I’ve never been that into guys hitting for the cycle. It is kinda neat, but not something I would ever have bothered tracking. The cycle is a mark of a very good game, but so is a three-homer game, for example, and we don’t really track that (especially when it happens against the Cubs). For the vast majority of baseball fans, though, hitting for the cycle is a very big deal indeed.
Last night Ryan Court pulled off the feat for Iowa, the first time any Iowa Cub had done so since 1997:
Court was signed as a minor league veteran, mainly to help provide some emergency depth for the Major League team. He has had a pretty good year (.272/.347/.441, 9 HR, 4 SB, 9.5% BB%, 37.2% K%) with the exception of his strikeout rate, and has been playing very good baseball of late. If the Cubs need an infielder in Chicago in a hurry (beyond David Bote), Court should be able to step in and do just fine in a pinch.
Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Iowa 10, New Orleans 8
The Cubs needed big seventh and eighth inning rallies to pull off the win.
Jen-Ho Tseng: 4.2 IP, 4 R (2 ER), 7 H, 1 BB, 2 K
Craig Brooks: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Chris Coghlan: 2 for 5, 3B
David Bote: 3 for 5, HR
Ryan Court: 4 for 5, 2B, 3B, HR
Jason Vosler: 2 for 4
Jen-Ho Tseng: 1 for 1
Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Biloxi 8, Tennessee 2
The bullpen could not cash in on a very good start from Duncan Robinson.
Duncan Robinson: 6 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Trent Giambrone: 1 for 4, 2B
Eddy Martinez: 1 for 3, HR
Wynton Bernard: 2 for 3, 2 SB
High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Pelicans were rained out.
Low A: South Bend Cubs
South Bend 7, Quad Cities 2
The Cubs took advantage of twelve hits and nine walks to pile up the runs on the road.
Brendon Little: 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 3 BB, 5 K
Brendan King: 1 IP, 1 K
Ben Hecht: 1.1 IP, 1 K
Zach Davis: 1 for 4, 3B, BB
Christian Donahue: 3 for 5
Michael Cruz: 1 for 4, HR, BB
Clayton Daniel: 2 for 4
Chris Singleton: 2 for 5, 2B
Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
Tri-City 4, Eugene 1
The Emeralds committed four errors and struck out fourteen times.
Paul Richan: 3 IP, 3 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 1 K
Ethan Roberts: 1 IP and a line of zeroes
Sean Barry: 1 IP, 2 BB, 3 K
Grant Fennell: 1 for 4, 2B
Jonathan Sierra: 1 for 4, 2B
Jake Slaughter: 1 for 3, 2B
Rookie: AZL Cubs 1
Cubs One had the day off.
Rookie: AZL Cubs 2
Cubs Two 8, Giants Orange 7
Cubs Two did their friends on Cubs One a favor by rallying late to beat the Giants.
Jack Patterson: 3 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Allen Webster: 1 IP, 1 BB, 2 K
Ivan Medina: 2 IP, 1 H, 5 K
Brennen Davis: 1 for 2, BB
Henderson Perez: 1 for 2, 2B
Reivaj Garcia: 1 for 5, 2B, SB
Cole Roederer: 3 for 4, BB
Alonso Gaitan: 2 for 4, 2B
Other Notes
In his postgame interview, one of the guys Ryan Court credited with helping him with his two strike approach in particular was Chris Coghlan.
Ryan Court also has a fifteen game hitting streak going, dating back to July 4.
Thanks to Cubs Two beating Giants Orange last night, Cubs One is tied for first in the Arizona League East division with only the D-backs and with just a few games left to play in the first half.
Cubs second round pick Brennen Davis played just two games for the Cubs in June before going on the disabled list. Last night he made his return with Cubs Two, picking up two at bats as the DH.
Taken in the compensation round after the second, Cole Roederer is continuing to tear up the league as part of Cubs Two. Through his first 52 PA he has 9 walks, just 7 strikeouts, 3 homers, 4 steals, and an overall line of .395/.500/.698. I would not be surprised if the Cubs moved him up to Eugene in a few weeks, but given that he was playing in high school just weeks ago, I also would not be surprised if they kept him in Arizona this season.
And while we’re talking about Cubs 2 – 16-year-old second switch-hitting second baseman Reivaj Garcia is up to 99 PA, so we can take his stats for real with some confidence. Some cautious excitement would be warranted. Garcia is hitting .299/.371/.345 with four steals. The walk rate is good (9.1%), the strikeout rate is a touch high for the level but not for his age (19.2%), and it isn’t anything I’m worried about yet. The power is non-existent, but he’s still just sixteen. I won’t start worrying about his power production for another couple of seasons yet. Garcia will have a lot of work to do as he moves up the system, but right now he is showing signs of maybe evolving into a very good prospect indeed one day.
NEWSLETTER
