As I am sure you knew already, Javier Baez has been promoted to the High-A Daytona Cubs. He made his Florida State League debut on Saturday. That game did not go very well for Baez; he struck out twice in an 0 for 4 performance.
His lack of success in his first game is, of course, completely meaningless. There are a lot of changes and stresses that occur when a player changes leagues, especially when he is promoted to a new level, and the on field performance often reflects that. Long term, Baez will be fine. I’m not too worried about his ability to hit High-A pitching once he has had a chance to adjust to the new situation.
I still expect Baez to be sent to the prospect heavy Arizona Fall League after the season is over, and that is when I think he will be significantly challenged at the plate. The AFL usually features some of the best pitching prospects in the game. That will be Baez’s first notable test.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa rallied for a four run eighth inning. That proved to be the difference as they won 5-1. Tennessee – The Smokies played a double header on Saturday to make up for Friday’s rain out. They took the first game 6-5, but lost Game Two 8-7. Daytona – Poor pitching and poor defense doomed Daytona to a 12-5 loss. Peoria – Peoria was held to just three hits in this 8-1 loss. Boise – Boise scored early and kept tacking on insurance runs as they finished with a 6-2 win. Arizona – Arizona had the day off.
Performances of the Day
[Iowa] Chris Rusin pitched a very good game. Over the span of seven innings he allowed a run on four hits while striking out eight.
[Iowa] A big part of the Cubs’ eighth inning rally was Josh Vitters‘ three run homer. He now has 17 this season.
[Tennessee] Nick Struck pitched five innings of Game One for his 12th win. Frank Batista pitched the final two frames for his 20th Double A save.
[Tennessee] Justin Bour homered in both halves of the double header and now has 14 on the season. Logan Watkins added his tenth triple.
[Boise] The Hawks enjoyed some solid pitching in this game. Tayler Scott allowed just two runs (one earned) on five hits in 5.1 innings. Matt Iannazzo struck out four in 2.2. innings of scoreless relief, and Nathan Dorris tossed a perfect ninth to nail down the save.
After slumping for a time, Junior Lake has been on a bit of a tear of late. Over his last ten games his OPS is a robust 1.064. More importantly, he has four walks against eight strikeouts in that span. The more evidence he shows of harnessing his tools and developing a more refined game at the plate the happier the Cubs will be.
Daytona suddenly features one of the most prospect-laden infields in a farm system full of prospect-laden infields. With Baez at shortstop, Ronald Torreyes at second, and Christian Villanueva at third, the Daytona Cubs feature potential major league talent at all three positions. I still prefer the Boise infield of Daniel Vogelbach (1B), Gioskar Amaya (2B), Marco Hernandez (SS), and Jeimer Candelario (3B) slightly, but Baez is clearly the best player of the lot.
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NEWSLETTER
As I am sure you knew already, Javier Baez has been promoted to the High-A Daytona Cubs. He made his Florida State League debut on Saturday. That game did not go very well for Baez; he struck out twice in an 0 for 4 performance.
