This was almost a really good weekend for Cubs farm system. There were a lot of wins, which is nice, and some very good individual performances, which is also nice, but all that was marred by the one story that eclipsed pretty much everything else coming out of the organization.
Javier Baez has been placed on the DL with a mild ankle sprain incurred while fielding grounders on Friday. If all goes well he could be back on the diamond this coming weekend, and there are no whispers that there is anything more significant here than a mild sprain and possibly a slightly sore back, but that still means we have to survive a week without daily updates on Baezbombs and strikeouts.
Scores From The Weekend
Iowa – Friday – The Cubs took an early lead but could not hold on. They lost 8-5. Saturday – They scored four more times than they had to in this 5-0 shutout win. Sunday – Let’s hope beating the Redbirds is good practice for beating the Cardinals. Iowa won again, 6-3.
Tennessee – Friday – Chattanooga rallied late to tie it up, but the Smokies prevailed in the bottom of the ninth for a 6-5 win. Saturday – A big seventh inning propelled Tennessee to this 5-1 win. Sunday – They made it three wins in a row with this 8-2 final.
Daytona – Friday – Daytona kicked off the weekend with a 5-1 loss. Saturday – The bats broke out on Saturday, though, and the Cubs won easily 7-1. Sunday – But the struggles returned on Sunday as Daytona fell 7-3.
Kane County – Friday – The Cougars took an early lead and turned it into a 6-4 win. Saturday – Lake County kept trying to come back in this game, but Kane County had just enough to eke out the 9-8 win. Sunday – In a rain delayed and weather shortened game, Kane County came out on top 6-1.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] Let’s start with Saturday’s shutout. The heavy lifting was handled by Tsuyoshi Wada; over 6.2 innings he allowed just 4 hits and struck out 10. His early season numbers are nearing irrational excitement territory: ERA of 0.68, K/BB ratio of 18, WHIP of 0.600, K/9 of 12.2, and so forth. His callup is coming, and I suspect it could be soon.
[Iowa] Speaking of upcoming call ups, keep an eye on Marcos Mateo. After two more appearances this weekend the big right hander has collected 5 strikeouts in 5 innings for the season. If the Cubs keep playing bullpen roulette, his number is bound to come up sooner or later.
[Iowa] Matt Szczur hit his first home run of the season on Sunday and now has a four game hitting streak. Arismendy Alcantara has hit in five straight.
[Tennessee] We expected some great pitching in Tennessee this year, and Corey Black has set a high early standard. On Friday he needed 79 pitches to breeze through five hitless innings against Chattanooga, walking three and striking out a pair.
[Tennessee] Ivan Pineyro was pretty good on Saturday. Through 5 innings (80 pitches) he allowed a run on 3 hits and 3 walks while striking out 4. Ryan Searle struck out 3 more in 2 innings of one hit relief.
[Tennessee] If Kris Bryant keeps playing like this, he will be in Chicago by late summer. Through 9 games he now has 7 walks against just 10 strikeouts, is sitting on an OBP of .432, and has three home runs. His two steals are just the icing on the 1.053 OPS cake.
[Tennessee] Dustin Geiger hit his third home run of the season on Friday and now has nifty early season of 0.906. Stephen Bruno launched his first homer on Sunday to extend his five game hitting streak.
[Daytona] Bijan Rademacher has been on fire lately. Over his last four games he has 8 hits, including one double, and he has walked twice. His OPS now sits at 1.002.
[Daytona] Maybe the best game of Albert Almora‘s season came on Saturday. He homered (his first), doubled (his fourth), and stole his first base of the year. With three singles, Marco Hernandez also had a great day on Saturday.
[Daytona] Rob Zastryzny was the starter on Saturday, and through 5.2 innings he gave up a run on a walk and 7 hits while striking out 5. Zach Cates pitched the next 2.1 innings, allowing two hits while striking out two.
[Daytona] Arodys Vizcaino ran into his first hiccup of the season on Sunday. In his one inning of work he allowed one run on a pair hits while striking out one. In case anyone was wondering, this less than flawless outing should have no impact on the pace at which he will move up the system.
[Kane County] Duane Underwood made his season debut in the rain-plagued Sunday game, and acquitted himself well. Over 3 innings he allowed a run on 3 hits and a walk while striking out 5. Justin Amlung struck out 5 more over the next 4 innings to secure the win.
[Kane County] Juan Paniagua pitched 4 innings on Saturday, allowing a run on 2 hits while walking 4 and striking out 6. Gerardo Concepcion once again put in a decent performnace in relief, striking out 2 in 2 scoreless innings.
[Kane County] Yasiel Balaguert tripled, doubled and came away with 7 hits for the weekend. He has now hit safely in 8 straight games.
[Kane County] Infielder David Bote picked up his first homer of the season as part of a 2 hit game on Saturday. In limited action this spring he has an OPS of 1.043.
Other News
In news that will be of great interest to some of you, the Iowa Cubs are now offering fourteen craft beers at Principal Park. Anyone in the mood for Farmer John’s Ale, Hannah Gold Lager, Red Rambler, Slingshot Dunkel, or any of ten other options can now get their fix while watching Triple A baseball. The full array of the micro-brew menu can be seen here.
Let’s hope Trevor Rosenthal was taking notes. On Sunday in the seventh inning Zac Rosscup stepped to the plate with runners on the corners and one out. It was just his third professional at bat, fifth plate appearance, and he responded by lacing a bases clearing single up the middle. And then he went to second on a throwing error by the center fielder. Rosscup is now tied for fifth in RBIs on the team, joining Brett Jackson and Eli Whiteside.
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NEWSLETTER
This was almost a really good weekend for Cubs farm system. There were a lot of wins, which is nice, and some very good individual performances, which is also nice, but all that was marred by the one story that eclipsed pretty much everything else coming out of the organization.
