Jonathan Sierra, the Cubs’ priciest international signing a couple years ago, has a ton of potential. Every once in a while, that potential flashes through.
Like last night, for example, when he launched a fourth inning grand slam. It looked to me like he hit that pitch closer to the hands than the heart of the bat, and it still shot out of the park in a hurry:
Triple A: Iowa Cubs
Salt Lake 6, Iowa 4
Iowa did all their scoring in the first and the ninth. In between their offense was effectively shut down.
Luke Farrell: 4 IP, 4 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 6 K
Kyle Ryan: 3 IP, 2 H, 3 K
Dillon Maples: 1 IP, 1 K
Mark Zagunis: 1 for 3, 2B, BB
Ryan Court: 1 for 4, 2B
Bijan Rademacher: 1 for 4, 2B
Chris Gimenez: 1 for 4, 2B
Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Jackson 1, Tennessee 0
The Smokies got some very good pitching, but not much at the plate.
Thomas Hatch: 6 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 K
Wyatt Short: 1 IP, 2 K
Zach Hedges: 1 IP, 1 K
Connor Myers: 1 for 3, 2B, BB
High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The Pelicans were rained out.
Low A: South Bend Cubs
South Bend 5, Lansing 4 in ten innings
Lansing rallied for four to tie it up in the bottom of the ninth, but they had no answer in the tenth.
Ryan Williams: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 BB, 6 K
Brian Glowicki: 2 IP, 1 K
Jimmy Herron: 2 for 5, HR, SB
Austin Upshaw: 2 for 4
Brandon Hughes: 2 for 4, 2B
Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
Eugene 6, Spokane 1
The grand slam was all run support Marquez and the bullpen needed.
Brailyn Marquez: 4 IP, 1 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 5 K
Eugenio Palma: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K
Sean Barry: 2 IP, 1 H, 2 K
Levi Jordan: 2 for 4, 3B
Nelson Velazquez: 0 for 2, 2 BB, 2 SB
Jonathan Sierra: 1 for 4, HR
Rookie: AZL Cubs 1
Athletics 19, Cubs One 5
Cubs pitching piled up sixteen strikeouts. They also allowed ten walks and five extra base hits.
Yunior Perez: 1 IP, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K
Fauris Guerrero: 1 IP, 2 K
Maikel Aguiar: 2.1 IP, 4 R, 7 H, 5 K
Rafael Mejia (1B): 1 IP, 2 BB, 2 K
Edmond Americaan: 3 for 5
Yonathan Perlaza: 2 for 5
Rookie: AZL Cubs 2
Brewers 3, Cubs Two 1
These Cubs had some good pitching working for them, but not enough offense.
Eduarniel Nunez: 4.2 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Kohl Franklin: 2 IP, 1 H, 3 K
Fernando Calderon: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K
Fidel Mejia: 1 for 4, 2B
Other Notes
If you haven’t made it out to a minor league game yet this year, there are a lot of promotions coming up at South Bend in the next week. August 8 is Latino Heritage night, August 9 is Harry Potter night, August 12 is classic car day and Mister Rogers day, and August 14 ticket prices drop as low as $2.
Don’t overlook the solid start from Brailyn Marquez for Eugene. Marquez is a lefty that has been stadium clocked over 95 on a fairly regularly basis and has a 26.2% strikeout rate over eight games. Still just 19, it is easy to see why MLB Pipeline ranks him number four in the Cubs farm system.
There is a pretty good read on catcher Jhonny Pereda over at Myrtle Beach’s blog. That article also provides a little insight into how minor league rosters are constructed and the importance of having good minor league managers.
We don’t pay enough attention to minor league managers around here, and we should. Buddy Bailey, featured in that article, is one of the best in the game. I don’t know if minor league organizations ever retire the number of a manager, but if they do Bailey’s number should be retired.
Sierra, 19, is still more about projection than results, but he’s improved his strikeout rate, his groundball rate, and power this year with Eugene.
NEWSLETTER
