NEWSLETTER
This is going to be one of the longer Five Stars I’ve ever written, as yesterday offered so much to talk about. While I’ll get into the individual performances below, a note that the farm squads also went 5-2 in the W-L column yesterday, with dang good pitching up and down the system. You love to see that.
Let’s break down the day in the minors for the Cubs …
Daniel Palencia header pic via Todd Johnson of Northside Bound
Five Honorable Mentions
Five: Jake Slaughter
What a stunningly incredible month it has been for the 25-year-old corner infielder from Louisiana, who is demanding (and I’m happy to acquiesce!) that we take him absolutely serious as a capital-P prospect. Slaughter’s first inning home run — which was all the Smokies pitching staff needed — was his ELEVENTH home run in the last TWENTY-SEVEN games. That’s the same number he hit in two years at LSU, and three more than he hit in 217 minor league games entering this season. Bananas.
I went back and started to watch video on some extra-base hits, and I thought it was notable that Slaughter’s last four home runs all came on non-fastballs.
- Last night. See below. Fringy off speed pitch, Slaughter catches out in front and muscles for a pull-shot.
- June 26. Pulls a 2-0 changeup off a lefty.
- June 22. The walk-off slam, an 0-2 fringy slider out to left.
- June 18. Hits a slider straight out to center.
Four: Daniel Palencia
By the box score, this looks like a solid-but-unspectacular 4.2 inning start. But watching the video back, I’ll tell you that after three innings I wrote in my notes: “top 5 outing across whole system this year in raw stuff.” It was in that third inning that Palencia mixed in a handful of the best changeups I’ve ever seen him throw, and you can imagine how that went against guys that were waiting to dial up his 99-101 mph fastball (velocity readings forwarded by the Beloit announcer). He’s also throwing a good number of his revamped low 90s cutter and a handful of fringy mid 80s curveballs.
But Palencia’s stuff worsened in the fourth and fifth innings, as his ability to locate the changeup down into the dirt faded. Where he got bad BABIP luck a handful of times, his fourth inning was helped by a double play off a below-average curve. In the fifth, a home run on a hanging changeup hooked foul at the last minute.
Daniel Palencia header pic via Todd Johnson of Northside Bound
While Palencia can hold velocity exceptionally well, it’s the execution of the secondary stuff as he tires that will determine if he can break through and become a top 10 prospect in time. He absolutely possesses that upside.
Since May 6: 35.1 IP, 24 H, 2.80 ERA, 10 BB, 41 K, with numerous 101s to boot. Stock arrow pointing up.
Three: Pete Crow-Armstrong
There certainly doesn’t seem to be a lingering effect in PCA’s power tool from the hand injury that cost him two weeks, as he added his fifth and sixth triples of the season last night.
You can see them both below, where he’s home-to-third in about 11/12 seconds in both. Now that he has those monkeys off his back at High-A, I’d like to see PCA re-commit to his early season plate approach. Because it is noteworthy that in his last 19 games, which spans 83 plate appearances in about five weeks (with the IL stint mixed in), we’ve seen just two walks. Something to work on, and that’s okay.
Two: Jared Young
The offense was good last night, with a left-center home run that will surely catch the brass’ notice. Check it out here, but then let’s talk about his defense.
Since June 14, Young has started 12 games in the field: one at first base, eight at third base, and three (including last night) at second base. I applaud the Cubs for trying this out again, as you might recall that Young originally entered the organization as a second baseman out of Old Dominion. Giving him some run there, given the improvements of other first base prospects in the organization, is just good business.
Young was only called to make one play in the field last night, a fairly routine under-hand start to a 4-6-3 double play. But I did go back and watch every play he’s been involved with at second this year. I actually think the actions look decent, you can tell he has a history with the different angles and throws that second base requires. If I see a weakness, it’s in the first step/instincts defensively, which actually would profile to be a bigger weakness at third base (where he’s also seeing experimentation).
Young, 27 next month, is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft after the season.
One: Tennessee’s No-No
Brett wrote this one up last night, and I want to be sure to give credit to catcher Bryce Windham, who becomes the second Smokies catcher this year to lead his staff to a no-hitter. Windham earned two of the 27 outs with his throwing arm, including one fantastic caught stealing on a breaking ball in the dirt.
A few notes on the four pitchers that got this one to the finish line:
