Cubs Minor League Wrap: July 18

by Josh Timmers on Jul 18, 2010 11:57 PM CDT in Minor Leagues

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were massacred by the Oklahoma City RedHawks, 17-6.

JR Mathes got shelled for eleven runs on thirteen hits over 3.1 innings. Mathes walked three and struck out two.

First baseman Micah Hoffpauir was 2 for 5 with a double and three RBI. Right fielder Brad Snyder was 2 for 4 with two RBI and a run scored.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies were burnt by the Montgomery Biscuits, 7-6.

Jeremy Papelbon started and pitched five innings, giving up three runs on four hits. Two of the hits were home runs. Papelbon walked one and struck out two.

Oswaldo Martinez took the loss by allowing three runs over two innings of relief. He gave up five hits, walked one and struck out one.

Catcher Robinson Chirinos hit a three-run home run, his 13th on the year. Chirinos was 2 for 4. Right fielder Brandon Guyer was 2 for 4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.

Center fielder Tony Campana had three singles in five trips to the plate. He scored once and stole his 31st base of the year.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs cracked the Charlotte Stone Crabs, 5-1.

Dae-Eun Rhee turned in a great start, allowing only one run two hits and a walk over six innings. Rhee struck out one.

James Leverton got a three-inning save. Leverton allowed two hits. He walked no one and struck out two.

Shortstop Junior Lake hit his fifth homer of the season, a two-run home run in the fourth. Lake was 1 for 4.

Third baseman DJ LeMahieu was 2 for 5. DH Ryan Flaherty was 2 for 4 with a run scored.

Michael Brenly extended his hitting streak to 17 games by going 1 for 3 with a walk. Brenly scored twice and stole a base. So I'm not sure if Bob is coming back to the broadcast booth on Monday.

Peoria Chiefs

The Chiefs won their fifth in a row as the Bowling Green Hot Rods ran out of gas, 9-0.

Francisco Batista started and pitched four shutout innings, giving up two hits and one walk. He struck out two.

Ronny Moria picked up the win since Batista didn't go five. Moria gave up three hits over 2.1 innings. He walked one and struck out four.

Right fielder Nelson Perez was 2 for 5 with a run scored and two RBI. Third baseman Jonathan Mota was 2 for 4 and scored once. Catcher Mario Mercedes went 2 for 4 with two RBI.

Boise Hawks

The Boise Hawks lost a wild one, 12-11 to the Spokane Indians.

The names of the pitchers in this game will be withheld to protect the guilty.

Right fielder Alvaro Ramirez had a big night. He was 4 for 6, including a three-run home run in the eighth inning. It was his third of the season. Ramirez scored twice and had the three RBI. He was on third base when the Hawks made the final out of the game. He also extended his hitting streak to 16 games.

DH Chris Huseby came to the plate five times and reached base all five times. Huseby was 3 for 3 with two triples, a walk and a hit by pitch. Huseby scored three times and had one RBI.

Two triples? Didn't you used to be a pitcher?

Second baseman Pierre LePage went 3 for 6 with a double, a run scored and two RBI. First baseman Richard Jones was 2 for 5 with an RBI.

Center fielder Matt Szczur is wasting his time on the gridiron. Tonight he was 2 for 5 with a double.

AZL Cubs

Lost to the Reds, 9-3.

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Comments

Haven't seen it mentioned yet

Hayden Simpson has mono.

It explains why we haven’t seen him make his professional debut yet. Frankly, I wouldn’t be surprised if that doesn’t happen until next season. He’s going to need plenty of time to recover and get back to full strength.

by Outshined_One on Jul 19, 2010 1:36 AM CDT reply actions

That stinks!

by Ryno G on Jul 19, 2010 1:38 AM CDT up reply actions

Thing is

He probably wouldn’t have pitched more than about 40 innings this season anyway. It would have been nice to see him get some action, but it’s not a big deal in terms of his long-term development.

Perhaps he could pitch in the Arizona Fall League.

by Josh Timmers on Jul 19, 2010 4:32 AM CDT up reply actions

Really?

They’d put someone who hasn’t pitched at all professionally in the AFL?

Instructional league, perhaps, or maybe winter ball somewhere?

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

by Al Yellon on Jul 19, 2010 7:03 AM CDT up reply actions

It happened with Strasburg

However, Simpson isn’t anywhere remotely close to Stras’ level of talent and polish at this point.

by Outshined_One on Jul 19, 2010 11:04 AM CDT up reply actions

So...

if Scouts consider Chirinos as a starting catcher now..do we trade him for something or can he or Soto move to another position?
Also is Brenly legit prospect?
Good to see Lake homering again. I think Huseby would be pretty good if we could commit him to a position. Also like Matty S alot.
LePage has played pretty well too.
Vitters had a hit and a walk and I believe Jackson just had 1 hit. Hak Ju got SB 24.

by Ryno G on Jul 19, 2010 1:38 AM CDT reply actions

Whoah, slow down there.

