Cubs Minor League Wrap -- August 24

by Josh Timmers on Aug 25, 2009 12:12 AM CDT in Minor Leagues

Man, summer colds suck. They're even worse when you're trying to take care of an infant. Then you're responsible for cleaning up two people's messes.

Jeremy Papelbon was named Southern League Pitcher of the Week.

Iowa Cubs (66-64)

The Iowa Cubs zipped past the New Orleans Zephyrs, 7-4.

Starter Mitch Atkins improved his record to 7-11 with a strong start tonight. Atkins went seven innings and allowed two runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out five.

David Patton's rehab appearance did not go well. He gave up two runs on a home run in the eighth inning and got in trouble in the ninth before Vince Perkins was summoned from the bullpen to get the final out. Patton went 1.2 innings and allowed the two runs on two hits and three walks. He struck out two. Perkins got his third save while facing two batters. He walked the first one and then struck out the final batter to end the game.

Left fielder John-Ford Griffin had two doubles in a 2 for 5 game. He scored twice and knocked two in. First baseman Micah Hoffpauir also went 2 for 5 and had one double. Hoffpauir had three RBI and scored once.

Tennessee Smokies (31-27)

The Smokies remained in a tie for first place tonight as they filleted the Carolina Mudcats, 16-9.

Andrew Cashner has been struggling, really for the first time in his professional career. Tonight he couldn't go the necessary five innings to pick up the win, despite leaving with a 13-5 lead. Cashner went 4.1 innings and allowed five runs on seven hits. The really bad news was that he walked five and struck out only one. Two of the runs Cashner allowed in the five-run first inning were unearned, however

Dustin Sasser was given the win in relief. Sasser threw two shutout innings. He gave up one hit, walked one and struck out two.

The Smokies banged out 19 hits tonight, led by Tyler Colvin, who got his batting average up to .305 with a 4 for 6 game. Colvin doubled once. He had one RBI and scored once.

Catcher Welington Castillo was 3 for 6 with two doubles. He scored once and had two RBI. First baseman Russ Canzler went 2 for 5 with a double and a walk. Canzler scored twice and had two RBI. Shortstop Starlin Castro was 2 for 6 with two doubles. He had one RBI and one run scored. First baseman Blake Lalli had a four RBI night. He also scored once in a 2 for 4 night. Center fielder James Adduci was 2 for 3 with three walks. Adduci scored four times. He also stole a base.

Two Smokies homered tonight. Left fielder Ty Wright hit his ninth homer in the first inning with a man on. Wright went 3 for 4 with a double and two walks. He scored three times. Second baseman Tony Thomas hit #11 in the second inning with the bases empty. Thomas was 1 for 3 with two walks.

Daytona Cubs

Had the night off.

Peoria Chiefs (35-21)

The Chiefs had been bludgeoning opponents lately, but tonight they used their pitching and defense to shut out the Quad City River Bandits, 2-0.

Austin Bibens-Dirkx has made six starts for the Peoria Chiefs, and in those six starts he's gone 5-1 with a 1.70 ERA. (He also has one win as a reliever.) Tonight he had seven shutout innings and allowed only four hits and one walk. Bibens-Dirkx struck out six. ABD is 24 and washed out of the Mariners organization, so we need to temper our enthusiasm a little. Still, if he keeps this up, signing him out of the independent leagues is going to be a major coup for our scouting team.

Chris Huseby got the save number 18. Huseby pitched 1.1 innings and allowed only one hit. Huseby struck out two.

Third baseman David Macias was 2 for 4 with an RBI and a run scored. First baseman Rebel Ridling was 2 for 3 with a double.

Boise Hawks (30-33)

The Hawks lost to the Spokane Indians 14-5.

Starter Robert Hernandez allowed three runs on four hits over four innings. He walked three and struck out six. The rest of the pitching staff were worse.

Second baseman Logan Watkins was 2 for 3 with two doubles and two walks. Watkins scored once. Third baseman Greg Rohan had two doubles in a 2 for 4 game. He scored once and had two RBI.

Left fielder Robert Wagner hit his third home run tonight. Wagner was 2 for 4 with two RBI.

AZL Cubs (11-13)

Did not play. Their season ends Friday night.

Tweet Comment 19 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

Chris Huseby

Josh can you give me a comparison or prediction from him?

