Cubs Minor League Daily: Second Half Standings Check

The second half of the season just got underway on Thursday, and the short season teams haven’t been playing much longer than that, so today’s standings check up is probably going to look a lot different from next weeks’.

Iowa (26-47) does not play in a split half league, so their record did not reset at the midway point. They have, however, gone into freefall lately. After pulling into third place a few weeks back, the Cubs are back in last. They trail third place Omaha by eight games, and first place Oklahoma City by eighteen. Their .356 winning percentage is the only one in the Pacific Coast League under .400.

The Tennessee Smokies (1-2) opened the second half on the road. Thanks to their one win so far they are tied for third and trail Birmingham by two games. Their overall season record has ticked back over .500 by a game at 37-36.

Myrtle Beach (0-2) opened June on a very hot streak, turned ice cold in the final week of the first half, and has come out of the gate in the second half with a thud. They are in last place, two and a half back of the leader. Their overall record has slipped back under .500 at 34-38.

Perhaps an even streakier team than Myrtle Beach, the South Bend Cubs (3-0) are perfect in the second half despite opening on the road. They are currently tied for first, and their overall record is the best of any of the full season teams at 37-35.

Eugene (5-4) is in second place, two games back of Salem-Keizer. That said, they’ve won both their series this season. If they keep doing that, they’ll be in good shape. Their first series against Salem-Keizer is this week. The Emeralds will be on the road in an early battle for first place starting Tuesday.

AZL Cubs 1 (4-1) plays in the Arizona League East and is currently in second place, a game behind the Diamondbacks. AZL Cubs 2 (2-3) plays in the Arizona League Central and is also in second place, a game back of the tie between the Indians and the White Sox.

Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Colorado Springs 4, Iowa 2
Colorado Springs 2, Iowa 0
The Cubs have now lost eight of their last nine.

Alec Mills: 6 IP, 4 R, 9 H, 4 K

Shae Simmons: 1 IP, 1 BB, 2 K

Mark Zagunis: 1 for 2, 2 BB

Victor Caratini: 1 for 3, BB

Chesny Young: 2 for 3, 2B

Game Two

Daury Torrez: 4.2 IP, 2 R, 5 H, 1 BB, 3 K

Alberto Baldonado: 1.1 IP, 2 BB, 1 K

Dillon Maples: 1 IP, 1 BB, 2 K

Chesny Young: 1 for 2, BB

Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Mobile 14, Tennessee 4
I think Thompson will have better days in Double A than he had in his debut.

Keegan Thompson: 3 IP, 8 R, 9 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Preston Morrison: 3 IP, 5 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 5 K

Charcer Burks: 2 for 4, BB, SB

Zack Short: 2 for 4, HR

Jason Vosler: 2 for 4, BB

Ian Rice: 0 for 3, 2 BB

Will Remillard: 2 for 4, 2B

High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Lynchburg 7, Myrtle Beach 2 in seven innings
Two Pelican errors led to a pair of unearned runs.

Cory Abbott: 3 IP, 4 R, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Aramis Ademan: 2 for 4, 2B

Andruw Monasterio: 2 for 2, BB

Low A: South Bend Cubs
South Bend 5, Dayton 2
The streaky Cubs have opened the second half with three straight wins.

Rollie Lacy: 5 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 6 K

Yapson Gomez: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K

Brian Glowicki: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K

Roberto Caro: 2 for 5, 2B

Austin Filiere: 3 for 3, 2B

Michael Cruz: 1 for 5, 2B

Brandon Hughes: 2 for 3, BB, SB

Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
Boise 9, Eugene 4
All the damage was done in the third and fourth innings. The bullpen held Boise scoreless after that.

Ryan Williams: 2.2 IP, 7 R (5 ER), 1 BB, 4 K

Casey Ryan: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Stephen Ridings: 2 IP, 3 K

Dalton Geekie: 1 IP, 1 BB, 2 K

Christopher Morrel: 2 for 4, 2B

Jonathan Sierra: 0 for 2, 2 BB

Kwang-Min Kwon: 1 for 3, 2B, BB, SB

Rookie: AZL Cubs 1
Cubs One 6, Athletics 5
Cubs’ pitching stuck out thirteen, but walked seven.

Didier Vargas: 7 IP, 2 R (1 ER), 4 H, 4 BB, 11 K

Clayton Daniel: 1 for 4, BB, SB

Chris Coghlan: 1 for 4, 2B

Alexander Guerra: 1 for 3, 2B, BB

Rookie: AZL Cubs 2
Indians 7, Cubs Two 5
The Cubs rallied in the seventh and eighth to make this one close.

Alfredo Colorado: 2.2 IP, 4 R, 6 H, 1 BB, 1 K

Luis Silva: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB

Jose Alejandro Gonzalez: 1 for 4, SB

Drew Wharton: 3 for 5

Grant Fennell: 2 for 4, 2B

Alonso Gaitan: 2 for 4

Other Notes

Christian Donahue, who recently played for South Bend, made his Triple A debut with a pinch hit appearance in Iowa’s Game One. He grounded out, but got an RBI on the play.

In a somewhat puzzling move, Donahue started Game Two of the doubleheader at second base and batted second. Starting a game makes sense. When a prospect is jumped up for whatever reason, getting him into a game and letting him see firsthand what he needs to do in order to get back to that level for good is just good development. But why was he batting second in the order in his first start above Low A? I am a bit puzzled by this whole thing.

Myrtle Beach was scheduled for a doubleheader, but the second game was rained out.

D.J. Artis was the leadoff hitter and center fielder for Cubs Two yesterday. He was hit in his first trip to the plate and left game.