Cubs Minor League Daily: April Rains

daytona cubs logoDerby Day is this Saturday, and it occurs to me that baseball really does not have any event that compares with the Kentucky Derby. There just is not a day in baseball that revolves heavily around huge, weird looking hats and guzzling one particular flavor of alcohol to the exclusion of all others. I think I’m OK with this.

But Derby Day marks the beginning of May, and that is a good time to survey the organization leaders in the various stats. Brian Bogusevic and Rock Shoulders are on top in most of the core hitting categories, but (somewhat surprisingly) Stephen Bruno and John Andreoli are lurking not far behind. On the mound, Eric Jokisch leads the organization in term of ERA and is near the top in the other categories as well. Felix Pena and P.J. Francescon also feature prominently near the top of the lists.

Speaking of lists, we have some games to talk about.

Scores From The Weekend

Iowa
Friday – The Cubs tied it up in the ninth, but they lost 5-4 in the tenth.
Saturday – This game got ugly in the bottom of the first, and never really improved. Iowa was blown out 13-2.
Sunday – But the Cubs salvaged the weekend with a strong showing on Sunday. They won this one by a final of 10-6.

Tennessee
Friday – This game had plenty of offense late, but it was Tennessee who game out on top 5-3.
Saturday – Rain pushed this game to Sunday…
Sunday – … and more rain caused both halves of the doubleheader to be cancelled.

Daytona
Friday – Daytona overcame three errors to win 7-3 on Friday.
Saturday – The Cubs scored in the first but were kept off the board after that. They lost 5-1.
Sunday – Not only did Daytona win 7-4, they did it by beating the Cardinals. That’s a nice bonus at any level of baseball.

Kane County
Friday – A bullpen meltdown led to a tenth inning 6-5 loss.
Saturday – A three run eighth pushed the Cougars to a 5-3 win.
Sunday – The rains turned Sunday’s game into Monday’s doubleheader.

Performances of Note

  • [Iowa] Logan Watkins is starting to find some hits. He collected five over the weekend, including triples on both Saturday and Sunday, and has raised his average to .250. His OBP remains a very nice .412.
  • [Iowa] Brett Jackson is showing some signs of life as well. He had extra base hits in consecutive games this weekend (including a homer on Sunday), and even managed to go through five at bats without a strikeout in yesterday’s contest. The season is still very young for Jackson; his playing time had been inconsistent at best since April 15 as he tried to shake off a minor foot injury.
  • [Iowa] By allowing two runs on four hits over six innings, Chris Rusin continued his case to be considered a candidate for the Cubs rotation later this season.
  • [Tennessee] Rubi Silva erupted for a triple and a home run on Friday. That burst ended a three game hit drought and left him with an OPS of .891. Jae-Hoon Ha also had a nice game, reaching (and scoring) three times on two hits and a walk.
  • [Tennessee] In six innings of work Alberto Cabrera gave up three hits, three walks, and struck out six.
  • [Daytona] Somehow the Cubs managed to give up just three runs on Friday despite walking nine. Sunday’s pitching performance, 4 R and 10 K, was much more the sort of thing we like to see in the minors.
  • [Daytona] Javier Baez is heating up. He is riding a four game hitting streak now, and three of those four were multi-hit games. This weekend he collected a total of five hits (including a home run and two doubles), walked once and struck out just twice. His OPS has now crept over .800, but his OBP remains a mediocre .291.
  • [Daytona] Speaking of OBP, Zeke DeVoss is closing in something that is very rarely seen at any level of professional baseball. His OBP is nearly .200 higher than his batting average. Entering today’s game he is hitting .237 with an OBP of .426.
  • [Kane County] Normally I don’t talk about hitless days, but I want to highlight the 0 for 5 performance Daniel Vogelbach had on Friday. It was a crappy day at the plate no matter how you slice it… except for the lack of strikeouts. He had none. I hate to see 0 for 5 in any box score, but when they do happen I like seeing that 0 in the strikeout column.
  • [Kane County] Sticking with that theme, Pierce Johnson fanned seven in his 5.2 innings of work on Friday.
  • [Kane County] Thanks to a double and a triple this weekend, Oliver Zapata now enjoys a six game hitting streak complete with two doubles, two triples, three steals, two strikeouts, and two walks. This 5’9″ switch hitter remains one of the more enigmatic players in the system.
  • Other News

