Have you ever wondered how a player goes about choosing a bat? There are a lot of factors that must to go into but, but most of them seem very small individually.
Ash versus Maple? All the ratios of length to weight, not to mention the various options for handle width? To me it is mostly indecipherable. I know it is all important, but it is hard to understand just how one would go about figuring out which bat is right.
I suppose it might be similar to the way I am with keyboards. As both a writer and a gamer, my keyboard is extremely important and I am picky. I’m not sure I could put into words exactly what I am looking for in a keyboard or why one works for me while another one does not, but I know a good one when I find it.
And maybe it is the same way with bats. I have no idea, but I do wonder.
Scores From The Weekend
Iowa – Friday – A big sixth inning carried the Cubs to a 9-5 home win. Saturday – An even bigger sixth inning carried the Cubs to another win, 8-7. Sunday – Iowa closed out the weekend with this 3-1 loss.
Tennessee – Friday – Tennessee had plenty of hits but only got three of those runners over the plate. They lost 4-3. Saturday – The Cubs rallied in the eighth inning on Saturday and took the 5-3 win. Sunday – On Sunday, though, it was the Smokies who gave up the rally. They lost this one 4-1.
Boise – Friday – The Hawks opened up the season the right way with this 7-0 win. Saturday – The lost a pitching duel on Saturday, though, by a final of 1-0. Sunday – But on Sunday the bats roared to life as the Hawks claimed their second road win 8-2.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] Jeffry Antigua has become a bit of a long man for Iowa since vaulting up from Kane County, and he tossed three scoreless innings on Friday.
[Iowa] Larry Suarez made his lone appearance for Iowa on Friday, striking out one in a scoreless final frame. He was returned to Daytona later in the weekend.
[Iowa] If there is any doubt who the Cubs should call up to Chicago next, Steve Clevenger is doing his best to put it to rest. Playing third base on Friday, Clevenger finished 3 for 3 with a home run. He followed that up with two more home runs on Saturday while playing catcher.
[Tennessee] Kyle Hendricks had one of his rougher starts on Saturday. Over 7 innings he gave up 8 hits and struck out 3. Thanks in part to no walks and no home runs allowed, though, he gave up just a single earned run and walked away a winner.
[Tennessee] The Cubs raised a few eyebrows when they raised Pin-Chieh Chen all the way to Tennessee, but he made them look genius on Friday as he went 2 for 3 with triple.
[Tennessee] Rubi Silva had a nice weekend. He opened with a 3 for 5 performance on Friday that included yet another double. After an 0 for 4 Saturday he finished the weekend by going 3 for 4 on Sunday. Sunday’s double was his 15th on the season.
[Tennessee] Silva still trails Arismendy Alcantara in two-baggers, though. Alcantara pushed his total to 16 with two doubles on Saturday. He also stole his 17th base in that game.
[Daytona] Not only did Baez finish second in the Home Run Derby, his two doubles accounted for half of the FSL North’s hits in the All Star Game.
[Daytona] And he wasn’t the only Cub putting his stamp on the box score. John Andreoli had the North’s only RBI, Dustin Geiger had the only walk, Frank Del Valle led the pitchers in strikeouts, and Jorge Soler was the only starter who did not get an At Bat. I suppose that means the Cubs also account for the game’s only controversy as well.
[Kane County] Dillon Maples had another game in which he had trouble finding the strike zone on Saturday. I am not certain what is going on here, but it is far to early to give up on Maples. He was and is a very talented pitching prospect with a very high ceiling and plenty of work to do to reach that ceiling.
[Kane County] The big blows on Saturday came from Bijan Rademacher. Leading off as the DH, Rademacher finished 3 for 5 with a double and his second home run.
[Kane County] Reggie Golden has been putting up some decent numbers in the early going. With just 12 games under his belt he already has two home runs and a triple. The strike outs were a problem early, but he has had just one since June 9th.
[Boise] Paul Blackburn was pretty good on Saturday. He struck out 8 while giving up just 1 hit over 5 innings. Corbin Hoffner struck out one over three hitless innings of relief.
[Boise] Shawon Dunston Jr. opened his season 4 for 6 with a double and a steal. He had another hit on both Saturday and Sunday.
[Boise] Kevin Encarnacion is also off to a good start. Through three games he is already up to 4 hits (one double) and 3 steals. This is the first year the switch hitter has played in the United States, but he posted an OPS of .912 last season in the DSL while walking 39 times against 27 strike outs. That’s the sort of line that first brought Jeimer Candelario to our attention. Then again, Candelario is two years younger than Encarnacion.
Other News
It is still too early to take the Sample Size Alert off of Junior Lake‘s Triple A numbers, but his numbers through 10 games and 45 Plate Appearances are interesting. The 8.9% walk rate, if it stays that high, would be a career high. The 13.3% strike out rate would be a career low (by a wide margin). Conclusive? Far from it. But it is interesting and encouraging. If he can keep this up, the Cubs are going to have some tough decisions to make in Spring Training next year.
