Minor League Wrap--May 20

by Josh Timmers on May 20, 2008 11:44 PM CDT

Iowa Cubs

The I-Cubs pounded the Omaha Royals, 8-2.

Randy Wells got the start and saw his record improve to 3-1 by allowing only one run in five innings. Wells allowed five hits, walked two and struck out five.

Carmen Pignatiello returned from the disabled list and had his first good appearance in quite a while. He tossed a scoreless ninth inning, allowing one hit and striking out one.

Felix Pie came out of his demotion slump. Pie went 1 for 2 with his first home run in AAA. He scored twice, stole a base, walked once and had a sacrifice bunt.

Eric Patterson went 2 for 4 with a double, a walk, a run scored and an RBI. Third baseman Casey McGehee was 2 for 4 with a double and a home run. McGehee had four RBI and scored once. Catcher Koyie Hill also went 2 for 4 with a double and a home run. Hill scored twice.

Tennessee Smokies

A third-straight bad start by Jeff Samardzija resulted in the Smokies losing to the Mississippi Braves, 8-4.

Samardzija allowed six runs on six hits and three walks in five innings. Three of those hits were home runs. Samardzija struck out four Braves.

Second baseman Nate Spears went 3 for 4 with two doubles and a walk. Spears crossed the plate twice. First baseman Matt Craig went 2 for 3 with three RBI and a base on balls. Matt Camp played shortstop, as far as I can tell for the first time this season, and went 2 for 5. He didn't make an error and was involved in a double play.

Daytona Cubs

The D-Cubs got thumped by the Clearwater Threshers, 9-3.

Alex Maestri had his first truly bad start of the season. Maestri gave up eight runs, five of them earned, in only four innings. Maestri allowed eight hits, walked one and struck out two. Billy Petrick threw a scoreless inning of relief.

DH Ryan Harvey was 2 for 4 with a two-run bomb, his second down in the Florida State League. Shortstop Jonathan Mota was 2 for 4.

Peoria Chiefs

The Chiefs blew a 6-0 lead, but then recovered to beat the Quad City River Bandits, 10-6 in 10 innings.

Hung-Wen Chen started and pitched well for five innings, but then allowed five runs to score in the sixth. I haven't checked this, but Chen seems to pitch very effectively for four or five innings recently, and then lose it in the fifth or sixth inning. Chen's final line was five runs on five hits and no walks in six innings. He hit a batter and struck out three.

Steve Vento picked up the win in relief. He pitched two innings, allowed one hit and struck out four.

First baseman Luis Bautista went 3 for 4 with a double and a triple, falling only a home run shy of the cycle. Bautista scored three times and had four RBI. DH Brandon Guyer was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored. Third baseman Jovan Rosa was 2 for 5 with a run scored.

Right fielder Dylan Johnston was 1 for 5 with his sixth home run of the season, a three-run blast in the second inning.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of SB Nation or Al Yellon, managing editor (unless it's a FanPost posted by Al). FanPost opinions are valued expressions of opinion by passionate and knowledgeable baseball fans.

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Samardzija

Has been about average all year. Interesting to see if he ever gets going.
I think you might see a buy out at the end of this year and enter the NFL draft in 2009, just a hunch.
Pie,Colvin, Palwleck ( spelling) Samardzija, Harvey and Burke ( in the Walker deal ) all look about average. All drafted high. Thank goodness for Theriot, Soto, Marmol and Z and I guess to an extent Cedeno.

"Have You heard of the Boom on Mizar 5?"

by Grockcubs on May 21, 2008 6:28 AM CDT reply actions

pie

wasnt drafted and i think its a little early to close the book on him. burke was a low risk high reward chance they took and could still pay off. you are correct though, thank goodness for those diamonds in the rough.

"Anytime I want to throw 95 or 96 (m.p.h.), I can throw it. But it's not how hard you throw in the big leagues. It's how you locate your pitches and learn to pitch the game." - If Zambrano has truly figured out how to pitch, look out.

by kylejo on May 21, 2008 8:29 AM CDT up reply actions

Those are very different cases...

