Cubs Minor League Daily: Don’t Forget About The Draft, Which is Nearly Here

We are two weeks from the start of baseball’s Amateur Draft, and yet we are surprisingly quiet on the draft front here at Bleacher Nation. In previous years we’d likely be running five to ten articles as week with draft content by now, and the question I would be asked the most would have to do with the Cubs’ first round pick.

This year, all is quiet on the drafting front.

The reason, of course, is that the Cubs will be spectators for the first two rounds. Their draft begins in the third round with overall pick number 104. Projecting out a draft that far is pretty much impossible, so there is no real point in trying to predict whom the Cubs might select, and suggesting otherwise risks being misleading. I don’t even know where to begin attacking that sort of a problem.

That said, you will see draft coverage tick up as we get even closer. The Cubs will find talent, we’ll break down all the picks as fast as we can once the big day arrives (and probably for several days afterward).

Triple A: Iowa Cubs
El Paso 9, Iowa 1
The one game winning streak comes to an end.

• Armando Rivero: 2 IP, 1 H, 4 K
• Taylor Davis: 1 for 4, 2B
• Arismendy Alcantara: 1 for 4, 3B
• Logan Watkins: 1 for 4, 2B

Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Chattanooga 6, Tennessee 2
Candelario has raised his OPS from .638 to .751 in the span of a week. Bats don’t get much hotter than that.

• Stephen Perakslis: 4 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 3 K
• Chesny Young: 1 for 4, 2B
• Jeimer Candelario: 2 for 4, 2B

High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Myrtle Beach 6, Carolina 2
The Pelicans had all the runs they would need in the first. They tacked on two more anyway.

• Erick Leal: 7 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 2 BB, 5 K. If you are looking for a deep sleeper pitching prospect, look at Leal.
• Gleyber Torres: 3 for 5, HR, 2 SB. Five homers, seven steals.
• Ian Happ: 1 for 4, BB
• Jason Vosler: 1 for 5, 2B
• Trey Martin: 2 for 4, 2B
• Charcer Burks: 2 for 3, HR, SB

Low A: South Bend Cubs
South Bend 10, Great Lakes 5
The pitching was a little off in this one, so the Cubs had to rely on the bats. The bats came through.

• Kyle Twomey: 5 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 5 BB, 6 K
• Scott Effross: 2 IP, 2 K
• Andrew Ely: 0 for 3, 2 BB, SB
• Daniel Spingola: 2 for 5
• Donnie Dewees: 2 for 5, SB
• Eloy Jimenez: 1 for 3, 2B
• Eddy Martinez: 2 for 3, BB
• Jesse Hodges: 2 for 4, 2B
• Ian Rice: 2 for 4, HR

Other Notes

• Following the 2014 draft the Cubs signed a fascinating non-drafted free agent named Daniel Lewis. Lewis pitched in high school, and then enlisted in the armed services. Four years later he came back to baseball at a junior college in Florida, pitched in the Cape Cod League, and drew just enough notice with his mid-90s fastball that the Cubs were willing to sign him after the draft. He posted a K/9 of 11.32 in limited innings as a Short Season A reliever in 2014, but struggled with his command in 24 games with South Bend last season.
• Why do I mention Lewis now? Because he is now with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. Fortunately for us, the Pelicans run a fairly high quality MiLB.tv feed, high enough quality we may be able to get a sense of his stuff, the movement on his pitches, and the sort of pitcher he might become. Despite his slightly high for the league age, his arm is young, his experience is low, and he is still basically an unknown. He just happens to be an unknown with a 95+ MPH fastball and a slider that has drawn some scouting praise. Lewis has a good story already, but it could get a whole lot better.
• And finally (I’m a day late with this one), have a picture of Willson Contreras hugging a dog:

248 dogs at Dog Days. Willson Contreras greets dogs in pre-game parade, homers in game. Next Dog Days: August 9 pic.twitter.com/Kk23gpE7Hw

— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 25, 2016