Cubs Minor League Daily: Hot Dogs, Moon Pies, And Even A Couple Games

Last night at a Smokies game, I finally tried a sandwich that, according to Twitter, did pass muster as a true Chicago dog. It had the pickle, the peppers, the onions, the mustard, and so forth.

And while I have to admit that the whole was better than the sum of the parts, I also suspect that since a Chicago dog has such strong flavors as onions, pickle, peppers, and mustard on it, that Chicago’s hot dog vendors could slap just about anything on there in place of the meat stick and no one would ever notice.

I also sampled a culinary masterpiece called a deep fried moonpie. Imagine a nice, fresh moonpie that has been dipped in funnel cake batter, fried to a nice golden brown, covered in powdered sugar and served with a side of chocolate sauce. Or just make your travel plans to Tennessee now so that you don’t have to imagine.

If you leave now you might even get there in time for Free Beer Night tonight.

Triple A: Iowa Cubs

Iowa was rained out.

Double A: Tennessee Smokies
Jackson 6, Tennessee 2

The Smokies got five shutout innings from their bullpen, but other than that there wasn’t much happening for Tennessee in this one.

High A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Myrtle Beach 6, Winston-Salem 4 in eight innings

This was supposed to be a doubleheader, but Game Two was rained out. Yeiler Peguero was 3 for 3. Jared Young and Zach Davis had two hits each.

Low A: South Bend Cubs
South Bend 7, Lake County 6

Delvin Zinn, Austin Filiere, and Austin Upshaw all homered for the Cubs, and Christian Donahue had three hits.

Short Season A: Eugene Emeralds
Hillsboro 6, Eugene 5

Eugene fell into a tie with Salem-Keizer for the second half playoff slot. Fernando Kelli had two hits and stole his 28th base. Andy Weber had three hits.

Rookie: AZL Cubs 1
Cubs One 5, Giants Black 4

The Cubs scored four times in the final two innings to pull out the win. Kwang-Min Kwon doubled twice and finished 2 for 4.

Rookie: AZL Cubs 2
Cubs Two 7, Brewers 3

Luis Verdugo homered and the Cubs got stolen bases from Cole Roederer, Luis Diaz (2), and Carlos Pacheco.

Other Notes

  • Three things stood out for me in the Smokies contest. First, that team is loaded with patient, selective hitters. It seemed like the entire lineup was fouling off tough pitches, taking pitches, and working very deep into counts. I suspect that is a result of the coaching they have been receiving in the farm system as well as a focus on drafting that sort of hitter. I also think that sort of patient, deep count approach is going to be fairly typical for most hitters in the organization from now on.
  • Second, the Cubs are continuing to produce pretty good looking utility infielders. Zach Short, Trent Giambrone, and Vimael Machin were all in this game at some point, all three looked good in the field, and all three put together some good at bats. I still think Short has the highest ceiling of the three, but I could see any of them get some games in Wrigley if needed next summer.
  • Third, I still really like the look of Eddy Martinez. I know the numbers aren’t there, but I don’t think we should write this guy off yet. To my not-a-scout eye, the tools are definitely there.
  • Be sure to keep an eye on Jeffrey Baez as well. Unfortunately I only saw one Baez at bat, but I saw the sort of bat speed and hard contact that could produce his excellent, pre-injuries, early season numbers. If you’re looking a nice dark horse candidate for 2019 Organizational Player of the Year, Baez might just be your guy.
  • written by

    Luke Blaize is the Minor League Editor at Bleacher Nation, and you can find him on Twitter at @ltblaize.

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