NEWSLETTER
While the big league Cubs were losing a one-run game, the Iowa Cubs were winning by 19(!). There was so much I wanted to discuss from the game, and not just because it’s way more fun to talk about a 20-1 win than a 4-3 loss …
The I-Cubs got homers from Matt Mervis, Luis Vazquez (2), Chase Strumpf (2), P.J. Higgins, and Yonathan Perlaza. SEVEN HOMERS in one game.
The homer group sure did involve some “tough decision” guys. You know about Luis Vazquez and Yonathan Perlaza, impending minor league free agents. So the Cubs have 40-man decisions there. Ditto for Chase Strumpf, who is Rule 5 eligible. With Matt Mervis, the decision is going to be if, how, and when to re-incorporate him on the big league roster. With P.J. Higgins, it’s mostly just: how do we get this guy to stick around for another year at Iowa as a high-quality depth catcher?
The homers weren’t the only bits of offense, either. Alexander Canario had three hits including a double and a walk, Pete Crow-Armstrong had two hits and two walks, and it was great to see that from each of them. Don’t look now, but Canario has put up strong numbers the last two weeks (.289/.407/.511/131 wRC+), and PCA is up to .222/.382/.481/117 wRC+ in his first seven games with Iowa.
On the pitching side, it was also particularly interesting because of all the guys you could IMAGINE being part of the bullpen – as added depth – in the weeks ahead.
Newly-arrived lefty Luke Little threw a couple scoreless with three strikeouts (he’s Rule 5 eligible after the year, so maybe the Cubs get aggressive). Lefty Stephen Gonsalves threw a scoreless inning with three strikeouts (a long-time AAA/MLB borderline starter being converted to relief). If the Cubs wanted another lefty for the big league bullpen, you could at least imagine one of those two getting a look.
Keegan Thompson allowed one run in his two innings of work, but struck out four and walked none. His peripherals since returning from the Injured List down there have been pretty great, including a 36.1% K rate and an 8.3% walk rate.
And then there was Shane Greene, who threw three scoreless innings with three strikeouts, allowing just one hit. A particularly interesting mid-season minor league signing for the Cubs, Greene is a formerly very good big league reliever who has been way down the last couple years. Now 34, that might be that for Greene, but the Cubs brought him in on a flyer, sent him to Arizona and the pitch lab, and after a trio of dominating appearances in the complex league, the Cubs sent him right up to Iowa. There, he’s made a scoreless two-inning appearance, and then last night, a scoreless three-inning appearance as the starter.
No, I don’t think the Cubs are trying to convert Greene to starting, but the fact that they have him throwing multiple innings like that in the starting spot tells me they want to get a very good look at him as a multi-inning option for the big league team. That’s why you start him – to ensure you get a very clean look – and why you have him go two or three innings. Very interesting. Throw in the fact that he’s a big league veteran who has had plenty of high-level success in the past and you could see him as another possibility for big league innings this year if the Cubs are looking for additional depth.
