Cubs Minor League Daily: Good Pitching And A Young Talent Quiz to Stump You

Even in a season in which the Cubs are favorites to make the playoffs, young talent remains a focus for this organization. With the progression made by Javy Baez and the arrival of Willson Contreras and Albert Almora Jr., how could it not be?

So let’s look deeper in the system and see just how well you know the Cubs’ youngest talent.

On the rosters for the four full season league teams (South Bend, Myrtle Beach, Tennessee, and Iowa), there are three teenagers with over one hundred plate appearances and who have an OPS over .750. Who are they?

Two of them should ridiculously easy. So easy, actually, I’m not going to make you wait until the end. Gleyber Torres (19, .762) and Eloy Jimenez (19, .924) are the easy ones. Unless you are brand new to the Cubs’ organization, those names should be abundantly familiar to you.

So … who is the third one? Here’s a second clue: he actually has the highest OBP of the three.

The answer is at the end of the column.

Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Iowa 6, Oklahoma City 5 in eight innings.
Errors were not kind to Iowa in this one.

• Rob Zastryzny: 7 IP, 5 R (3 ER), 6 H, 3 BB, 3 K
• Juan Perez: 1 for 4, 2B, BB
• Mark Zagunis: 2 for 5
• Dan Vogelbach: 2 for 3, BB, HR
• Jeimer Candelario: 0 for 2, 2 BB
• Vimael Machin: 2 for 3, BB
• David Freitas: 1 for 2, 2B
• Rob Zastryzny: 1 for 3

Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Tennessee 3, Pensacola 0
This was Blackburn at his best.

• Paul Blackburn: 6 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 5 K
• James Farris: 2 IP, 1 H, 4 K
• Jacob Hannemann: 2 for 4, SB
• Ian Happ: 3 for 4, 2B. Through four games, he’s hitting .667/.692/1.083.
• Billy McKinney: 2 for 3, BB

High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Myrtle Beach 2, Carolina 1
Stinnett also pitched a pretty good game.

• Jake Stinnett: 8 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 4 H, 1 BB, 5 K
• Charcer Burks: 1 for 3, HR, BB
• Ian Rice: 2 for 4, HR. This was his first High A home run.
• David Bote: 1 for 3, 2B

Low A: South Bend Cubs
South Bend 11, Dayton 1
It is always nice when good pitching and an offensive eruption mix in the same game.

• Kyle Miller: 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 6 K
• Kyle Twomey: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 4 K
• Carlos Sepulveda: 2 for 4, 2B
• P.J. Higgins: 3 for 4, 2B, 2 BB
• Donnie Dewees: 2 for 6, 2B
• Eloy Jimenez: 2 for 2
• Eddy Martinez: 2 for 5, 2B
• Tyler Alamo: 1 for 4, HR
• Bryant Flete: 0 for 3, 2 BB

Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
Eugene 4, Spokane 1
The bullpen pitched particularly well in this one.

• Manuel Rondon: 5 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K
• M.T. Minacci: 2.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K
• Mark Malave: 1.2 IP, and a line of zeroes.
• Kevonte Mitchell: 1 for 4, HR. That’s Mitchell’s first professional home run.

Rookie: Arizona Cubs

Arizona had the day off.

Other Notes

• Iowa was supposed to play a double header with the second game serving as a makeup for a game that was rained out on June 2. Unfortunately the make up game for the rain out was also rained out, and so Iowa played just one game. Since it was a scheduled double header, they played seven regulation innings, plus an inning due to the game being tied. As a result, Iowa played an extra inning in a game in which they only played eight innings on a day when they only played one game.  It is unusual to see that happen, but not unheard of.
• The Cubs recently extended their player development contract with Eugene for another two seasons, taking it through 2018. They already had a deal in place through 2018 with South Bend, but late last week the Cubs extended it anyway, all the way to 2020. I think it is safe to say that the Cubs are very happy with the player development facilities in South Bend and like having a team stationed so close to Chicago.
• Today’s question had a bit of a red herring buried in it. There are actually only three teenagers with over 100 PA on the four full season league teams total. It just so happens that they all have an OPS over .750, so I went ahead and threw that in there. The third member of the teenage trio plays second base for South Bend. He is probably under-appreciated, at least for now, but is having a very good season. The name you are looking for is Carlos Sepulveda, the international free agent out of Mexico who made his debut in the Cubs’ organization with Mesa last summer. A left handed hitter, Sepulveda is currently hitting .315/.383/.402 with 12 walks and just 15 strikeouts.
• The Pelicans’ highlights for Sunday feature two home runs a few looks at Stinnett in action: