line is a purely a product of random variation, or if it reflects a guy who struggled early, made adjustments, was figured out by the rest of league, and made more adjustments. Given his intriguing background I think it is worth continuing to monitor him as a potential fringe guy.
Farm System Standings
AAA – Iowa Cubs : 41 – 59.
Pacific Coast League American Northern Division – Third Place: 18.0 Games Behind.
AA – Tennessee Smokies : 12-17
Southern League North Division – Fourth Place : 5.5 Games Behind
High A – Daytona Cubs : 12-16
Florida State League North Division – Fourth Place : 5.5 Games Behind
Low A – Peoria Chiefs : 11-16
Midwest League Eastern Division – Fifth Place : 4.0 Game Behind
Short-Season A – Boise Hawks : 12 – 23
Northwest League East Division – Third Place : 8.0 Games Behind
Rookie League – AZL Cubs : 18 – 6
Arizona Rookie League East – First Place : 1.0 Games Ahead
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NEWSLETTER
Any baseball card collectors out there? While they can be harder to find, there are minor league baseball cards for many of the players in the Cubs’ farm system hiding in those foil wrapped packages. If you’re interested in picking up some of those cards, be sure you are one of the first 2,000 people through the gates in Iowa on August 20. Not only will that ensure you receive the Iowa Cubs card set (possibly featuring one Anthony Rizzo), but you will also have the chance to get those cards autographed by the Iowa players.
