Minor League Wrap--August 26

by Josh Timmers on Aug 27, 2008 1:14 AM CDT

The rosters for the Arizona Fall League were announced today. The Cubs are the host team for the Mesa Solar Sox and this year they will be providing six players to that team along with the Phillies, Braves, Marlins and Tigers. Ryne Sandberg will serve as one of the coaches for the Solar Sox and former Cub Ray Burris will be the pitching coach.

The players all must have played at AA or above and have less than two years major league experience. The teams are allowed one "Under AA" exception.

The six Cubs players chosen for the AFL are:

Iowa Cubs RHP Justin Berg

Tennessee Smokies RHP Rocky Roquet

Smokies LHP Donnie Veal

Daytona Cubs SS Darwin Barney (The "below AA" exception)

Smokies 2B Nate Spears

Smokies OF Tyler Colvin

It's not exactly an honor to get picked for this league as players are often picked because they were injured during the year or there is something the team feels they need more work on. But because space is limited, it is a sign that the organization has high hopes for the player and considers them worth the extra effort.

Iowa Cubs

In a game made completely meaningless by the I-Cubs clinching victory on Sunday, the Iowa Cubs lost to the Memphis Redbirds, 5-4.

Mike Burns saw his record fall to 8-12 by allowing five runs in a five inning start. Two of the runs were unearned. Burns allowed six hits, walked two and struck out three.

Angel Guzman threw two innings of relief without allowing a hit. He walked one and a whopping five of the six outs he recorded were via the strikeout. The other was a sacrifice bunt.

Catcher Tony Richie went 2 for 3 with a double and his third home run of the season. Richie walked once and scored twice.

Second baseman Bobby Scales was 2 for 4 with a double and a run scored.

Tennessee Smokies

Rained out.

Daytona Cubs

The D-Cubs returned home from a ten-game road trip in which they actually only played one game and that was rain-shortened. But the weather in Daytona smiled upon them and they took out their frustration by thrashing the Vero Beach Devil Rays, 8-1.

Jeremy Papelbon started and threw three innings without allowing a run or a hit. Papelbon walked one and struck out one. Todd Blackford got the win in relief by the "Starter didn't go five" rule. Blackford threw two shutout innings and allowed three hits and a walk. He struck out two.

Center fielder Jim Adduci went 3 for 5 with his third home run on the season. Adduci scored three times. DH Blake Lalli was also 3 for 5. Lalli had a double, two RBI and scored once.

Left fielder Ty Wright went 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. Wright scored once and had three RBI. Catcher Steve Clevenger was 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI. Second baseman Tony Thomas went 2 for 5 with a double and a run scored.

Peoria Chiefs

The Chiefs were cut down by the Clinton Lumber Kings, 5-2.

Starter Robert Hernandez continues to struggle this season. Hernandez allowed five runs, four of which were earned, in only four innings plus the first two batters of the fifth. Hernandez gave up eight hits, walked one and struck out three.

For those just tuning in, Hernandez was a top Cubs pitching prospect who was suspended for 50 games out of spring training for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. His ERA for this season is now 5.38.

Jake Muyco threw three shutout innings of relief. He allowed only one hit, struck out four and didn't walk a batter. Muyco's ERA in Peoria is now 1.89 over 33.1 innings. Not bad for a guy who started the season as the backup catcher for the Tennessee Smokies.

Fun fact: Jake's first name is "Dionisio."

Third baseman Jovan Rosa continued to excel in the month of August. Rosa was 2 for 5 tonight with a double and a run scored.

Shortstop Nate Samson went 2 for 3 with two walks.

First baseman Rebel Ridling was 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI. On the bad side, he committed two errors at first base.

Boise Hawks

The Hawks lost to the Yakima Bears, 3-1.

Starter Ryan Searle took the loss despite not allowing an earned run. Searle pitched five innings and allowed one unearned run on seven hits. He walked one and struck out three.

Bubba O'Donnell had three innings of scoreless relief.

Ryan Keedy hit his third home run in the ninth inning to provide all of Boise's offense. Keedy was 2 for 3 on the night with a walk. Catcher Carlos Perez was 2 for 4.

AZL Cubs

Lost to the AZL Mariners, 10-2.

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

Justin Berg?

What’s up with that?

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

by Al Yellon on Aug 27, 2008 3:56 AM CDT reply actions

AGreed.

That’s a headscratcher as is Barney IMO. I was hoping Marquez Smith would make it. In any case, I’m looking forward to finally see Veal and Colvin in person finally. Spears too.

Over time, your quickness with a cocky rejoinder must have gotten you many punches in the face - Al Swearengen

by lemon20pie on Aug 27, 2008 4:10 AM CDT up reply actions

That was my first thought, Al

At least Colvin and Veal make a lot of sense.

