Today is the day we expect the Iowa Cubs to welcome Jorge Soler into their lineup.
Soler is likely to still have some restrictions on how much he plays, as the Cubs will continue to make every effort to stay on top of his conditioning and prevent a return of the hamstring issues, but I think we can safely say that he will be a regular fixture in the outfield and a feature in the middle of the order.
But, with a week left in the month, the big question is whether or not Soler can beat out Bryant for Player of the Month honors. He departs Tennessee with a July OPS of 1.538 and six home runs. With Iowa in July Bryant has a positively mortal OPS of .980 and only five home runs. Right now I can see that decision going either way, but Soler holds a slight edge.
Maybe the Cubs should hold a Home Run Derby to decide.
[Iowa] Lars Anderson homered for the second day in a row. He now has 4 homers for the season, and an OPS of .853.
[Iowa] Javier Baez doubled and walked twice as he finished 2 for 3. Kris Bryant doubled and finished 1 for 4.
[Iowa] One of Ryan Kalish‘s 2 hits was his second triple for Iowa.
[Iowa] Dae-Eun Rhee was very effective. He needed just 88 pitches to throw 6 one hit innings, and he allowed a single run on 3 walks and 2 strikeouts.
[Tennessee] Charles Cutler, appearing in left field, walked twice and finished 0 for 2 with a run scored.
[Tennessee] Stephen Bruno hit his 4th triple as part of a 2 hit game. Christian Villanueva had a double and also finished with 2 hits.
[Tennessee] This game marked the 15th Double A appearance for Zach Cates, and his ERA is still a tiny 1.80. While his overall walk rate remains high, he has walked just one in his last 8 innings.
[Daytona] Dan Vogelbach homered twice, giving him 11 on the season.
[Daytona] Billy McKinney tripled for the first time as a Daytona Cub.
[Daytona] Rob Zastryzny allowed just 3 hits over 6 scoreless innings while walking 3 and striking out 3.
[Kane County] Duane Underwood struck out 7 and allowed 2 runs on just 3 hits (including 2 homers) and 2 walks over 5 innings.
[Kane County] Cael Brockmeyer doubled twice and finished 2 for 4.
[Arizona] Roney Alcala, Gleyber Torres, and Erick Castillo all double and finished with 2 hits. Both of the hits for Castillo were doubles. Torres also drew a pair of walks.
[Arizona] C.J. Edwards returned to the mound for his first rehab start, and he allowed a hit and a walk while striking out a pair over 2 innings.
[Arizona] Jose Paulino struck out 4 over 4 innings while giving up 3 hits and 3 walks.
Other News
Kyuji Fujikawa struck out a pair in an Iowa rehab appearance yesterday. Â He may be just about ready to head to Wrigley.
Mascot Mania, the annual minor league best mascot contest, is underway and you can cast your votes here. Incidentally, if you are looking for the star for your next horror film or a great Halloween costume to keep the kids off your lawn, that is still a valuable link. Some of the minor league mascots probably don’t translate well in pictures. Or maybe those teams are pursuing a different demographic. Anyway, be sure to check out the ballots and vote for your favorites.
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NEWSLETTER
Today is the day we expect the Iowa Cubs to welcome Jorge Soler into their lineup.
