NEWSLETTER
The Eugene Emeralds ended an championship drought of their own in 2016, and we are about three weeks away from the Cubs Short Season A team taking the field to defend their title. Rosters have not been announced, and won’t be until a few days before the season begins on June 15.
Generally speaking, though, Short Season A includes a lot of college players from the current year (2017, in our case) draft, as well as high school players from the previous year (2016) and international players who signed over the previous few seasons. Since the Cubs did not draft many high school players at all in 2016, or non-pitchers in general for that matter, I suspect their lineup will feature a number of 2017 draftees and quite a few international players. The pitching is likely to be the most interesting group, though.
Headlining that pitching may very well be Jose Albertos, one of the most exciting and least seen pitching prospects in the system. The scouting reports promise a hard fastball with good movement and solid command, but the reality is an 18-year-old who has barely been on the mound in a Cubs’ uniform in competitive game action. If he does make the Eugene roster, we should get a good look at him thanks to the high quality MiLB.tv feed of the Emeralds.
Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Cubs 7, Tacoma 6
Iowa turned a big first inning into a very narrow win.
Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Tennessee was rained out.
High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Salem 10, Myrtle Beach 5
After five and a half innings the Pelicans led 4-0.
Low A: South Bend Cubs
Bowling Green 11, South Bend 1
The Cubs managed just two hits in this one.
Other Notes