I would sleep with Blou if it meant the Cubs would win a WS. by Doggie Stalker on Aug 22, 2009 4:11 PM EDT

by cubsluver22 on Aug 25, 2009 12:45 AM CDT reply actions

Huseby

The Cubs gave Huseby 1.3 million dollars in 2006, which is a record for an 11th round pick, to keep him from going to Auburn. He had TJ surgery in 2005 and the fact that he still wanted first round money to not go to college caused all the other teams to back off of him. He’s 6’7", so he’s got the size to put on some weight and pick up some speed on his fastball, which last I heard was sitting around 92-93.

The Cubs had him as a starter and he couldn’t stay healthy in that role, so the Cubs moved him into the bullpen and made some tweaks to his motion. He now throws much more over the top rather than at 3/4, which can really be intimidating when it’s coming from someone 6’7". He’s thrived in a closer role for Peoria and he’s still only 21 years old. Still, I’m sure the Cubs were hoping for a little more when they threw all that money at him out of high school.

He also throws a slider and a cutter, and the cutter is apparently becoming his “out” pitch. Kevin Goldstein over at Baseball Prospectus says that the scouts he talks to project him to be a setup man in the majors, although you’ve got to have a lot of concerns about his health.

by Josh Timmers on Aug 25, 2009 1:38 AM CDT up reply actions

Is

this the same Kevin Goldstein that says Starlin Castro has limited range to his left? I’m banning myself from reading any publication with Goldstein, Law and Callis as thee evaluators. Its always negative coming out of their mouths. I’ll stick with the Cubs publications and I’ve seen Castro and he has very good range to his left for what its worth.

by Slamdog on Aug 25, 2009 6:19 AM CDT up reply actions

The cutter and the slider

Have been deemed above average major league pitches by a few scouts.

I think his complete loss of control last season in spring training and then in the AZL (we’re talking a Rich Hill-like loss of control) was the main reason he stalled out last season as a starter, not specifically his health.

by Raisin on Aug 25, 2009 1:48 PM CDT up reply actions

agreed

I think Raisin is right on that one. I don’t recall much on health being an issue with Huseby relative to his control loss. It seemed like things got out of whack and then it became a mental block.

I still expect them to revisit Huseby as a starter at some point. His value is just higher and better as a starter than a pen arm.

by toonsterwu on Aug 26, 2009 11:06 AM CDT up reply actions

Hey

Josh, hope you feel better! Is this the same Goldstein that said a scout told him Castro range was light to his left and this will make him just a regular player? He will really eat this statement and might consider friendship with a different scout who’s better at evaluating players. Also wondering what would be his health problems, because since we’ve signed Huseby, he might have had some control problems but health I havent heard?

by Slamdog on Aug 25, 2009 5:38 PM CDT up reply actions

Yeah

He’s the same Kevin Goldstein who told Josh Vitters sister she was fat and ugly and has “C-U-B-S S-U-C-K” tattooed on the knuckles of his hands.

For the record, what he wrote was:

Starlin Castro, SS, Cubs (Double-A Tennessee)
It was a big surprise to see Castro begin the year at High-A as a 19-year-old after only playing the complex league last year, so now it’s an even bigger surprise to see him at Double-A. A contact machine who hit .302/.340/.391 in the Florida State League, Castro got off to a slow start with the Smokies, but after going 3-for-3 last Thursday and delivering two-hit games in all three weekend contests, he’s now up to .297/.375/.344 with just three strikeouts in 64 at-bats. His lack of power and questionable range for the left side keep him from being an elite-level prospect, but a weak Cubs farm system will take anything they can get.

I’m getting a little tired about how even compliments get turned around into insults around here. Sure, he could have left the comment about the weak system out, but that’s his opinion and it’s not like he didn’t go into detail about why he thought the Cubs had a weak system (and said that it was improving.)

by Josh Timmers on Aug 25, 2009 7:32 PM CDT up reply actions

Its

a kick u in the groin statement and then tell u that u suck but thats ok because we know we r getting better.

by Slamdog on Aug 25, 2009 8:23 PM CDT up reply actions

I didn't mean to be mean

but I think that Goldstein has praised a lot of Cub players but people around here seem to be upset about the article he wrote for BP and ESPN which blasted the system. But he mainly criticized the drafts from 2002 to 2006, which most of us around here have done as well. I don’t think he has any anti-Cub bias. He seems to be a big Brett Jackson fan and he certainly likes Vitters, recently comparing him to Jim Thome, in both good and bad ways (i.e. he’ll start his career at third base, but will eventually have to move across the diamond like Thome.) He was also one of the first of the minor league mavens to jump on the Chris Carpenter bandwagon.

by Josh Timmers on Aug 26, 2009 12:06 AM CDT up reply actions

KG

has actually praised the Cubs top level. It’s certainly fair to question the guys beyond the Cubs top level, but hey, that holds true for all systems.

