Cubs Minor League Daily: First-Person Video, Dominant Performances, Hot Streaks

June 28, 2016, by Luke Blaize Chicago Cubs

On a day in which the Cubs were producing highlights up and down the organization, I’m not actually going to lead with a highlight. I’m going to lead with a batting practice video. It is also one of the coolest pieces of video ever to be shared by a Cubs affiliate.

Thanks to the Eugene Emeralds and Matt Rose, you now have a chance to see what it looks like to take batting practice from perspective of the batter:

Get a first-person perspective of what it's like to take BP with us! @Matt_Rose_5 takes you along for some swings! pic.twitter.com/BJ3mquKpRq

— Eugene Emeralds (@EugeneEmeralds) June 28, 2016

I would love to see more videos like this, from the perspective of just about every position on the diamond. What does a hard liner to short look like when Addison Russel is diving to snare it? What does an Arrieta slider look like from the point of view of the catcher. How does a Bryant home run look from the perspective of the ball?

On second thought, I’ll pass on that last one. That might be painful to watch.

Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Oklahoma City 10, Iowa 9 in nine innings.
Iowa 3, Oklahoma City 2 in eight innings.
Iowa did not have a pitcher last more than two innings in Game One, and they still carried a tie game into the ninth.

John Andreoli: 2 for 4, 2B, BB
Tommy La Stella: 2 for 3, HR. He played third in this rehab start.
Matt Murton: 2 for 4, 2B
Dan Vogelbach: 3 for 4, 2 2B, HR. That’s fifteen homers.
Juan Perez: 1 for 4, HR
Game Two
Jake Buchanan: 7 IP, 2 R, 9 H, 1 BB, 8 K
Corey Black: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K.
Logan Watkins: 2 for 4, SB
Mark Zagunis: 2 for 3, HR, BB
Dan Vogelbach: 2 for 3. This broke the consecutive games homer streak.

Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Tennessee 12, Pensacola 1 in six innings due to rain.
Everything went right for the Smokies in this one.

Brad Markey: 6 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 K. His ERA is now 2.34.
Jacob Hannemann: 2 for 4. Hannemann has an OPS of .811 with five homers and seven steals in June.
Chesny Young: 2 for 3, 2B, BB
Ian Happ: 3 for 3, HR. His batting average in Double A is .733.
Victor Caratini: 2 for 4, 2B
Billy McKinney: 2 for 3, 3B, BB
Brad Markey: 1 for 2, 2B

High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Pelicans were rained out.

Low A: South Bend Cubs
Lake County 6, South Bend 1
Not a lot of offense for the Cubs in this one.

Adbert Alzolay: 5 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 5 K
Greyfer Eregua: 3 IP, 1 R (0 ER), 4 K
Carlos Sepulveda: 2 for 4
Donnie Dewees: 1 for 4, 2B
Tyler Alamo: 2 for 4
Eddy Martinez: 1 for 3, BB

Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
Eugene 8, Spokane 2
The best pitching performance of the season so far did not come from Cease or Hudson.

Jesus Castillo: 5 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 11 K
Darryl Wilson: 0 for 2, 2 BB, SB
Matt Rose: 2 for 3, HR. All that batting practice must have paid off.
Chris Pieters: 1 for 4, 2B
Michael Foster: 1 for 3, 2B, BB, SB

Rookie: Arizona Cubs
Cubs 7, Giants 2
The Cubs got a strong start from a promising teenage starter.

Erling Moreno: 6 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 6 K
Luis Ayala: 2 for 4, BB, SB
Jose Gonzalez: 3 for 5
Gustavo Polanco: 2 for 4
Michael Cruz: 1 for 4, BB
Kevin Zamudio: 1 for 1, 2B

Other Notes

The struggling pitchers in Iowa’s first game were Pierce Johnson, Miguel Mejia, Giovanni Soto, Dallas Beeler, and Starling Peralta. It was a hitters sort of day, but the fact that those guys did not strike out a single batter sort of stands out.
Vogelbach’s homer was his third in as many games (you can watch it here), his fifteenth on the year, and was part of his third straight multi-hit game. He collected eight total bases in that game yesterday, and I was going to write up something about how awesome that was until Kris Bryant went off and did ridiculous Kris Bryant things making Vogelbach’s measly eight total bases seem a little puny. Sorry, Dan. Eight just isn’t going to cut it today.
In his last eight appearances dating back to June 8 and totaling eight innings, Corey Black has allowed just two runs and one walk for Iowa. He’s struck out ten over the same span.
Jesus Castillo has been in the Cubs organization since the 2012 season. He first appeared in the states during the 2014 Rookie League; this is his first season outside of rookie ball. He hadn’t posted the strikeout ratios that would make you think he had a chance to be a strikeout artist in the past, but his performance yesterday certainly caught my attention. We’ll keep a close eye on him from now on.
Did you ever think to yourself, “Self, I really want to watch Ian Happ hit baseballs from the left side of the plate very, very hard on a continuous loop”? If so, this is your lucky day (courtesy of the Smokies).