For the second straight week Pelicans’ first baseman Yasiel Balaguert has been named the Carolina League Player of the Week. His weekly line of .406/.412/.719 included a pair of home runs. For the month of July Balaguert hit .339/.380/.542, but strikeouts continued to be a bit of an issue. His 30 strikouts in month helped contribute to his season K% of 22.7%. That isn’t terrible for a slugger in A ball, but it is also a sharp increase over what he posted last season (15.9%).
Joining Balaguert with weekly honors isEloy Jimenez. Jimenez put up a ridiculous weekly line of .600/.607/1.080 with four doubles and a pair of homers. In the second half of the season Jimenez has a line of .346/.377/.579 with four homers. If he keeps that up over the the final month, Jimenez is going to be entering some very elite territory in the off season prospect rankings.[adinserter block=”1″]
Don’t forget that August is the final month of the minor league season. If you haven’t made it out to the ballpark to see a minor league game or two, your time is running out. The season wraps up around labor day, and then we are in the playoffs.
We only have video of one of Zastryzny’s strikeouts, his final one to end the fifth. Check it out here.
The pitcher the Cubs gave up at the deadline yesterday, Jesus Castillo, was a candidate to make the mid-season Top 40 list. Through 33 innings, this 20 year old right hander had piled up 38 strikeouts on his way to a 3.27 ERA. He was pitching in Eugene, so most of his promise was projection, but there was promise there. That said, he is exactly the kind of guy that the Cubs have quite a few of and who makes perfect sense to include in a trade for a rental (assuming rental trades are ever a good idea, and at best I think the jury is still out on that).
Castillo has been traded before. He came to the Cubs, along with Erick Leal, in the Tony Campana trade. Campana provided the Diamondbacks with a total of -0.1 bWAR after that trade, so assuming Joe Smith produces any positive value whatsoever (his current season bWAR is 0.4), the Cubs have soundly won the Campana trade if we just flip Castillo with Smith on that tally. And that is before we factor in Leal, who is emerging as a very nice pitching prospect in his own right.
A very scary scene in Pittsburgh, where Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jakob Junis, currently on the IL with a shoulder impingement, took a batting practice ball off the neck and went down. Junis was apparently on the ground for a long...
On April 9, I took an early look at Nico Hoerner's apparently evolving approach at the plate, which featured a lot more patience and a lot more big hacks. Effectively, it seemed like he was trying for a little more...
There's been much debate about pitcher arm injuries lately, much of it sparked by Spencer Strider's season-ending Tommy John surgery, and Strider spoke to the media for the first time since the injury on Friday. Spencer Strider on pitcher arm...
A new signing popped up on the Chicago Cubs' transaction log: lefty Mitchell Tyranski. Tyranski, 26, put up a 3.83 ERA over 42.1 innings at High-A last year in the Dodgers organization, striking out 47 and walking 21. Were you...
We already dove deep into Shota Imanaga's latest impressive start against the Marlins yesterday. And there's been no shortage of love for Michael Busch this season either. But I do want to take this time to illustrate just how good...
Even though Sunday ended in a loss for the Chicago Cubs, we did get some good news in the form of positive injury updates. Ian Happ (hamstring) was available off the bench and could be good to go tomorrow, when...
I know that sometimes there is a history between an umpire and a manager. I know that sometimes a manager can subtly get under the skin of an umpire without doing much that we can see or hear. And I...
Let's get caught up on all of the action down on the farm in today's Cubs Farm Report. Cubs Farm Report | April 22, 2024 Triple-A Iowa Cubs (13-8) The Cubs were swept in a doubleheader by the Louisville Bats...
What started as a small convo for the bullets ballooned into a deeper dive on Kyle Hendricks, what's going wrong, and where the Cubs go from here. So if you're looking for the Hendricks discussion, that was earlier today. Despite...
Baseball America today released its updated (version 2.0) 2024 MLB mock draft. With more of the amateur season taking place, we are starting to see more of the top tier become firmly crystalized with eight names, none of whom are...
The Philadelphia 76ers are 4-point favorites in Game 3 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs against the New York Knicks at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday, beginning at 7:30 PM ET on TNT. The Knicks lead the series...
The Orlando Magic are slight 1-point favorites heading into Game 3 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Amway Center on Thursday, tipping off at 7:00 PM ET on NBA. The Cavaliers lead the...
The Indiana Pacers are slight 1-point underdogs in Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum on Tuesday, beginning at 8:30 PM ET on NBA. The Bucks are ahead 1-0 in...
The Minnesota Timberwolves are slight 3-point favorites in Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs against the Phoenix Suns at Target Center on Tuesday, starting at 7:30 PM ET on TNT. The Timberwolves hold a 1-0 series...
The Los Angeles Clippers bring a 0-1 series record into Game 2 of the opening round of the NBA Playoffs. The Mavericks are favored by 2.5 points in the matchup, which airs on TNT at 10:00 PM ET. The point...
Nolan Arenado and the St. Louis Cardinals (10-13) host Ketel Marte and the Arizona Diamondbacks (11-13) at 7:45 PM ET on Tuesday.See how to watch the St. Louis-Arizona matchup below.When is Cardinals vs. Diamondbacks and when does it start?This contest...
The bookmakers pick the Carolina Hurricanes to top the New York Islanders in their clash on Thursday, April 25, with the visiting Hurricanes given moneyline odds of -155, and the Islanders at +130.Hurricanes vs. Islanders Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Hurricanes (-155)Underdog:...
The Toronto Maple Leafs play the Boston Bruins on Wednesday and are -115 on the moneyline, with the latter at -105.Maple Leafs vs. Bruins Favorite, Moneyline, TotalFavorite: Maple Leafs (-115)Underdog: Bruins (-105)Total: 5.5Best Maple Leafs vs. Bruins Promo Codes[lasso type="table"...
Logan Webb takes the mound for the San Francisco Giants (11-13) when they host starting pitcher Luis Severino and the New York Mets (12-10) at 9:45 PM ET on Tuesday.See how to watch the San Francisco-New York matchup below.When is...
Grayson Rodriguez will take the mound for the Baltimore Orioles (15-7) when they visit starting pitcher Griffin Canning and the Los Angeles Angels (9-14) on Tuesday, with first pitch at 9:38 PM ET.If you're planning on watching this game, keep...
NEWSLETTER
For the second straight week Pelicans’ first baseman Yasiel Balaguert has been named the Carolina League Player of the Week. His weekly line of .406/.412/.719 included a pair of home runs. For the month of July Balaguert hit .339/.380/.542, but strikeouts continued to be a bit of an issue. His 30 strikouts in month helped contribute to his season K% of 22.7%. That isn’t terrible for a slugger in A ball, but it is also a sharp increase over what he posted last season (15.9%).