  • Rubi Silva was well thought of when the Cubs signed him, but he did not do much of anything during his first couple of seasons in the organization and a lot of fans simply forgot about him. Now he is effectively beating up on the Southern League and firmly staking his claim as a prospect who cannot simply be dismissed. This is starting to look like a case in which we simply were not patient enough. While he did reach Tennessee last season, he only played twenty games there in 2012. We can’t explain his success this year by saying he is repeating the league, has become a veteran, or anything of that nature. His BB% is abysmal (and that in turn draws down his OBP), but everything else looks pretty good. I suspect the main effect of his 2013 early season surge will be to raise his trade value, but it is still good to see. Hopefully he can keep this up for the rest of the season.
  • Much has been made of Jorge Soler‘s decline in numbers since he came back from his suspension, but it truly appears to be nothing. His K% and BB% still look quite healthy. The numbers strongly suggest he just has a bad case of hitting balls right at people. Some of it, no doubt, is due to pitchers learning how to attack Soler and taking advantage of his weaknesses, but the contributions of bad luck can’t be completely discounted. Regardless of how we apportion blame, I see nothing to worry about. He did have a day off on Sunday; we’ll see if that rest helped him at all.
  • written by

    Luke Blaize is the Minor League Editor at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @ltblaize.

    more cubs news

    Wrigley Field is Gonna Be Lit This Year (As in New Colored Lights!)

    Last year, the Cubs started using their new LED outfield lights to do a little dancing display during 'Go Cubs Go,' lighting along with the song and throwing in a W. It was very fun and I liked it. This...

    The 2024 Chicago Cubs for Dummies

    Boom. We made it. The offseason is over, and the Cubs regular season - and those elevated expectations - begins tomorrow. But in case you slept through the winter, I'm here to catch you up on everything you need to...

    Why Craig Counsell Wanted Miles Mastrobuoni on the Cubs’ Bench

    I don't know why Miles Mastrobuoni bugs some folks, but it's probably heavily-weighted toward his small-sample, bad-batted-ball-luck start last year, and that time he didn't dive while playing in right field. It can be hard to shake initial impressions, I...

    Kinda Sounds Like Craig Counsell May Have a Set Top Three in the Batting Order

    New Chicago Cubs manager Craig Counsell has said, generally, his batting order philosophy is the very simplistic (and very correct): just get your best hitters the most at bats. Sure, there's some play in that to set up good match-ups,...

    Los Angeles Dodgers Signing Will Smith to a TEN-YEAR Extension

    The Los Angeles Dodgers have done it again. And by it, I mean they have signed a funkily-structured contract that is going to leave some folks annoyed. The Dodgers are extending catcher Will Smith on a DECADE-long deal with a...

    The Stretch: 2024 MLB Season Preview

    On Monday, during a team-building conversation with some of the Bleacher Nation and Betsperts Media Group folks, we discussed sports—shocking, I know—and Brian Twining asked the group what their favorite sport was. For me, it's baseball. There's no debate. I...

    We Have to Talk About Some of the “Deals” the Cubs Sat Out in Free Agency

    This week, in a conversation with Jon Greenberg at The Athletic, Cubs President Jed Hoyer made an honest and sober (but also moderately disappointing) admission about the 2024 Chicago Cubs: "We need to perform probably at or a little bit...

    The Chicago Cubs Are Reportedly Now Worth Over $5 Billion

    Given all the tumult in the baseball broadcasting world, and the uncertain future for that portion of revenues, you'd be forgiven for expecting that MLB franchise valuations would slow their recent surge. But, according to Sportico at least, you'd be...

