Cubs Minor League Wrap: June 1

Time to vote for the BCB Minor League Player of the Month for May! There are five candidates again, one from each team and one wild card. My apologies to Edwin Maysonet, who had five home runs in only 18 games in May. But again, he only played 18 games.

The candidates are:

Iowa Cubs outfielder Brian Bogusevic: Bogusevic's May wasn't nearly as good as his April, but he still hit .318/.439/.545. He showed some power and speed too as he hit four home runs (three more than last month) and stole nine bases (four more than last month) without getting caught.

Tennessee Smokies second baseman Arismendy Alcantara: I'm calling Alcantara a second baseman even though he played more shortstop last month because it looks like the Cubs are slowly moving him off of short. The change of position seems to have helped his bat as he hit .304/.363/.529 with four home runs and 13 RBI in 29 games. Alcantara did slow down a bit as he only stole three bases in May after stealing 12 in June.

Daytona Cubs outfielder Jorge Soler: Soler bounced back from a so-so April with a .304/.376/.539 line. Soler hit five home runs, scored 21 runs and had 18 RBI in 27 games. He also stole four bases without getting caught.

Daytona Cubs first baseman Dustin Geiger: Soler and Geiger were Daytona's 1-2 punch in May, with Geiger putting up a .307/.368/.495 line in 27 games. He also had a whopping 23 RBI in the month. He hit three home runs, eight doubles and a triple.

Kane County Cougars outfielder Bijan Rademacher: The 13th round pick from last June has surprised a lot of people with some really nice hitting. In May he hit .337/.402/.422 in 25 games. Rademacher scored 15 times and had 7 RBI. He stole three bases, although he was also caught three times.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were left in the dust by the New Orleans Zephyrs (Marlins), 7-6 in 13 innings. Iowa lost despite their pitching staff setting a franchise record for strikeouts in one game by striking out 21 Zephyrs.

Starter Guillermo Moscoso allowed four runs, three earned, on seven hits over 5.1 innings. He walked two and struck out ten.

Iowa had a two-run lead going into the top of the ninth, but with no Blake Parker to call on, manager Marty Pevey went to Eduardo Sanchez, who blew the save by allowing two runs on two hits and a walk in his one inning of work. Sanchez walked one and struck out one.

Jeffry Antigua got the loss when he allowed a run in the top of the 13th. Antigua pitched two innings and gave up three hits. He struck out four and walked one batter intentionally.

Center fielder Brett Jackson hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first to tie the game at one all. It was Jackson's third home run. He was 1 for 5 with a walk and two runs scored.

Second baseman Brent Lillibridge was 4 for 6 with a double. He scored one run and had one batted in.

Left fielder Dave Sappelt went 3 for 4 with a double and a walk. He scored one run and had one RBI.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies got blitzed by the Birmingham Barons (White Sox), 9-3.

Starter Matt Loosen saw his record drop to 1-2 after allowing eight runs on six hits over 5.1 innings. Three of those six hits were home runs. Four of the runs were unearned. Loosen walked four and struck out three.

Third baseman Christian Villanueva accounted for two of the three runs with a two-run home run in the sixth inning. It was his fourth of the season. Villanueva was 1 for 4.

The other run came from second baseman Arismendy Alcantara, whose solo home run in the eighth was his ninth of the year. He was 1 for 3 with a walk and scored twice.

In addition to their home runs, both Villanueva and Alcantara made errors that led to runs.

Right fielder Matt Szczur was 1 for 2 with three walks. He also stole a base.

Daytona Cubs

The Daytona Cubs showed no mercy to the Brevard County Manatees (Brewers), 14-5.

Since they scored all 14 runs in the first four innings, P.J. Francescon didn't need to have a good game to get the win, but he did anyway. Francescon allowed only one run on five hits over six innings. He struck out six and didn't walk anyone.

Shortstop Javier Baez had one of those days today that gets written up in an end of the season recap. Baez was 5 for 6 with three doubles and his ninth home run of the season. That's 11 total bases, in case you can't count that high. The home run was a three-run home run in the third inning. He had six RBI as well as scored three times. The game raised Baez's batting average from .260 to .277.

Right fielder Jorge Soler had a good game too, but no one will remember it after Baez's. Soler hit his eighth home run with a man on in the fourth inning. Soler was 2 for 5 and scored two runs.

Third baseman Ben Carhart went 3 for 6 with two doubles. He scored twice and had two batted in. Second baseman Wes Darvill went 3 for 4 with a walk and he scored a run.

First baseman Dustin Geiger had two doubles in a 2 for 4 game. Geiger scored two runs and had one batted in. He also walked one time.

DH Chadd Krist was 2 for 3 with a double and three RBI. Catcher Taylor Davis was 2 for 5 and scored twice.

Kane County Cougars

The Kane County Cougars were harvested by the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins), 15-2.

It was a rough start for Tayler Scott, who gave up seven runs on seven hits over only four innings. He walked two and fanned four.

Center fielder Albert Almora was 2 for 4 and scored once. Third baseman Jeimer Candelario was 2 for 4.