The Cubs second first round pick, right-handed starter Alex Lange, made his professional debut with Eugene last night. He threw 22 pitches over two innings, allowed absolutely nothing, and struck out three. He retired two batters on ground outs.
Because Lange pitched a long college season and then helped his LSU team make a run very deep into the College World Series, don’t look for Lange to pitch a great deal this year. The Cubs have very high hopes for his future, and they are not going to risk arm injury by overworking him right out the gate. I suspect he’ll get into four, maybe five more games before the season ends, and in each of them I would not expect more than 25 pitches or so.
Next year is a different story. The Cubs challenged their best pitching draft pick from 2016 with an immediate assignment to High A, and I would not be surprised to see the Cubs do the same with Lange. At worst I think he opens the season in South Bend, but he probably won’t finish the year there.
In the meantime, hopefully he’ll pitch a home game for Eugene. Eugene has a pretty good MiLB.tv feed, so if he pitches at home we’ll get our first video look at him in action.
Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Iowa 5, Fresno 4
The bullpen was excellent in this one.
Aaron Brooks: 6 IP, 4 R (3 ER), 1 BB, 7 K
Jack Leathersich: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Dillon Maples: 2 IP, 2 K
Jemile Weeks: 2 for 4
Victor Caratini: 2 for 4, HR
Jacob Hannemann: 1 for 4, 2B
Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Tennessee 5, Pensacola 4
This marked Underwood’s second straight good start.
Duane Underwood: 7 IP, 2 R, 4 H, 7 K
Daury Torrez: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Yasiel Balaguert: 2 for 3, BB
Daniel Spingola: 1 for 4, 2B
Erick Castillo: 3 for 4, 2B
Duane Underwood: 2 for 3
High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Salem 11, Myrtle Beach 6 in eight innings
The double header opened with an extra inning eruption for Salem.
Tom Hatch: 5 IP, 6 R, 9 H, 3 BB, 2 K
P.J. Higgins: 1 for 2, 2B, BB
Jesse Hodges: 1 for 5, 2B
Vimael Machin: 1 for 2, 2 BB
Eddy Martinez: 1 for 3, HR, BB
Tyler Alamo: 3 for 4, 2B
Robert Garcia: 2 for 4
Connor Myers: 2 for 3
Myrtle Beach 4, Salem 1
The Pelicans took Game Two despite falling behind early.
Kyle Miller: 5 IP, 1 R, 4 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Scott Effross: 2 IP, 1 BB, 3 K
Zack Short: 2 for 4, HR
Trent Giambrone: 1 for 3, 2B
Eddy Martinez: 2 for 2, BB
Tyler Pearson: 2 for 3, HR
Adonis Paula: 2 for 3
Low A: South Bend Cubs
South Cubs 15, Lake County 9
The wind was blowing out at 24 miles per hour, and it resulted in a really entertaining game.
Erling Moreno: 3 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 3 K
Andruw Monasterio: 3 for 6, 2B
Aramis Ademan: 3 for 6, HR, SB
Darryl Wilson: 2 for 5, 3B, BB, 2 SB
Kevonte Mitchell: 3 for 4, 2B, 2 BB, SB
Jhonny Pereda: 2 for 4
Tyler Payne: 1 for 5, HR
Yeiler Peguero: 1 for 4, 2B, BB, SB
Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
Eugene 8, Spokane 5
A seven run fourth put the Emeralds ahead for good.
Alex Lange: 2 IP, 3 K
Ricky Tyler Thomas: 2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Chris Singleton: 1 for 4, 2B, BB
Jared Young: 2 for 5
Brandon Hughes: 2 for 4, BB
Miguel Amaya: 1 for 4, 2B
Rookie: AZL Cubs
Cubs 5, Mariners 3
Arizona picked up their tenth win of the season.
Stephen Ridings: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Rollie Lacy: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 K
Jose Gutierrez: 2 for 4, 2B
Marcus Mastrobuoni: 2 for 4, 2 2B
Fidel Mejia: 2 for 4, 2B
Cam Balego: 2 for 4, 2B
Other Notes
The home run for Eddy Martinez was his 14th of the season, his 7th of the second half (in 35 games), and helped raise his second half line to .290/.340/.504.
Lange would have been added to the Top 40 whether or not he pitched this season, even though my usual standard is that a player has to appear in a professional game in the US before I will rank him. I generally make exceptions for high draft picks, and Lange had already been excepted. I’m not going to tell you where he ranks yet, though. Suffice to say we haven’t gotten to him.
In case you missed it, the 24 to 17 bracket of the Midseason Top 40 dropped yesterday afternoon. There are some very high upside prospects on that list, including two or three who could conceivable move to the top of the list one day.
NEWSLETTER
