Minor League Wrap--August 22

by Josh Timmers on Aug 23, 2008 12:01 AM CDT

Wow. Who would have thought that Barack Obama would have chosen Micah Hoffpauir as his running mate? The Cubs are promising us that it's not going to affect his planned September call-up, but I don't know. Seems like he'd be busy. I do know that this is going to force John McCain to give a serious look to naming Jason Dubois as his VP selection.

I hope I'm not ruining the surprise there.

Iowa Cubs

The I-Cubs came out on top of a wild one tonight in Oklahoma, as they outlasted the Oklahoma RedHawks, 12-10.

Starting pitcher Randy Wells had some trouble tonight, but did keep them in the game. Wells allowed six runs on eight hits over five innings. Only four of the runs were earned. The good part of his line was that he struck out nine and walked only two.

Angel Guzman relieved Wells and picked up the win. Guzman threw two innings and allowed a run on three hits. He didn't walk anyone and struck out two.

Carmen Pignatiello ran into trouble in the ninth inning. Pignatiello allowed three runs in only a third of an inning before giving way to Michael Wuertz, who retired the final two batters for his fourth save.

DH Micah Hoffpauir had a huge night, going 4 for 6 with a double and a triple. Hoffpauir had four RBI. He scored once and even stole a base tonight.

Jason Dubois was 2 for 4 with a walk and his 24th home run since re-joining the Cubs. Dubois scored twice.

Second baseman Bobby Scales went 2 for 4 with a double and two walks. He scored three times and stole a base. Third baseman Casey McGehee went 2 for 5 with two RBI and one run scored. Catcher Koyie Hill was 2 for 3 with a double, two walks, one run scored and an RBI.

Felix Pie had a 2 for 6 night with a double and two runs scored.

The I-Cubs win tonight, combined with Memphis losing to Omaha, reduced the Cubs magic number to two. The I-Cubs will look to clinch tomorrow night. A win over Oklahoma combined with a Memphis loss to Omaha tomorrow would clinch the division title.

Tennessee Smokies

The Smokies put together an impressive pitching performance and beat the Montgomery Biscuits, 1-0.

Smokies pitchers held the Biscuits to only three hits. Mark Holliman continued his second-half rebound by allowing only two walks and two hits in 5.1 innings. Even more impressive for Holliman, he struck out six. I still had him ranked too high last off-season, but at least I'm looking less stupid now. (Although, I had him ranked, what, nine places ahead of Baseball America in the Cubs system? Ten? Not like I was completely out of bounds there.)

Ed Campusano and Matt Avery each threw a scoreless inning. Jose Ceda got his ninth save for the Smokies with 1.2 innings of hitless relief. Ceda walked one and struck out three.

Left fielder Tyler Colvin was 2 for 4 with a double. DH Jake Fox went 2 for 4 and scored the game's only run. Catcher Wellington Castillo was 2 for 3 and walked once.

Daytona Cubs

The weather is just not cooperating with the D-Cubs quest for the post-season. Their double-header tonight at Vero Beach was cancelled and will not be made up. Jupiter won and now Daytona is a full game back.

Peoria Chiefs

The Chiefs were popped by the Cedar Rapids Kernels, 6-5.

Kevin Kreier started and took the loss. Kreier allowed five runs on nine hits over six innings. He walked two and struck out two Kernel batters. Kreier's record for Peoria is now 5-9.

Center fielder Brandon Guyer continued his second half surge by coming a triple short of the cycle. Guyer was 3 for 5 with a double and his fourteenth home run on the season. Guyer scored three times and knocked in two.

Third baseman Luis Bautista was 2 for 5 with a double and an RBI. First baseman Rebel Ridling was 2 for 4 with an RBI. Second baseman Josh Harrison had a 2 for 5 night and scored once.

Boise Hawks

The Hawks beat the Spokane Indians, 6-3.

Second-round pick Aaron Shafer tossed a gem tonight, allowing only one single and one walk over five innings. Shafer struck out two. He improved his record to 2-2.

Mike Perconte allowed three runs in 1.2 innings. Dan McDaniel got a 2.1 inning save. He didn't allow a hit tonight and walked only one batter. McDaniel struck out four.

