Cubs Minor League Wrap -- April 12

Tennessee

While I had Jay Jackson as the third best prospect in our system, he isn’t as equipped as someone like Casey Coleman. Jackson has the better upside and the better one-two combo, but considering the aggressive assignment, struggles should be expected. Now, today, he seemed like he was just off. He had no control for the first two batters of the game, leading to a 4 pitch walk to start off and a 6 pitch at bat that led to a single, an at bat where Jackson got a couple borderline calls. He fell behind to Lee Mitchell, leading to the homer on a 3-1 count. He was working from behind the count way too much to be effective. Here’s hoping his control settles down a bit. I sort of got spoiled by the strong outings up and down the system yesterday,

Maestri was actually cruising along until the 7th, when he gave up a leadoff double to the opposing pitcher (Chris Leroux). I sort of am okay with it. He didn’t try to nibble with the pitcher.. I’d rather my pitcher attack the other pitcher and live with the consequences (unless said pitcher was a notoriously good hitter, and I don’t think Leroux is thought of that way). The next pitch just got way too much of the plate and it led to another hit and 3rd and 1st. After an out, he lost Kevin Randel to a walk. That one hurts, as he was up 0-2, got Randel to foul one, before throwing 4 balls. Had he gotten him out, he might’ve gotten out of the inning. A learning experience. You gotta get the guy out in that situation, and he missed. That loaded the bases up for Lee Mitchell, who slapped a single for two runs. Ruhlman came in for Maestri at that point. Overall, I’m fine with this outing from Maestri. Really one AB that was just something that stands out as a “He’s got to be better moment.”. Ruhlman cruised through, which was a nice sight to see from him.

We were going up against a fairly intriguing lefty in Aaron Thompson. Thompson was a solid looking talent before running into AA problems last year, big problems. He’s repeating the level. Tony Thomas had himself an excellent day. 3/4. Let’s look at his K first, which was when he led off the game. I am perfectly fine with that at bat. He took 3 balls, a called strike, fouled a pitch off, and then took a pitch that looks fairly high. That’s a solid at bat for him, IMO, showing improvement overall, and showing leadoff potential (working the count). In the third, he took a ball before ripping a single on a fat pitch. In the 6th, he took 2 balls, before he swung through one, fouled one off, and then ripped a single. It seems like he had a good handle on Aaron Thompson. In the 8th, against Chris Leroux, he took a ball, then a called strike, before hitting another single. Excellent day for him, and showing good discipline at the plate.

Welington Castillo had himself a bad offensive day, 0-3. Matt Camp was 3/3 with a double and a walk, playing shortstop today. He’s a guy who, if he makes it up, is as an all-purpose guy, able to play everywhere in the infield and outfield. Ty Wright and Brandon Guyer were each 1/4, and Blake Lalli came on late as a catcher replacement for Castillo, and he went 1/1. Let’s take a look at Brandon Guyer AB’s. In the first, Guyer took 3 balls before missing three pitches to strike out. In the 4th, he had a 2-1 count before grounding out. In the 7th, he worked a 6 pitch AB, after falling behind 0-1 and 1-2 before grounding out. In the 9th, he got his single on the 7th AB after falling behind 0-2. At the end of the day, you gotta perform/produce, but I’m pleased enough with his day.

Iowa -

Randy Wells had himself a solid outing. He threw a few too many balls for my liking (23 out of 71 total pitches), but he got 8 ground outs (to 5 flyouts), to go with his 2 K’s in 5. He showed mettle in the 2nd. An Andres Blanco error led to the leadoff guy getting on. Reggie Abercrombie slapped a single on the next pitch, but then Wells retired the next 3 on 11 pitches. Round Rock tagged him in the 3rd, when Josh Muecke, after falling behind 1-2, slapped a single on a 2-2 count on the 9th pitch. After getting Bogusevic out, Manzella turned on a pitch and hit a single. He got Sutton to ground out, but Saccomanno hit one to CF for a triple. He settled down after that, giving up a single to Muecke to lead off the 5th before 3 straight ground balls ended the inning, and Wells outing. Overall, a solid outing by Randy. He may be called up for long man duty if we need someone. Good rubber arm that can fill roles. The only downside was that the opposing pitcher tagged him for 2 hits.