These guys were acquired in very different ways. Pie was a foreign player, not a draft pick. Same for Soto, Marmol, and Zambrano. Harvey and Pawelek were drafted by the previous scouting regime. Samardzija was a fifth round pick (though he was considered a 1st round talent). Burke was part of a trade to get rid of Barrett. Further:

- Pie is a guy that has dominated every level of the minors and just needs to make the adjustments to the major leagues.

- Colvin is a guy that has been fairly successful in his first two years but has hit a bit of a bump so far this year.

- Harvey is basically a bust at this point and is an example of the failures of the old scouting regime.

- Burke was a gamble in a throw-away trade for chemistry purposes. Time will tell, although I don’t think the Cubs are/were heavily invested in him.

- Pawelek has looked good at times but has had trouble staying healthy. He’s not likely to pan out at this point, but that has a lot to do with injuries.

- Samardzija is basically a high-school pitching prospect who’s 3-4 years older than the average high school pitching prospect. He has good stuff but he’s never learned how to pitch. It’s very possible that he never does learn how to pitch.

by SouthernCub on May 21, 2008 11:34 AM CDT up reply actions

I believe Tyler Colvin will pan out

..and in a positive way. The kid has a sweet batting stroke and natural baseball ability. He can carve out a Jacque Jones type existence in the major leagues. Maybe even better.

Adding knowledge and challenging the saber-magicians, one post at a time.

by MDBNIU on May 21, 2008 12:07 PM CDT up reply actions

Yawn...

I’m sure you’ve seen a LOT of Colvin to know this.

by SouthernCub on May 21, 2008 12:28 PM CDT up reply actions

P.S. I do hope he pans out

just wanted to clarify that your scouting report on his sweet swing is meaningless.

by SouthernCub on May 21, 2008 12:29 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm just speculating here...

...but it’s established that a pitcher’s development doesn’t necessarily resemble a hitter’s development. Something I think I know (but can’t prove) is that for hitters, age is more important than experience. My admittedly shaky evidence is guys like Josh Hamilton and Rick Ankiel. Despite their relative inexperience as hitters, they’ve been able to produce based upon simple athletic ability.

I don’t think pitchers have that ability. So people are probably going to write off Samardzija faster than they should – just because, thanks to his college years, he’s of a certain age doesn’t mean he has the requisit experience, and his years playing football mean that he’s nowhere near as polished as most college pitchers.

I’d compare him to a top-flight high schooler, yeah – high risk, high ceiling. Too early to conclude he’s flamed out, in my estimation.

I has a blog.

by cwyers on May 21, 2008 12:37 PM CDT up reply actions

tinstaap! n/t

by tootle on May 22, 2008 7:50 PM CDT up reply actions

Samardizja -- the hype doesn't equal the talent and production

Not even remotely so. At least so far.

Adding knowledge and challenging the saber-magicians, one post at a time.

by MDBNIU on May 21, 2008 12:06 PM CDT reply actions

I hope Jeff invested his $ money wisely.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on May 21, 2008 12:20 PM CDT up reply actions

Thers's always football.

"Hats for bats.....keep bats warm." - Pedro Cerrano
"Hey bartender, Jobu needs a refill !!!!!!!" - Eddie Harris

by willie mays hayes' gloves on May 21, 2008 5:54 PM CDT up reply actions

Tell that to Drew Henson.

"That's my opinion and if you don't like it, well, I have others." ~ Groucho Marx

by Al Yellon on May 21, 2008 8:21 PM CDT up reply actions

If he cant make it on 10mil

thats his problem. Hopefully he shows something.

"Hey.....Cubs win!!!" ---Harry
"Swung on belted!!!"---Chip

by Hammer on May 22, 2008 9:01 AM CDT up reply actions

And Josh Booty

"Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball." - Jacque Barzun

by Bump Bailey on May 22, 2008 12:37 AM CDT reply actions

Duel sporters rarely work out...why is anybody's guess

Josh Booty, Joe Borchard, Drew Henson… perhaps Jeff Samardzija.

One thing you can say is that playing the game of baseball is immensely difficult and you can’t have one toe in the water so to speak and expect success. Either you are a full time baseball player or you or not. With Booty, Borchard and Henson you would have to say the baseball development curve ultimately bit them in the ass.

Adding knowledge and challenging the saber-magicians, one post at a time.

by MDBNIU on May 22, 2008 12:44 PM CDT reply actions