Dillon Maples was one of the most promising prospects to come out of the Cubs’ loaded 2011 draft, but he did not reach a full season league until 23 months after he was drafted. After dealing with delays and minor injuries for his first two years in the system, Maples finally made it to Low-A with Kane County on Sunday. The results from his first start were not earth-shaking, but he was fairly effective. Over five innings he gave up three runs on six hits while striking out two and walking none. The important thing, though, is that he takes the ball again every five days as part of a regular rotation. At the start of this season Maples had just 10.1 professional innings under his belt. More than anything else right now, he just needs experience.
Scores From The Weekend
Iowa – Friday – The Cubs finally escaped from Colorado after this 11-1 loss. Saturday – And they promptly celebrated their escape with a 4-1 win in Reno. Sunday – They coughed up a late lead on Sunday, though, and took a disappointing 9-8 loss.
Tennessee – Friday – A ninth inning rally fizzled just short as the Smokies lost 5-4. Saturday – This time it was the Smokies that withstood a late rally and came away with a 5-4 win. Sunday – How do you start a road trip? How about a 5-0 shutout win. That worked for Tennessee on Sunday.
Daytona – Friday – It rained. No game on Friday. Saturday – It rained some more. No game on Saturday. Sunday – This was a scheduled day off for the Cubs. Knowing Florida, it probably rained anyway.
Kane County – Friday – The Cougars won both halves of a doubleheader on Friday. Game One lasted 10 innings and ended in a 2-1 Kane County win. Game Two lasted just the regular seven and ended in a 4-1 win for the Cougars. Saturday – Despite being outhit, the Cougars won 7-4. Sunday – This game also went into ten innings, but this time it was Kane County who came up short. They lost 7-6.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] The Iowa starter who held Reno to a single run on Saturday was Guillermo Moscoso. Moscoso’s pick-up was not highly touted (though Brett was pleased), but this season he has struck out 16 against 5 walks in 16 innings of work. His early season ERA of 1.69 is quite good for the hitter-happy Pacific Coast League. Keep him in mind as a bullpen option / swing man in Chicago should one or more starter be dealt in the coming months. As we’ve discussed previously, he has had some major league success before (just not in the state of Colorado).
[Iowa] Casey Coleman is also continuing to pitch well for Iowa as a bullpen guy, especially against right handers. His ERA against righties is 2.70 vs 5.06 against lefties.
[Tennessee] The big story for the Double A weekend was once again Kyle Hendricks. On Sunday he carried a shutout into the seventh inning and walked away the winner after giving up 4 hits and recording 4 strikeouts. His ERA is down to 2.63.
[Tennessee] I don’t feel like I’ve said enough nice things about Zach Rosscup lately. This lefty, also known as ‘that other pitcher in the Matt Garza trade’, has yet to be charged with a run this month. Through 6.2 May innings he has allowed just two hits and two walks while striking out nine. For the season he has an ERA of 1.08 (0.75 against right handers).
[Tennessee] Matt Szczur had a huge weekend. On Friday he went 2 for 3 with 2 walks and one steal. Saturday he picked up two more hits and two more steals (giving him 12 for the year), and on Sunday he doubled as part of his 3 for 5 day. He’ll wake up this morning with a line of .287/.365/.372.
[Kane County] Here’s another outfielder who had a nice weekend. Bijan Rademacher was hitting seventh on Friday when he went 2 for 4 in Game One and 1 for 3 (HR) in Game Two. On Saturday he was 1 for 4 with a walk, and on Sunday (batting second) he finished 0 for 2 with 3 walks.
[Kane County] Tayler Scott struck out six over 5.1 innings on Friday in Game One. Scott does not quite draw the headlines of some of the other pitching prospects in the system, but he is not someone you should forget about. He has quite a bit of potential.
[Kane County] Felix Pena struck out six over six innings as the starter in Game Two on Friday.
[Kane County] Rock Shoulders is up to 8 home runs now, and the eighth was a grand slam on Sunday.
Other News
Brett Jackson returned from the DL on May 9th, and since then he has not exactly looked like Brett Jackson. Not at the plate anyway. Granted, it has only been four games, but he has just two strikeouts against one walk over those four games. He is still driving the ball, though. Two of his seven hits have been doubles. Four games are only four games, but this stretch is a positive sign for Jackson. Hopefully he keeps it up.
Iowa is playing in Reno now, and Reno is the new home of former Cub fan favorite Tony Campana. Campana already has nine steals this season, but the problems that plagued him with the Cubs have not abated in the Diamondbacks’ system. He is hitting just .235/.262/.259.
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NEWSLETTER
Dillon Maples was one of the most promising prospects to come out of the Cubs’ loaded 2011 draft, but he did not reach a full season league until 23 months after he was drafted. After dealing with delays and minor injuries for his first two years in the system, Maples finally made it to Low-A with Kane County on Sunday. The results from his first start were not earth-shaking, but he was fairly effective. Over five innings he gave up three runs on six hits while striking out two and walking none. The important thing, though, is that he takes the ball again every five days as part of a regular rotation. At the start of this season Maples had just 10.1 professional innings under his belt. More than anything else right now, he just needs experience.
