NEWSLETTER
Left-handed-hitting infielder Jared Young has been one of the early breakout players for South Bend this season. We are still a couple weeks away from my rule of thumb ‘we can now take stats seriously’ line of 100 plate pppearances, though, so keep in mind that this early trend could vanish pretty fast.
Through 37 PAs, the 22-year-old Young is hitting .406/.472/.844. His OPS of 1.316 is third in the Midwest League. His slugging percentage of .844 ranks second, and he is third in both wRC+ and wOBA. Nice start to the young man’s first full professional season (he was the Cubs’ 15th rounder out of Old Dominion last year).
Young has spent more time at first than second this year, but that is at least in part because the South Bend roster features a lot of guys who can play second. That is likely to be the case as he moves up the system; he may get at bats where he can find them for a while, until he reaches a level where it makes sense to settle him into a position.
That may not take long. His walk and strikeout rates are both solid (10.8% and 18.9% respectively), and so long as that continues I suspect the Cubs may well move him up the system quickly. A trip to Myrtle Beach before the end of May wouldn’t surprise me greatly.
Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Iowa returned home and promptly had a game postponed due to weather.
Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Tennessee 4, Montgomery 2
The Smokies are back to .500.
High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Buies Creek 9, Myrtle Beach 0
Not only were the Pelicans swept in this series, they were outscored 18 to 2.
Low A: South Bend Cubs
Dayton 4, South Bend 1
South Bend out hit Dayton five to three.
Other Notes