If you have not yet checked out the Tennessee Smokies auction in support of the Oklahoma City Red Cross, now is your last chance. The bidding closes at noon Eastern time, and with it your chance to score an Alberto Cabrera signed Cubs hat for $35. Oddly enough, as I write this there is a bid on the baseball signed by Darwin Barney, but not the one signed by Anthony Rizzo. They are the same price. Gold Glove effect?
You remember that Baez four home run game? You want to see the fourth home run? Click here. Better not blink, though. That ball got out to left in a hurry.
Baez isn’t the only slugger in the system. Rock Shoulders has tied him with 13 home runs apiece. Brad Nelson of Iowa has 12, and Dan Vogelbach trails slightly with 11.
After missing all of spring training and the start of the season with a back injury, Jameson Taillon returned to the Chicago Cubs rotation yesterday against the Marlins in impressive fashion: 5.0 IP, 3H, 0BB, 4Ks. He looked good, he...
In the top of the seventh inning of today's 8-3 win over the Miami Marlins, Alexander Canario trotted out to left field in place of Ian Happ. At first, we thought (or maybe just hoped) that Craig Counsell was giving...
And just like that the Chicago Cubs are the first team in the NL Central to reach 12 wins! They're not technically in first place yet because the Brewers (11-6) have played fewer games, but we're talking about a matter...
With a lefty Marlins starter on the mound this afternoon, Nico Hoerner lead off today's game for the Chicago Cubs. And he did it in style, ripping a leadoff double to the left-center field wall, before coming into score a...
*The Cubs were rained out yesterday, but today? Today, we've got a Friday 1:20 start at Wrigley Field, and that means all is right in the world. Before you take a look at the Cubs lineup against Miami, check out...
Happy Friday! Well, for everyone except for the pilots who were supposed to be manning the Colorado Rockies flight last week but instead allowed a member of the Rockies coaching staff to hop in the pilot's seat for a fun...
Justin Steele, arguably the single most irreplaceable player on the Chicago Cubs 2024 roster, went down with a hamstring injury just 4.2 innings into his Opening Day start against the Rangers on March 28. In his place, the Cubs sixth...
If you do this job long enough, it's really wild to see the range of topics that can somehow become attached to sports. That is to say, I did not envision myself at some point writing about flight safety, cockpit...
The Iowa Cubs were rained out, but the rest of the farm was in action, and so was Kevin Alcántara, who picked up four hits and now has seven in his last three games as he breaks out of an...
Well, the rain stole one from us yesterday, which is a blessing and a curse. On the bright side, the bullpen gets an extra day of rest (on top of the day Hayden Wesneski bought them). But on the flip...
Caris LeVert's Cleveland Cavaliers meet the Orlando Magic on Saturday at 1:00 PM ET in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs, and to beat his 3-point prop, he needs to make two from downtown.Caris LeVert's Three-Pointer...
At 1:00 PM ET on Saturday, in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs, it'll be the Cleveland Cavaliers against the Orlando Magic, with Donovan Mitchell needing four treys to beat his 3-pointer over/under.Donovan Mitchell's Three-Pointer Prop...
On Saturday at 1:00 PM ET, the Orlando Magic play the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs, and Franz Wagner's 3-pointer over/under for this clash requires two treys.Franz Wagner's Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs....
On Saturday at 3:30 PM ET, the Phoenix Suns play the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs, and Devin Booker's 3-pointer prop for this clash requires three treys.Devin Booker's Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs....
The Orlando Magic meet the Cleveland Cavaliers at 1:00 PM ET on Saturday, in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs, and one of the 3-pointer over/unders available for this matchup requires only one make from Cole...
Karl-Anthony Towns must make two 3-pointers to beat his prop when the Minnesota Timberwolves meet the Phoenix Suns on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET, in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs.Karl-Anthony Towns' Three-Pointer Prop Odds vs....
The Phoenix Suns play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday at 3:30 PM ET in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs, and if the Suns' Kevin Durant makes three 3-pointers, he'll beat his over/under.Kevin Durant's Three-Pointer Prop...
Joel Embiid must make two 3-pointers to beat his over/under when the Philadelphia 76ers meet the New York Knicks on Saturday at 6:00 PM ET, in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs.Joel Embiid's Three-Pointer Prop Odds...
Tyrese Maxey needs to make three 3-pointers to beat his prop when the Philadelphia 76ers meet the New York Knicks on Saturday at 6:00 PM ET, in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs.Tyrese Maxey's Three-Pointer Prop...
On Saturday at 6:00 PM ET, the New York Knicks meet the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the opening round of the NBA playoffs, and Josh Hart's 3-pointer prop for this matchup requires just one trifecta.Josh Hart's Three-Pointer Prop...