Chicago Cubs Jokes, Humor and Parody at The Cubs Brickyard

by Brett Taylor on Aug 27, 2008 7:05 AM CDT up reply actions

The list of pitchers in the AFL is not exactly littered with top prospects.

Most of the time, teams try to save wear and tear on those. That’s one reason that a guy like Sam Fuld can hit well there.

I has a blog. | Ask a sabermagician!

by cwyers on Aug 27, 2008 9:38 AM CDT up reply actions

Sometimes

A guy gets picked because the team needs an extra arm and everyone else has thrown as much as they want for that year. It’s likely that was the case with Berg, but I didn’t want to denigrate him like that.

I guess I could have mentioned that too.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Aug 27, 2008 11:45 AM CDT up reply actions

Some notable players who have played in the AFL

Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Jeter, Mike Piazza, Jason Giambi, Shawn Greene, Todd Helton, Albert Pujols, Roy Halladay, David Wright, Alfonso Soriano, Jermaine Dye, Torii Hunter, Derek Lee, Ryan Braun, Jimmy Rollins……etc. etc. There’s many, many more, as last year’s ASG was littered with players who played ball in the AFL, I’m just too tired to look up other notables.

The AFL is gaining more and more respect every year and I can’t wait for it to roll around again.

Over time, your quickness with a cocky rejoinder must have gotten you many punches in the face - Al Swearengen

by lemon20pie on Aug 27, 2008 4:04 AM CDT reply actions

Pie's AB's and Hoffpauir

1st AB: Caught looking on 3-2 pitch
2nd AB: Flied to right on 3-2 pitch
3rd AB: Popped to first on 1-1 pitch (Rico Washington was closer to home than first when he caught it)

4th AB: Chopped weakly to first on first pitch
5th AB: Struck out swinging on 2-2 pitch

Pie was able to get an outfield assist throwing out David Freese on an extremely close play trying to go from first to third on a single.

Also, Hoffpauir was 0 for 5 popping out to the shortstop in short left field to end the game.
He made a nice shoestring catch going to his right in left field on a line drive hit by Cody Haerther.

Well, if Pie and Hoffpauir are going to go a combined 0 for 10, let it be in a meaningless AAA game.

"The big possum walks late." - Harry Caray

by memphiscub on Aug 27, 2008 7:38 AM CDT reply actions

In my mind...

…Hoffpauir doubled. And Pie…I dunno…beat out an grounder for a single or something.

Yes, sir!

by daver on Aug 27, 2008 3:34 PM CDT up reply actions

WHY IN THE WORLD...

… do people still recommend this front page posts????

NO disrespect to Josh, but NOT RECOMMEND THESE THINGS, PLEASE. They are already on the front page

by Seismic Stallion on Aug 27, 2008 8:10 AM CDT reply actions 3 recs

Recommended.

Over time, your quickness with a cocky rejoinder must have gotten you many punches in the face - Al Swearengen

by lemon20pie on Aug 27, 2008 8:13 AM CDT up reply actions

No offense taken

but one reason to recommend them is to get them out of the main fanpost list. If it goes to the recommended list, it usually knocks one of my old posts off the front page (since we rarely have five non-MLW recommended diaries) and thus keeps a non-recommended diary on the front page just a little longer.

Maybe my thinking is wrong on that. But that was the one benefit I saw. But they don’t need to be recommended anymore, that’s true.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Aug 27, 2008 11:51 AM CDT up reply actions

I think...

… if they don’t get recommended, they will vanish from the main list, thus leaving room on BOTH lists for other posts.

I will try to get the SBN folks to get them removed immediately once I put them on the front page.

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

by Al Yellon on Aug 27, 2008 1:51 PM CDT up reply actions

Angel Guzman

Wow has he been throwing well. I promised myself that if he had success rehabbing, I wouldn’t allow myself to get excited and only to be disappointed as with his other rehab stints but I have to be honest, the way this season has gone up to this point, with almost everything going there way so far, I’m getting a little giddy that GUzman can throw well in September and stay healthy for 2 more months and be a great addition to that bullpen.

I’m hopeless, I know.

Over time, your quickness with a cocky rejoinder must have gotten you many punches in the face - Al Swearengen

by lemon20pie on Aug 27, 2008 8:10 AM CDT reply actions

I'm feeling the same way.

Because of his injury history, I’ve given up on Guzman as a starter. But I still hope he could be a great addition to the bullpen.

Yes, sir!

by daver on Aug 27, 2008 3:35 PM CDT up reply actions

+1

I feel the same way. To have a power arm like his available in the month of September is some real sweet icing on a very good cake. I can’t wait for him to get here so we can see if he has legitamately healed up. If he can get straightened around, just imagine a righthanded bullpen of Guzman-Shark-Marmol-Woody. After six you can turn out the lights cuz that party is over!

