Jorge Soler‘s first home run in a full season minor league was a big one. With two outs in the third inning on Saturday, Jorge Soler kicked off his Midwest League career by launching a grand slam on the first pitch he saw in the at bat. Expectations were already sky high for this outfielder, and a start like that (well, second game) is not going to lower them at all.
Soler and the rest of the Peoria Chiefs return home on Wednesday. Not only will the fans get to see one of the most exciting international free agents to ever sign with the Cubs, they will also get to chow down on twenty five cent hot dogs.
Interestingly, if Soler were to spend his entire signing bonus on hot dogs at Wednesday’s game, he would have so many hot dogs he could give two of them to every man, woman, and child in South Africa and still have enough left over to feed his native Cuba. Or he could lay those hot dogs end to end and have chain of meaty goodness that would reach from Chicago to San Diego. Unfortunately, I don’t think he would be able to find enough peppers to dress all those hot dogs properly.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – The Iowa Cubs game was suspended by rain. The game will be concluded on Sunday prior to the start of the regularly scheduled contest. Tennessee – Three Smokey pitchers combined for the shutout as Tennessee won 2-0. Daytona – Did you know it rains a lot in Florida? The Daytona Cubs do. And thanks to that rain, their Saturday game was postponed. Weather permitting they will play a doubleheader today. Peoria – Soler’s bomb put the Chiefs ahead for good in this 5-3 Peoria win. Boise – Chalk up another win for the Hawks. They took the lead in the second inning and never again trailed in this 4-1 win. Arizona – Arizona managed to score eight runs without the benefit of a single extra base hit as the Cubs won 8-3.
Performances of the Day
[Tennessee] Dae-Eun Rhee, Tony Zych, and Brian Schlitter gave up seven hits, struck out seven, and kept Huntsville from ever crossing the plate.
[Tennessee] Matthew Szczur seems like he is right at home in Double A. He not only had two more hits in this game, he also cut down a runner at third base.
[Peoria] In addition to his home run, Soler also drew a walk.
[Peoria] The Peoria bullpen turned in a very good performance on Saturday as well. Luis Liria, Sheldon McDonald, and Larry Suarez combined to toss 4.2 innings of no hit baseball in relief of Zach Cates.
[Boise] Daniel Vogelbach did not hit a home run in this game. Issac Garsez did though, and it was his first as a Hawk.
[Boise] Pierce Johnson made his Boise debut on Saturday. The starter allowed one run on four hits over two innings while striking out two.
[Boise] When Johnson left the game, Felix Pena came in to pitch five very good innings. He allowed just two hits while striking out four.
[Arizona] Garrett Schlect reached three times on a hit and two walks. He also stole three bases and now has six steals for the season.
[Arizona] Anthony Prieto gave up just one hit while striking out three in his three innings of work.
Other Minor League Notes
Rain suspended and cancelled games are fairly normal in the minors, but the Iowa game on Saturday is unusual. The Cubs are currently playing in Las Vegas, and Las Vegas, as I am sure you are aware, is famously situated in the middle of a desert. Needless to say, rain outs in Vegas are not exactly routine events. They are so rare, in fact, that Vegas may not even possess a full infield tarp. They certainly were not using it in this picture.
Pierce Johnson likely pitched just two innings because he is on a hard pitch count. That is the norm for pitchers who play in the year in which they are drafted. We will be seeing more pitchers at other levels of the system being placed on tight pitch counts as we move through the final few weeks of baseball.
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NEWSLETTER
Jorge Soler‘s first home run in a full season minor league was a big one. With two outs in the third inning on Saturday, Jorge Soler kicked off his Midwest League career by launching a grand slam on the first pitch he saw in the at bat. Expectations were already sky high for this outfielder, and a start like that (well, second game) is not going to lower them at all.