The one-two punch of third baseman Josh Vitters and shortstop Ryan Flaherty was at it again tonight. Vitters went 2 for 5 with a double and three RBI. His batting average is now .342. Flaherty went 2 for 5 with two doubles and a run scored. His batting average is "only" .316, but he has the higher OBP.

Center fielder Kurt Calvert had a 3 for 5 night with a double and two runs scored.

Right fielder Kyler Burke hit his seventh home run tonight, a two-run tater in the second inning. Burke was 1 for 3 with a walk.

AZL Cubs

I don't know what happened to the Cubs rookie ball team tonight. They were scheduled to play the Royals, but as I write this, no results are available for a game that started three hours ago. If they become available later, I will edit this post.

UPDATE: The AZL Cubs beat the AZL Royals, 12-3.

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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Comments

Thanks again for doing these, Josh.

I love the humor you bring to the minor league wraps. Don’t ever change.

Fact: Your Opinion is Wrong.

by northsider on Aug 23, 2008 1:18 AM CDT reply actions

wow

this hawks team has some real talent. i cant wait to see a vitters and Flaherty manning the left side of the infield at wrigley

by Glacier on Aug 23, 2008 4:14 AM CDT reply actions

Is it possible that we see them hitting back to back in the majors as well

I would project Vitters to be a 3 hitter unless he develops enough power to bat clean up, not sure about Flaherty he might have the speed and avg to be a 2 hitter

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by CHCOWNTHECENTRAL on Aug 23, 2008 6:00 AM CDT up reply actions

Sure, it's possible

That said, I think Flaherty feels more like a 6 hole type. He feels like a lefty Mark DeRosa to me.

Btw, Glacier, outside of Vitters/Flaherty, the positional talent there is a bit iffy in regards to making it to the bigs. The other guy that holds my interest is Dwayne Kemp, but he’s raw. Michael Brenly also attracts some interest, but as of now, the rest is iffy. There are some very solid arms there, though.

by toonsterwu on Aug 23, 2008 9:10 AM CDT up reply actions

Burke

has still got some talent and has been coming around the past month. Of course, he needs to show that talent in the Midwest League next year. It will be his third and final crack at that next year.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Aug 23, 2008 10:16 AM CDT up reply actions

Burke and Rundle are both

immensely talented, but both have had several shots. Maybe they turn it around late, but on paper, they look like Ryan Harvey’s. Furthermore, there’s a talented OF that’s a level above them that hasn’t gotten it going either – Cliff Andersen. All three are toolsy guys, but at some point, you have to produce somewhat. Maybe Burke has turned the corner, but like Rundle (and Andersen) both will have to show that any bursts are for more than a month (as Rundle had a torrid July).

There’s still a lot of folks that would like to see Burke and his plus arm make a transition to the mound, where he as a former top prepster.

I’ll be curious what the FO does with Burke next year. There were some suggestions that the FO has been trying to push him to make a transition to pitching. Outside of Fleita and Co., no one would really know. But, there is no guarantee that Burke starts 2009 in MWL. Ridling/Keedy likely will grab two spots, and when one isn’t playing first, the other is likely to be in the OF. Andersen may grab a spot there as well. It wouldn’t be outrageous to see Dylan Johnston there, although I’d like to see Dylan get a look at Daytona. I think Burke will get a look, but the string may be shot.

by toonsterwu on Aug 23, 2008 3:28 PM CDT up reply actions

Burke has been playing much better lately

The Cubs were experimenting with him using some timing devices and different batting positions earlier this season. Since July, he just went back to what he had been doing before and he’s been turning it around.

I’ve seen Burke play in Boise and I saw Harvey play in Boise and I can tell you there is no comparison. Burke’s problem is consistency—he just can’t repeat the same swing and the same approach in each at bat or even each pitch. He’s been in two organizations now and people keep trying to change what he’s doing. They’re starting to leave him alone and I think eventually he’ll develop the kinds of consistency he needs.

Harvey’s swing and approach was very consistent. It was just that his swing had a loop in it so big that if he ever got to Chicago, people would want to drive on it. Tremendous power if he ever connects, but unless he’s facing Clayton Kershaw, he rarely did. They needed to completely re-work his swing, but then, he’d lose most of his power. Bad scouting by a previous regime.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Aug 23, 2008 5:18 PM CDT up reply actions

The problem is

Since July, he’s been repeating another level.