    Reds Second Baseman Matt McLain Had Shoulder Surgery

    The injury to Matt McLain's shoulder issue obviously wound up being worse than he and the Cincinnati Reds had been hoping. The damage to his left (non-throwing) labrum ultimately required surgery: https://twitter.com/m_sheldon/status/1772993402604339478 When the hope is that a guy can...

    Cubs Actually Getting a Whole Lot of Votes to Win the NL Central

    ESPN dropped its big season preview, and included were a set of divisional predictions by way of their writers, editors, and analysts voting. There's nothing in the way of proof or certainty there, but with 26 voters, I do like...

    Latest News

    Orioles vs. Angels Prediction: Expert Picks, Odds, Stats & Best Bets – Thursday, March 28, 2024

    The Baltimore Orioles begin their season as -192 favorites in a home tilt against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday at 3:05 PM ET, live on BSW.Baltimore's Corbin Burnes and Los Angeles' Patrick Sandoval have been named the starters for...

    Wyoming vs South Dakota Women’s College Basketball Odds and Prediction – March 29

    The South Dakota Coyotes (23-12) will try to break a three-game road losing streak when they square off against the Wyoming Cowgirls (17-14) on March 29, 2024 at Arena-Auditorium.Wyoming vs. South Dakota NCAA Game InfoDate: Friday, March 29, 2024Time: 8:30...

    Minnesota vs North Dakota State Women’s College Basketball Odds and Prediction – March 29

    The Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-15) face the North Dakota State Bison (22-11) on March 29, 2024.Minnesota vs. North Dakota State NCAA Game InfoDate: Friday, March 29, 2024Time: 8:00 PM ETWhere: Minneapolis, MinnesotaVenue: Williams ArenaLast Game For Each TeamMinnesota enters this...

    Rays vs. Blue Jays Probable Starting Pitchers – March 28

    The Tampa Bay Rays (0-0) and the Toronto Blue Jays (0-0) face off on Thursday at Tropicana Field for Opening Day. First pitch is at 4:10 PM ET.The Rays will call on Zach Eflin versus the Blue Jays and Jose...

    Dodgers vs. Cardinals Probable Starting Pitchers – March 28

    The Los Angeles Dodgers (1-1) and the St. Louis Cardinals (0-0) face off at Dodger Stadium on Thursday at 4:10 PM ET, starting a four-game series.The Dodgers will look to Tyler Glasnow versus the Cardinals and Miles Mikolas.Dodgers vs. Cardinals...

    Padres vs. Giants Probable Starting Pitchers – March 28

    The San Francisco Giants (0-0) begin a four-game series against the San Diego Padres (1-1) on Thursday at PETCO Park. First pitch is at 4:10 PM.The Padres will look to Yu Darvish versus the Giants and Logan Webb.Padres vs. Giants...

    Astros vs. Yankees Probable Starting Pitchers – March 28

    The Houston Astros (0-0) and the New York Yankees (0-0) face off on Thursday at Minute Maid Park for Opening Day. First pitch is at 4:10 PM ET.The Astros will call on Framber Valdez against the Yankees and Nestor Cortes...

    Reds vs. Nationals Probable Starting Pitchers – March 28

    The Cincinnati Reds (0-0) and the Washington Nationals (0-0) face off on Thursday at Great American Ball Park for Opening Day. First pitch is at 4:10 PM ET.The Reds will call on Frankie Montas against the Nationals and Josiah Gray.Reds...

    Marlins vs. Pirates Probable Starting Pitchers – March 28

    The Miami Marlins (0-0) and the Pittsburgh Pirates (0-0) match up on Thursday at LoanDepot park for Opening Day. First pitch is at 4:10 PM ET.The Marlins will look to Jesus Luzardo versus the Pirates and Mitch Keller.Marlins vs. Pirates...

    Twins vs. Royals Probable Starting Pitchers – March 28

    The Kansas City Royals (0-0) host the Minnesota Twins (0-0) in an Opening Day contest at 4:10 PM ET on Thursday.The Twins will call on Pablo Lopez versus the Royals and Cole Ragans.Twins vs. Royals Pitcher Matchup and Game InfoWhen:...

    more cubs news