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

by willie mays hayes' gloves on Aug 27, 2008 8:19 AM CDT reply actions

Add in Gaudin and Howry

to that mix and that’s solid. That’s a lot of arms and would give Lou the ability to pick and choose and not overwork anyone and make those arms even stronger. It would also guarantee Marquis’ playoff fate, if it hasn’t been sealed already.

Over time, your quickness with a cocky rejoinder must have gotten you many punches in the face - Al Swearengen

by lemon20pie on Aug 27, 2008 8:30 AM CDT up reply actions

I'm loathe to be a Howry hater...

…but I’m not sure adding his name to any list makes the bullpen in question more solid. He’s going to need to put together multiple, consecutive scoreless outings to even begin regaining my trust.

Yes, sir!

by daver on Aug 27, 2008 3:37 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree with you about Howry

For the most part, but if you think of from the perspective that if Guzman (crossing fingers) can stay healthy and throw effectively (big if though), he would be the 5th or 6th best RH out of this bullpen, which is a nice problem to have.

Over time, your quickness with a cocky rejoinder must have gotten you many punches in the face - Al Swearengen

by lemon20pie on Aug 27, 2008 4:35 PM CDT up reply actions

Min Sung?

Anybody know who this guy is? He played RF for Peoria last night, and he has no other stats.

by kranskie on Aug 27, 2008 8:42 AM CDT reply actions

I didn't even catch that

Sung isn’t a prospect. He’s a 26 year-old Korean who was hired to be Dae-Eun Rhee’s translator and personal coach. He’s in the minors to learn to be a coach, not a player. Looks like they gave him a couple of at bats as a present.

Thanks for catching that.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Aug 27, 2008 11:57 AM CDT up reply actions

I should give credit

to AZ Phil over at the Cub Reporter for that info. I had no idea who he was either.

Borowy . . .Sutcliffe . . .Harden?

by Josh Timmers on Aug 27, 2008 12:03 PM CDT up reply actions

Happy Birthday!

Here’s a uniform! And a bat! Now get out there and take a few hacks! No, really, get out there! Have fun!

Yes, sir!

by daver on Aug 27, 2008 3:38 PM CDT up reply actions

how do you say

‘guess hack interpreter’ in korean?

by tim815 on Aug 27, 2008 8:39 PM CDT up reply actions

Why is this First Page thread??

With all due respect to Josh, I don’t come to this site to be blasted with as someone called it a verbalized minor league box score. Josh does a fine service, but this should be a “pick and choose” thread on the sidebar.

by MDBNIU on Aug 27, 2008 11:34 PM CDT reply actions

booo!

I don’t know the full history between you and other BCB readers. I know that others get annoyed with you whenever you post just because of your reputation. However, I have found some of your posts to be intelligent and worth thinking about—other posts have been wrong in my opinion but have served as a bit of humor. For the most part, I have found your comments to be hit or miss in an innocuous way. But this is the kind of post that further tarnishes your reputation and lets me see why you have this reputation. You can’t say “with all due respect” if you’re not going to post in a respectful way. So what if you don’t want to read the minor league wrap? (Odd that you often post in them anyway?) You don’t have to read them. Many BCB readers DO enjoy seeing these and DO value the opinions of Josh and the regular commentors. Like it or not, Josh has been the person who has stepped up and volunteered to do the work to put these together—to give those of us who are into our minor league system a place to talk about prospects, performances, and oddities of minor league baseball on a daily basis. If you want more, add to it instead of complaining.

by kranskie on Aug 28, 2008 7:13 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

I have had several requests...

… to make this more accessible. Josh does a great job and I wanted to reward his hard work.

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

by Al Yellon on Aug 28, 2008 8:21 AM CDT up reply actions

LOL

Way to keep up with the site, BlueMike. This has been on the front page for a week or so now. And you can “pick and choose” not to come to BCB at all, y’know.

Yes, sir!

by daver on Aug 28, 2008 9:19 AM CDT up reply actions

You know he cant stay away....lol

I’ve never followed minor league ball before this season, and thanks to Josh’s recaps I have. I do appreciate all the work he’s put into them.

"A catchers biggest concern behind the plate is to make his pitcher pitch a little better than he can" Roy Campanella

by Madison Cub Fan on Aug 28, 2008 9:24 AM CDT up reply actions

Yeah, we should be so lucky.

I can attribute probably around 90% of my meager knowledge of the Cubs minor league system to Josh’s updates, as I never really followed the minors much at all before the last year or so. Suffice to say, the farm system is the future – and it deserves, if not as much coverage as the present major league team, at least a significant amount.

Yes, sir!

by daver on Aug 28, 2008 9:31 AM CDT up reply actions