We’re not doing anything about Soto yet. Chirinos is potentially to be a major league starter, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to be one. We certainly don’t move Soto to make room for him. Let him win a backup job in spring training next year first. If he does really well in a backup role, then we can make a decision. But honestly, I don’t see Soto going anywhere.

Brenly’s hitting almost .300. Anyone who’s doing that in the FSL has to be taken seriously, although he is a little old for the level. (Not so much as a catcher though, who tend to develop slower.) I’ve been impressed with his defense when I’ve seen him play. So I guess the answer is yes, he’s now a legitimate prospect. His upside might not be real high (backup catcher, probably) but he’s not just a nepotism pick anymore.

Huseby is hitting well, but it’s kind of a last desperate chance for him. Unless he can get back on the mound, I don’t think he has much of a future. As a hitter, he doesn’t even have a position yet. I suppose they could make him a 1B.

by Josh Timmers on Jul 19, 2010 3:20 AM CDT up reply actions

Chirinos started this breakout last year....

But, he’s 26 years old already. Isn’t it getting late for him? In comparison… Soto’s 27, and got his first cup of coffee in the majors when he was 22-23, and grabbed the starting role out of spring training in ’08 when he was 25.

The clock is definitely ticking for Chirinos.

"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 Jul 19, 2010 9:55 AM CDT up reply actions

Might as well reword that...

Out of the players on Boise, who do you think can be legit prospects and who has the most potential?

by Ryno G on Jul 19, 2010 1:41 AM CDT reply actions

I'm not real wild about Boise

and it’s looking like I won’t make it up there this year, unfortunately. Among the pichers, the only ones I really like are Kurcz and Kirk, and I think they’re both potential bullpen arms.

Among hitters, we’ve all fallen in love with Szczur. There are some major questions about his power though. Na is someone that’s been talked about around here. But another guy to keep an eye on is Alcantara. Shortstop with good speed. Has all the tools to be an excellent defensive shortstop but he’s still raw. He also hasn’t even turned 19 yet.

by Josh Timmers on Jul 19, 2010 3:30 AM CDT up reply actions

Adding to that

Those are the five players who I think have the best chance of contributing to a major league team.

Kurcz is becoming my personal favorite since he’s come as advertised; a dominating reliever with two plus pitches and occasional iffy control. There’s a bit of Marmol in him.

Kirk sounds like a middle of the rotation/back end of the bullpen type of LH. I’d like to see reports on how he looks in Boise to get a better sense of how good his stuff is and the likelihood of him sticking in the rotation, though.

Szczur probably has the highest ceiling of anyone on the team, considering he boasts 80 speed on the 20-80 scouting scale to go with a pretty good bat and approach. The question to me is how he looks defensively and whether he’ll develop any meaningful power.

Na and Alcantara are in the same boat in my mind; two 18 year olds who are performing well enough to keep their heads above water, but aren’t exactly dominating. I’d like to see defensive reports on both as well as evaluations on what kinds of ceilings they could have down the road.

I’d also toss C Micah Gibbs and SS Elliot Soto onto that list. Both are excellent defenders at their respective positions who offer good leadership skills, but have deficient bats.

I’d love to get some in-person reports on the 2010 pitcher draftees in Boise (Matthew Loosen, Brent Ebinger, Cam Greathouse, Dustin Fitzgerald, and Eric Jokisch) as well as reports on Juan Yasser Serrano and Eduardo Figueroa. There could be a decent prospect or two among those guys, but it’s hard to tell just based on their stats so far.

by Outshined_One on Jul 19, 2010 11:43 AM CDT up reply actions

Also of note

The Cubs sent three players to the DSL All Star Game.

2B/SS Gioskar Amaya
2B/SS Marco Hernandez
CF Oliver Zapata

All three are 17 years old and have put up good numbers thus far. Whether or not any of them have meaningful futures is unknown to me right now, so anyone with scouting reports on them would be most welcome.

by Outshined_One on Jul 19, 2010 1:45 AM CDT reply actions

Rough game for Iowa.

It says utility man Matt Camp came on to pitch the final two innings.

by Dcr18 on Jul 19, 2010 3:07 AM CDT via mobile reply actions

Says something about Mathes

that Camp outpitched him.

ABD gave up five unearned runs in that game in relief. But really, he earned those runs fair and square. He pitched like crap too.

by Josh Timmers on Jul 19, 2010 3:33 AM CDT up reply actions

Bp in Iowa

"Manny Trillo is coming in to pinch run. You know, for a lot of teams, you would pinch run for Manny Trillo." - Harry Caray

by Archie on Jul 19, 2010 8:47 AM CDT up reply actions

What kind of line do you have for Alvaro Ramirez?

It seems like he is mentioned on here quite a bit. Sorry if you have written something on him already, i am not on here ever day (but then i am on here 10x a day sometimes….)

Bob Brenly on Leo Nunez "Dan Uggla just saved Nunez’ life because Koyie would break him into a million pieces"

by Zakh on Jul 19, 2010 3:33 PM CDT reply actions