Jesse Estrada had a strong 1.2 innings. It looks like he might be tapping some of that ability, but again, for me, he’s a "not expectating anything, but … " type of guy. There’s some talent, particularly if he can take advantage of his genetics. He gave up an unearned run due to a Luis Rivas error. He only threw 3 balls in 16 pitches. Waddell gave up three hits, but he wasn’t wild. Just missed on some pitches. Fox and Hart finished things up in fairly effective outings.

Sam Fuld had a solid day, going 1/4 with a walk and a SB, scoring 2 runs. Nate Spears went 0/3, but had 2 walks, scoring 1 run. Spears played 3rd today. Jake Fox went 1/3, with 2 walks, one intentional, getting a RBI and scoring a run. Fox was at 1st and LF today. They forced Snyder to beat them, and Snyder did. He went 2/4, with the slam, but K’d twice. The Express had their lefty/lefty matchup, but Tyler Lumsden, a former White Sox and Royals farmhand, left one over the plate. There’s so much talent in Brad Snyder that you just wonder, if he could get some discipline and put it together, what might be there. Of course, the same was said for Ryan Harvey. I just have my doubts. Here’s hoping he proves me wrong. Scales was 2/3, with a walk, playing first and 2nd. For So Taguchi fans, he had a walk which led to a run.

My Thought of the Day:

Same as one from yesterday, but I think we have seen some real solid AB’s from Tony Thomas, which is very exciting to see. Sure, his numbers are great, but the fact that he’s working the count makes me more excited.

Prospect of the Day:

Randy Wells. He came through with a solid outing, showing some mettle. He could fill a role for us at some point this year.

Four Up/Three Down:

Up:

Thomas (is getting the job done, not only with overall production, but working the count), Wells (rubber arm that could fill a role in the pen if needed – long man?), Ruhlman (considering our lefty situation, I’m paying attention to all our lefties, and he had a good day, albeit, mopping up), Camp (a useful utility player who, if his bat can do anything, could find a role as a deep bench option perhaps … Camp/Thomas did their job today, the middle of the order didn’t)

Down:

Castillo (gotta have better AB’s and while he’ll make it up due to his defense, he has to hit a bit), Jackson (bad day for the kid, here’s hoping he bounces back next time out), Reynolds (0/4 with a K today, left 5 while hitting cleanup, 1/11 to start the year – if he doesn’t turn it around, he might not be around long), Ty Wright (1/4, 3/16 to star the year, left 6 men on as the number 3 hitter)

Finishing off their series, the Smokies struggled to get much going. Casey Lambert had an excellent start, though, only giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and a walk in 5 innings. Noticeably, no K’s. Unless he can get his third pitch going (one he hasn’t needed for awhile as a pen arm), he won’t be able to dominate with the excellent breaking pitch as AA batters are better. For the most part, Lambert was good at getting ahead of the hitter. Love the 11/3 GO/FO ratio. I’ll save a longer cut for tonight. Vince Perkins, John Gaub, and Blake Parker were all very effective.

Offensively, Thomas went 0/4 with 4 K’s. On the surface, awful. And at the end of the game, for all the numbers focus out there these days, you gotta produce and perform. But I don’t think it was such a horrid day. He continued to battle with each at bat. Only one AB looks bad. Matt Camp moved around again, playing 3rd today, going 0/4, but had a couple solid AB’s early. Ty Wright went 0/4, dropping to 3/20 to start the year. Lalli went 1/3 with a HBP and a SB. I know some folks on this board somewhat dismissed him due to ARL, but I think his bat plays for the upper minors, and considering it’s his 3rd year in pro ball, give him a chance first. His ARL isn’t that bad. All for nothing Robnett went 0/3 with a walk and 2 K’s. Just don’t have any expectations with Robnett, in all honesty. Clevenger had a good 2-4 day, battling in the other two AB’s. He has a good stick. Power is a question, but overall a good stick. The issue is whether or not his glove has improved. Gotta wait to hear on that. Guyer went 0/3 with a walk. He’s in a rut. Struggles should’ve been the expectation, so let’s see if he can get out of it. Barney went 1/3, and Reynolds went 0/1 in a PH appearance.