My only problem with KG is that I think he is too dependent on basic stats, or the scouts that he speaks to. He still critiques Castro’s glove, but BA tapped Castro as the best defensive shortstop in the FSL.

by toonsterwu on Aug 26, 2009 11:15 AM CDT up reply actions

Thoughts on Huseby

I still expect the Cubs to try him as a starter. I’ve compared him to Rauch before, but that isn’t even a good comparison, as Rauch can run it in there in the mid-90’s, whereas Huseby is more topping out in the low 90’s as of now. The pen fit made sense this year, due to his control problems last year. Again, I think the post above has it wrong and Raisin has it right – his control issues were fairly documented last year, and it seemed like it was a mental block.

Thus, having him in controlled, short outings made sense. That said, his best case scenario as a pen arm seems to be a setup guy, and I’m not wholly sold that he has the stuff to project/thrive in such a role, as of now. It’s possible that develops, but his arsenal projects much better for the rotation. I wouldn’t be surprised if they started him in Peoria again next year, and had him work as a starter, a year removed from his control difficulties.

To be honest, I don’t know of any serious health concerns as of now with Huseby. The TJ thing was so long ago, it can’t really be considered a current issue with him. Honestly, if you want a comparison, I think right now, he projects as a taller, and probably better, Kevin Hart, but there’s a long way to go in the development curve.

by toonsterwu on Aug 26, 2009 11:12 AM CDT up reply actions

get well soon!

"all we know is, he's called the Stig"

by The Stig on Aug 25, 2009 12:54 AM CDT reply actions

Yeah

It’s more annoying than anything else. It’s not one of those awful colds where your whole body aches and you can’t get out of bed. It’s one of those little ones where you can’t breathe and there are headaches and some small yucky stuff that I won’t go into here.

by Josh Timmers on Aug 25, 2009 1:40 AM CDT up reply actions

I feel your pain

I’ve had one of those colds for awhile now

by CHCOWNTHECENTRAL on Aug 25, 2009 3:50 AM CDT up reply actions

Regarding Cashner

The first 5 guys he faced reached base. All scored. He then settled down. He was pulled, I think, after a weather delay. After the first 5 guys reaching, he was in line for a ’quality start, but for the weather.

I wonder if he is hitting the wall. Not that they should shut him down, but monitor his pitch count and watch out for anything odd.

by tim815 on Aug 25, 2009 7:31 AM CDT reply actions

I don't think it's a wall

I think it’s the High A to AA leap. That’d be my hunch. The change is still a work in progress, and while his slider can be nasty, it’s been inconsistent.

by toonsterwu on Aug 26, 2009 11:15 AM CDT up reply actions

Has Castillo made himself more of an option in the future with his strong second half?

I feel like he kind of fell off the face of the earth with a poor first half, but his name has been here more often recently. Is he a guy we could have in the bigs in a year or two as a starter or is he still just a strong defensive backup?

Just say no to players named Aaron on the Cubs.

by nji232 on Aug 25, 2009 7:49 AM CDT reply actions

I don't see

Casilllo bumping Soto out of the starting spot anytime soon (of course, I expect Soto to have a big comeback season next year too) so I’d have to say he’s still a backup. I’ve heard mixed things on his defense, although no one questions his arm and his ability to throw out runners.

I think he’s definitely someone you could see in the majors next season if he continues to play like he’s played in the second half of this season and not the guy who stunk up the joint in the first half. I think it very unlikely that he would break camp with the Cubs in April, but a midseason callup is possible.

Of course, I’m really high on Iowa’s Steve Clevenger as a backup catcher, and would like to see him get a shot at that job first.

by Josh Timmers on Aug 25, 2009 11:33 AM CDT up reply actions

Castillo

He’s gotten a bit unfairly bashed this year. Adjust the line for park and luck, and he actually has been decent. Certainly, one has to perform, but at the end of the day, the glove is what will get him up there, and most reports have been positive this year on his defense, in regards to improvement from last year. For me, he’s still a top 15 Cubs prospect, and a possible top 12.

I think it’s fairly telling that the Cubs sent Castillo to AFL when he’s had a full year of work. He’s probably a few years from being a starter, but if he puts it together, that’s an excellent package. The bat’s always had potential, if he can show consistency with it, it wouldn’t surprise me if he pushed Geovany Soto. That said, within a year or two, I doubt it, but sometimes people suddenly put it together, so who knows.

by toonsterwu on Aug 26, 2009 11:18 AM CDT up reply actions