The longest streak of consecutive games reaching base in Carolina League history ended on Sunday at 44 games. Chesny Young, who was also working on a 14 game hitting streak, went hitless in four trips to the plate. [Brett: I guess it was just a weekend for ending streaks, eh?]
Young, a right handed hitter taken in the 14th round out of Mercer in the 2014 draft, ends his streak with a slash line of .345/.407/.406 with a home run and eight steals over sixty six games as a Pelican. High A is already his second level this season, but after dominating the Carolina League this thoroughly I wonder if the Cubs won’t challenge him again and kick him up to Tennessee.
Finding a defensive home for him at Double A would not be a problem; Young doesn’t actually have a defensive home. He has not played more than 19 games at any one position as a Pelican and has spent time at every position other than center field, pitcher, and catcher. If he had a little more power in his bat he would be discussed as one of the great breakout stories of the summer, but as is he has done enough to all but secure himself as lot on the mid-season re-ranking of the Bleacher Nation Top 40 when it arrives soon.
Scores From Friday
Iowa – The Cubs took the lead in the fifth, but lost it in the sixth. They fell 5-3. Tennessee – The Smokies pulled away with 3 in the sixth and finished with an 8-4 win. Myrtle Beach – The Pelicans were shut out 5-0. South Bend – South Bend jumped to a four run lead in the first and then cruised to a 6-2 win. Eugene – An eighth inning rally fell short as the Emeralds lost 6-5. Arizona – Despite having more hits, the Cubs lost 5-4.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] Armando Rivero, who remains a possibility for the major league bullpen, pitched a hitless inning in which he struck out one.
[Tennessee] Albert Almora hit his 4th homer of the season.
[Myrtle Beach] Game 43 of the On Base Streak was secured with a 1 for 4 game from Chesny Young.
[Myrtle Beach] Pitching in relief, James Pugliese struck out 5 and allowed just one hit in 3 innings of work.
[South Bend] Charcer Burks doubled twice and finished 2 for 4 with a walk.
[South Bend] Jeffrey Baez stayed red hot with a 3 for 5 game that included his 20th steal.
[South Bend] Tommy Thorpe continues to pitch well as a starter. He pitched 6 shutout innings in this game, scattering 2 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts.
[Eugene] Matt Rose doubled and hit his 3rd homer for Eugene. Donnie Dewees (1 for 5) smacked his 2nd home run, and Alex Bautista hit his first.
[Eugene] Ho-young Son doubled twice and finished 4 for 4. He also stole his 4th base.
[Eugene] Adbert Alzolay struck out 5 and allowed a run on 3 hits and 2 walks in his 6 innings of work.
[Arizona] Matt Brazis, one of the players rehabbing in Mesa, pitched an inning of pure zeroes in this one.
Iowa – The Cubs fell into a big hole early, and they couldn’t quite climb out of it. They lost 7-5. Tennessee – The Smokies mounted a ninth inning rally, but fell just short. They lost 4-3. Myrtle Beach – The Pelicans were shut out again, this time 1-0. South Bend – The Cubs scored twice in the seventh to secure this 3-1 win. Eugene – Eugene lost a nail-biter 5-4. Arizona – The Cubs came out on top in an 11-0 blowout win.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] Junior Lake walked and connected for 3 hits in this one.
[Iowa] Jonathan Mota and Matt Szczur each had 2 hits. One of those hits for Szczur was a double.
[Iowa] Drake Britton gave up 7 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in his 6 innings of work (with 3 strikeouts), but he did help the efforts of the offense with a 2 for 3 day at the plate.
[Tennessee] Stephen Bruno doubled and finished 2 for 4. Elliot Soto’s double was the only other extra base hit on the day.
[Tennessee] Corey Black struck out 2 in 1.2 innings of of work. He allowed a solo home run. Gerardo Concepcion walked 2 and allowed a hit in his scoreless inning of work.
[Myrtle Beach] Paul Blackburn struck out 4 over 5.1 innings of work. He allowed a run on 4 hits and a walk.
[Arizona] Austyn Willis struck out 5 over 5 scoreless innings of work. He allowed 2 hits and a walk.
[Arizona] Javier Baez doubled, walked and finished 2 for 3 in this rehab start. He was the designated hitter.
[Arizona] P.J. Higgins tripled, his first, and finished with 2 hits.
Scores From Yesterday
Iowa – Iowa led almost the entire game, but lost it in the ninth 2-1. Tennessee – The Smokies had plenty of chances, but they were shut out 8-0. Myrtle Beach – Myrtle Beach never trailed in this 3-1 win. South Bend – South Bend scored first, but in the end they lost 5-1. Eugene – The Emeralds surrendered 4 runs in the ninth and lost 6-4. Arizona – The Cubs were shut out 4-0.
Performances of Note
[Iowa] Jeffry Antigua struck out 2 and allowed just one hit in 6 scoreless innings on the mound. He needed only 67 pitches to dominate those 6 innings.
[Iowa] Matt Szczur, Mike Olt, and Rubi Silva all finished with 2 hits in this one. Olt’s hits included his 4th Iowa homer.
[Tennessee] Felix Pena allowed 4 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks over 5 innings. He struck out 8.
[Myrtle Beach] Brad Markey struck out 10 over 7 shutout innings. He allowed just 3 hits and a walk while throwing only 84 pitches. Markey now has an ERA of 0.95 in the 3 games he has started for Myrtle Beach.
[South Bend] Ian Happ doubled, the first of what will no doubt be many with South Bend, and finished 2 for 4.
[South Bend] Charcer Burks also had 2 hits.
[South Bend] Dillon Maples walked 2 in his 2 hitless innings of relief.
[Eugene] Casey Bloomquist struck out 3 in his 2 inning start in which he allowed nothing. Jae-Hoon Ha added 3 innings of 1 hit relief with a walk and 3 strikeouts.
[Eugene] Eloy Jimenez walked and doubled twice to finish 2 for 4. Alberto Mineo also had a double.
[Eugene] Matt Rose finished this game with 4 hits.
[Arizona] Jose Paniagua reached 3 times on a walk and 2 singles.
If the Cubs are going to add a bat this summer, the infield seems like a good place to do it. And if they are going to add an infield bat, one of the best available might already be in their organization. Javier Baez is continuing to play well on his rehab assignment in Arizona (we are still waiting on his first strikeout, for example) and could be sent back north fairly soon. After a few weeks in Iowa, he may be ready to return to Chicago and show off his improved patience, reduced strikeout rate, and overhauled two strikeout approach to the Wrigley Field faithful. When we study his .314/.386/.536 performance in Iowa this year, it is hard not to get intrigued about the potential impact he could have on the Cubs’ lineup.
For more on the notable success enjoyed by Brad Markey as a Myrtle Beach starter (and a great shot of him in the Pelican’s Christmas in July uniforms) check out this milb.com article.
Speaking of minor league theme jerseys (which, I might add, are one of the neatest parts of the minor league experience), check out the law enforcement stylings on these Eugene uniforms. The Emeralds wore and auctioned them in memory of a local fallen officer and to raise funds for a local charity:
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NEWSLETTER
The longest streak of consecutive games reaching base in Carolina League history ended on Sunday at 44 games. Chesny Young, who was also working on a 14 game hitting streak, went hitless in four trips to the plate. [Brett: I guess it was just a weekend for ending streaks, eh?]