There were rumors all the way back to spring that the Cubs were quietly trying to push him to become a pitcher. Some of it, certainly, was speculation, but Burke, like Harvey, also has a hole in his swing, which might account for the experimentation rumor that you are writing about. Burke’s coverage isn’t good enough without adjusting his swing, leaving a very exploitable gap. This exists for many power hitters in the lower levels, but they are usually able to cover it up. He hasn’t been ale to consistently cover it up so far.

At the end of the day, he still has to perform. Irrespective of whether you believe it’s experimentation or a hole in the swing, if the player needs consistency or needs to rework his swing, or so forth, you still have to produce. All I’m saying is this – he’ll get another shot, I’m fairly certain of that, to stick as a positional player, but the string may be even shorter than what it was this year. Considering there’s a couple other toolsy, but flawed kids in the system, along with several positional guys that either play in the OF/may have to shift there, he needs to produce quick and early next year.

by toonsterwu on Aug 23, 2008 7:14 PM CDT up reply actions

I don't think anything you

are saying is in dispute. Burke is only going to get one more chance at the Midwest League, and he has to perform. But I do believe he’s going to get that chance.

My point was that Harvey was a bad comp unless your point of comparison is just “failed first round draft pick” which is a little simplistic.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Aug 23, 2008 7:26 PM CDT up reply actions

I like the lefty DeRosa comparison

with that said there has been a lot of debate whether DeRosa should be 2-hole hitter.

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by CHCOWNTHECENTRAL on Aug 23, 2008 9:35 PM CDT up reply actions

What, was there some special on - buy a hit, get one free?

As for Micah, I think he’s likely to help swing Iowa, although his stance on Maple bats may come back to haunt the Obama campaign.

The author of this post is not a certified scout, doctor, agent, statistician, manager, or journalist, nor was he ever a very good player, though he tried very hard to be like Ryne Sandberg and was about as scrappy as it gets (in T-ball). Any opinion expressed above should in no way be confused with fact, truth, or reality and is hereby qualified in the following ways: 1) The author does not know as much about baseball as Lou Piniella. 2) The author does not know as much about baseball as Jim Hendry. 3) The author does not know as much about baseball as either Dusty or Darren Baker.

by DGU on Aug 23, 2008 7:05 AM CDT reply actions

America needs

a left-handed bat off the bench.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Aug 23, 2008 10:17 AM CDT up reply actions

I get it

As a pull hitter, Hoffpauir will actually make bigger hits on the right, therefore bringing Obama more to the center. I knew Micah was biden’ his time in AAA this year, but I didn’t think he’d get this opportunity.

Fontenot (fon-te-no): Cajun for "scrappy"

by cubzfan on Aug 23, 2008 11:19 AM CDT up reply actions

And it shows the ability to work across the aisle

as a White Sox fan picks a Cubs farm hand to share the ticket. McCain is in trouble because how does a Diamondback fan balance his ticket? Take a Yankee player? A Dodger? The D-Backs just don’t have a good rival.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Aug 23, 2008 11:56 AM CDT up reply actions

See I think McCain will just take someone from his own clubhouse,

namely, The Big Unit, who matches up well with The Hoff and should overpower him in a head-to-head matchup. Randy Johnson also re-emphasizes for McCain that old guys can still get the job done. The danger in this pick is that since Johnson was once an Astro it opens McCain up to connections to George Bush, George H.W. Bush, of course.

by DGU on Aug 23, 2008 1:31 PM CDT up reply actions

by Josh Timmers on Aug 23, 2008 5:19 PM CDT up reply actions

Classic

popped by the Cedar Rapids Kernels, 6-5.

"You can't take life to seriously, you don't get out of it alive"

by wild bill on Aug 23, 2008 3:56 PM CDT reply actions

I just looked

at the Iowa teams stats. Let me say that Micah Hoffpauir’s numbers are Lou Gehrig like. Pretty cool. Statement: I am not in anyway saying that he is anywhere like Lou Gehrig.

"You can't take life to seriously, you don't get out of it alive"

by wild bill on Aug 23, 2008 4:03 PM CDT reply actions