I never expect very much out of a player appearing in his first game for a new team. The stress of travel, the extra pressure to perform in a new situation, the change of established routines, and all those other mental and physical factors that are just part of the process of changing teams come into play and often make the stats from that first game fairly meaningless.
Christian Villanueva, the Cubs newest infield prospect and Daytona’s new third baseman, wants no part of that theory. He began his Cubs career not with one bang, but with two. Batting third in the High-A Cubs’ line up, the right handed hitter finished the game 2 for 3 with two home runs and a walk. He now has a Cubs’ farm system OPS of 3.417.
Do not be fooled by this start. He is not a significant power threat, although he could develop average power before it is all said and done. His game is likely to rely on hitting for average and playing good defense. Long term, thanks in no small part to guys like Baez and Candelario, I think Villanueva will be playing second base for the Cubs, but we can expect to see him continue to earn plenty of starts at third as we he works his way up the system.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa’s record slumped still further with a 7-4 loss at home. Tennessee – The Smokies’ offense was completely shut down in this 6-1 loss. Daytona – Daytona was just dominant in this 8-2 win. Peoria – Peoria had more hits, but not more runs. They lost 6-4. Boise – This is a game Boise needs to forget about in a hurry. Nothing went right for the Hawks as they lost 15-1. Arizona – The Cubs held off a late surge by the Angels and walked away with a 6-5 win.
Performances of the Day
[Iowa] Give Marcus Hatley credit for two hitless innings of relief. He also struck out three.
[Iowa] Josh Vitters and Dave Sappelt, the two best candidates to be promoted to Chicago, both finished this game with three hits. Vitters added his fifth steal.
[Iowa] Brett Jackson, who is also a candidate for promotion, reached twice on a single and a walk. He also stole his 26th base.
[Tennessee] Jacob Brigham made his Cubs’ system debut in this game. He lasted three innings, allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks while striking out two. It will take a few games before we have an accurate read on just what the Cubs now have in Bringham.
[Tennessee] Zach Rosscup pitched five innings of relief and he did pretty well. He allowed one run on two hits while striking out five.
[Tennessee] Both of the Smokies’ hits came from Logan Watkins. That includes his fifth home run that provided Tennessee with their only run.
[Daytona] Robert Whitenack had a good, if slightly brief, start in this game. He pitched 3.2 innings, gave up a run on two hits while walking four and striking out three. Since he is still reestablishing his feel for pitching as he recovers from elbow surgery, I am not worried about the walks. I am, however, encouraged by his 9:1 GO/AO ratio.
[Daytona] Ronald Torreyes hit his sixth home run as part of a 2 for 3 game. This was the second baseman’s sixth consecutive multi-hit game.
[Daytona] Once again, the Daytona Base Thieves were up to their usual tricks. Timothy Saunders stole his fourth, Eliser Bonne his 22nd, and catcher Robinson Lopez swiped his first.
[Peoria] The power surge continued as again Dustin Geiger led the Chiefs at the plate. He finished 3 for 4 with a double and his 14th home run.
[Peoria] Outfielders Pin-Chieh Chen and Bijan Radamacher each had two hits. Chen is now hitting .389 in his last ten games.
[Boise] Daniel Vogelbach drove home Marco Hernandez in the first inning for the team’s only run. Both players finished the game with two hits; those were the only four hits Boise had.
[Arizona] With a double apiece Jorge Soler and Albert Almora provided all the extra base hits for the Cubs.
[Arizona] Anthony Prieto started the game, pitched two innings, and allowed nothing but two walks.
[Arizona] Shawon Dunston and Jacob Rogers each had two hits for the Cubs. Dunston has largely shaken off his slow start and now has an OPS of .813 in his last ten games. Rogers has been hitting since the Cubs drafted him in June.
Other Minor League Notes
Tennessee remains four games back in their division. To make the playoffs, they need to win the division out right or finish second to Jackson. Currently Chattanooga is on top.
Why do Daytona’s catchers keep stealing bases? I don’t remember any team that runs their catchers as much as these Cubs do. Combined, Daytona’s backstops have stolen 7 bases in 10 attempts. That is an impressively high success rate for the position typically played by some of the slowest players in the game.
