Cubs Minor League Wrap--May 21

by Josh Timmers on May 21, 2009 11:34 PM CDT in Minor Leagues

I hear that Josh Vitters guy is good.

I realized I haven't given the standings in a while, so I'll do that tonight.

We still need the scouting reports. I haven't gotten many lately.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs lost the "Battle of the Bears" to the Fresno Grizzlies, 9-2.

Starter Mitch Atkins rough season continued tonight. Atkins got rocked for seven runs over only four innings. He surrendered six hits and walked four. He hit one Grizzly batter. He only struck out two.

The pleasant surprise that is Greg Reinhard's season continued tonight as he threw two shutout innings, allowing only a lone single. Reinhard struck out three.

Center fielder Sam Fuld was 2 for 4 with a double and a walk.

Iowa's record is 21-18 and they are in third place in the PCL American North Division, 1.5 games behind division leader Nashville.

Tennessee Smokies

The Smokies were smote by the Birmingham Barons, 8-2.

Marcos Mateo has struggled since his promotion to AA. Tonight he was hammered for six runs on ten hits over only 3.1 innings. Two of the hits were home runs. Mateo walked one and struck out two.

Third baseman Marquez Smith was 2 for 4 with a double and his third HR in AA. Marquez scored twice and had the one RBI. He did make an error in the field.

Catcher Steve Clevenger was 2 for 4.

The Smokies are 18-19, one half game out of first in the Southern League Northern Division.

Daytona Cubs

A double-header between the Cubs and the Brevard County Manatees was rained out. It will not be made up.

Daytona is 19-19 and in third place in the FSL Northern Division, 6.5 games behind Brevard County.

Peoria Chiefs

The Chiefs were the Cubs' one lone bright spot tonight as they extinguished the West Michigan Whitecaps, 4-1.

Chris Archer was completely dominating in his five-inning start tonight. Archer allowed no runs and only one hit. He walked one and struck out eight. If Archer doesn't walk batters, he's pretty close to invincible like he was tonight.

Chris Huseby seems to be settling into the closer role as he recorded his second save in as many appearances tonight. Huseby allowed no runs and one hit over an inning. He didn't walk anyone and struck out a batter.

Third baseman Josh Vitters did not have three hits tonight. In fact, he only had one hit, but it was his eighth home run of the season and fifth in his last six games. Vitters was 1 for 4 with two RBI.

Left fielder Josh Harrison led off the game with a home run for the second time in three games. It was also Harrison's second homer on the year. Overall, Harrison was 2 for 4 with a stolen base.

Right fielder Kyler Burke was also 2 for 4 with a stolen base. Burke scored once. First baseman Rebel Ridling went 2 for 4 with a double and an RBI.

Peoria's record is 22-17 and they are 1.5 games out of first place in the Midwest League Western Division.

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Comments

Archer with a stud performance. Wow.

His ERA is now 1.50… with 30 Ks in 30 innings. However, as you mentioned Josh, he’s gotta cut down on the walks (19).

All 3 pitchers from the DeRosa trade (Archer, Gaub, and Stevens) are performing well. John Gaub as a 2.77 ERA, with 22 Ks and 9 BBs in 13 innings in AA. Jeff Stevens has a 2.04 ERA with 14Ks and 11BBs in 17.2 IP.

The walk totals are way too high here… if Stevens or Gaub can improve their command, either one might be able to help the Cubs this year, considering our bullpen struggles.

"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)

Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.

by SackMan on May 22, 2009 8:22 AM CDT reply actions

Stevens should be in the major leagues instead of Ascanio.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on May 22, 2009 8:42 AM CDT up reply actions

11 BBs in 17.2 IP.

If he does that in Wrigley Field, he’ll get boo-ed off the mound.

Ascanio, believe it or not, showed much better command in AAA… 26 Ks 7 BBs in 26.2 IP, with a 1.01 ERA. Yet, he comes up here and hits 2 batters in one inning.

"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)

Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.

by SackMan on May 22, 2009 9:07 AM CDT up reply actions

Ascanio looked pretty good last night, though, don'tcha think?

Don’t look now but he’s struck out 8 of the 22 batters he’s faced. And he hasn’t issued a single walk. Yeah, that wildness the other day was painful to watch, but I’m not sure it’s fair to kick him back to Iowa for that alone.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on May 22, 2009 9:23 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs

I think if they can put Ascanio in a role, where he always starts the inning...

He could help us.

I don’t want to see him come in with runners on though… reduce the pressure on him. Let him start the 6th or 7th of a ball game.

"You win because of the quarterback. We have to get that position stabilized. We're fixated on that." -- Jerry Angelo (12.30.2008)

Jerry Angelo trades for Jay Cutler! (4.2.2009)
.

by SackMan on May 22, 2009 9:42 AM CDT up reply actions

Do you like Patton better than Ascanio?

Isn’t Patton the guy that seems to have little to no value? How long are those 2 HBP going to be held against Ascanio? He looked good again last night. I would have no problem seeing Stevens replace Patton as he obviously has no place on a big league roster right now.

by Acapulco Taco Pie on May 22, 2009 10:32 AM CDT up reply actions

Well...

… I admit, Ascanio had a nice outing last night. And although I like Patton’s arm, he’s absolutely useless on this team because Lou refuses to use him. There’s no reason to have a pitcher on the staff if he doesn’t pitch for 12 days.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on May 22, 2009 11:18 AM CDT up reply actions

There's little reason to keep yet another reliever

The Cubs system is stacked with reliever options. Send Patton back to the Rockies. He’s hurting the big league club.

by dr stabbingworth on May 22, 2009 3:50 PM CDT up reply actions

Either that or make a deal to keep him and send him to AAA.

"You can observe a lot just by watching." ~ Yogi Berra

by Al Yellon on May 22, 2009 4:48 PM CDT up reply actions

Well, Patton is a fish of a different sort. (Huh?)

Because of the Rule 5 thing, it’s not particularly easy to do anything with him. It’s hard to say which one is better at this point – Patton has faced 60 batters, Ascanio 22. I do like what I’ve seen from Ascanio. He seemed to have good poise on the mound last night, too.

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on May 22, 2009 11:20 AM CDT up reply actions

I realize you didn’t mention it because he didn’t have a good day at the plate…but I think it’s noteworthy to mention that Jake fox played catcher again last night. 0 passed balls, 0 errors and no runners allowed to steal

by Donbedouin on May 22, 2009 3:00 PM CDT reply actions

Thanks for mentioning it

I should have but honestly, I was really distracted by an overactive 1 year old when I was doing this and I didn’t notice it.

What I did notice, and should have mentioned, is that Richie Robnett was promoted to AAA to replace the injured Brad Snyder.

by Josh Timmers on May 22, 2009 3:17 PM CDT up reply actions

Rob.net is online!

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on May 22, 2009 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions

Sorry for being too lazy to check...

…but how many runners attempted to steal?

I've committed to tweeting about the Cubs for the rest of the season. (Does that sound as ridiculous as I think it does?) Anyway, if you're on Twitter, you can follow me here.

by daver on May 22, 2009 4:28 PM CDT up reply actions