Arizona and Boise both remain in first place in their respective divisions.
Hey, we're just having some early-season fun. So allow me to present the 'Mike Tauchman Is Clearly Better Than' list. As of this moment, Mike Tauchman has ... ... a higher wRC+ (151) than Pete Alonso, Fernando Tatis Jr., and...
Name a player hotter than Kevin Alcántara right now. Go ahead, I'll wait. (He's already raking again today. Literally as I type this.) More on Alcántara's big day and the Smokies home run parade last night in today's Cubs Farm...
Just three starts into his San Francisco Giants career, Blake Snell is heading to the injured list with a left-adductor strain. Oof. You hate to even say it — and who really knows if this was related — but early...
In 1997, I was a miserable Chicago Cubs fan. I mean, that was true a lot of the time, but I mean it in a very specific way that year: the Cubs had started the season 0-14. They had literally...
Cubs rookie starter Jordan Wicks has been impressing us all season long with his apparent offseason transformation (which led to more velocity on his heater and movement on his slider). But last night against the Astros? That was a whole...
The pitching staff has undergone a lot of changes over the past few weeks, and at the center of it all is Ben Brown, the Cubs No. 2 pitching prospect, who's been used out of the 'pen and rotation so...
I recently stumbled onto this live cover of Linger by The Cranberries and I can't stop listening to it. Give it a go. I bet you like it. In case you missed it last night, Cody Bellinger exited last night's...
The big league Cubs last night beat the Astros largely on the strength of the long ball, scoring six of their seven runs that way. Cody Bellinger kicked things off with a monster two-run shot, and Mike Tauchman followed with...
The Cubs cannot catch a break this year, man. They've already dealt with injuries to Jameson Taillon, Justin Steele, Kyle Hendricks, Drew Smyly, Julian Merryweather, Seiya Suzuki, and Ian Happ (did I forget anyone?). And tonight, it seems maybe something...
When you finish with the worst record in the NHL, it's hard to keep your job. Even when the front office strips your roster to the bare bones, apparently. And on Wednesday, David Quinn found out the San Jose Sharks...
The Chicago Bears unveiled plans for their downtown lakefront stadium proposal on Wednesday. And as you might expect, it is very kind on the eyes: https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/1783185834490888461 The Bears even gave the project a code name — The Burnham Park Project: The...
On Wednesday at 9:30 PM ET, the New Orleans Pelicans play the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs, and CJ McCollum's 3-pointer prop for this clash requires four trifectas.CJ McCollum's Three-Pointer Prop...
At 9:30 PM ET on Wednesday, in Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs, it'll be the New Orleans Pelicans against the Oklahoma City Thunder -- with Brandon Ingram needing to connect only once from beyond the...
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander needs to make two 3-pointers to beat his prop when the Oklahoma City Thunder meet the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday at 9:30 PM ET, in Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs.Shai Gilgeous-Alexander's Three-Pointer...
Name a player hotter than Kevin Alcántara right now. Go ahead, I'll wait. (He's already raking again today. Literally as I type this.) More on Alcántara's big day and the Smokies home run parade last night in today's Cubs Farm...
Just three starts into his San Francisco Giants career, Blake Snell is heading to the injured list with a left-adductor strain. Oof. You hate to even say it — and who really knows if this was related — but early...
Hey, we're just having some early-season fun. So allow me to present the 'Mike Tauchman Is Clearly Better Than' list. As of this moment, Mike Tauchman has ... ... a higher wRC+ (151) than Pete Alonso, Fernando Tatis Jr., and...
The San Diego Padres (13-13) are favorites (-158) on the moneyline when they take on the Colorado Rockies (6-18) Wednesday at 8:40 PM ET, live on SDPA.Matt Waldron takes the mound for San Diego while Dakota Hudson is Colorado's starter...
The Houston Texans killed the NFL Draft last year, selecting the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Defensive Rookie of the Year with back-to-back picks, and they also drafted a solid wide receiver in Tank Dell. Houston also had...