Yesterday, you had the chance to vote for the best position players in the Cubs minor league system over the past month and today is your chance to vote for the best pitchers.
In case you forgot the rules for voting, they’re the same as they are for the hitters. Each month, I nominate one player from each of top Cubs minor league affiliates. Because Eugene doesn’t start play until June, in April and May I nominate one extra “wild card” nominee from one of the four full-season teams.
Then you vote for one of the five nominees. You can vote for whomever you want, but base your vote on what the player did in the month of April, not on who the best “prospect” is. This award is designed to honor performance on the field for the month, not what you think the player will do in two or three years.
By the way, you still have time to vote for the Player of the Month. The winner of that vote will be announced in tonight’s Minor League Wrap and the winner of the Pitcher of the Month will be announced in Thursday night’s Minor League Wrap.
Clicking on the player’s name will take you to their milb.com page, where you can examine their statistics further.
Also, if you’re reading this on Google AMP or Apple News, you’ll have to go to a webpage to vote.
For a Cubs minor league system that has struggled to win in April, there were a lot of good performances. There were several tough decisions about who would get the five nominations.
With that said, the nominees are:
Iowa Cubs right-handed pitcher Adbert Alzolay
Alzolay got a late start to the season and only made three starts in April. But they were pretty impressive starts and he took a no-hitter into the sixth inning in two of them.
Alzolay finished the month 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA. He threw 17 innings in those three starts and he struck out 14 and walked six. He allowed just eight hits and kept opposing hitters to a .140 batting average.
Tennessee Smokies right-handed pitcher Thomas Hatch
Hatch made five starts for the Smokies in April. He won three of them and got a no-decision in the other two. After allowing three runs in his first start, he gave up four earned runs (and one unearned one) over his next four starts. Hatch tossed 25.2 innings in the month and posted a 2.52 ERA. Hatch struck out 17 batters and walked 12. He obviously could cut down on his walks a bit, but that’s a minor black mark on an otherwise stellar month.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans right-handed pitcher Matt Swarmer
Swarmer was a victim of non-support early in the month as the Pelicans offense was apparently still in Mesa the first ten games of the season or so. He allowed three runs, two earned, in his first start and just one in his second start and got a loss in both games. But he gave up just one run in his next two starts and got the win both times.
The line on Swarmer for the month was 2-2 with a 1.74 ERA. He pitched 20.2 innings in those four starts and he struck out an amazing 26 batters and walked an equally impressive total of just three. He did allow 21 hits for a .269 batting average, but no home runs.
South Bend Cubs/Myrtle Beach Pelicans right-hander Bailey Clark
Clark actually got promoted in April after he made five relief appearances for South Bend and allowed just two earned runs in 14.1 innings. (He did give up three unearned runs) That got him promoted to Myrtle Beach where he had just one relief appearance in April, but it was a terrific three-inning effort of no runs and just two hits.
Clark’s final line for the month of April for the two teams combined was 1-0 with a 1.74 ERA. In 17.1 innings he struck out 23 and walked just four.
South Bend Cubs right-hander Javier Assad
Assad made four starts in April and threw five innings without allowing a run in three of them. Assad finished the month with a 3-0 record with a 0.95 ERA. He pitched 17 innings and struck out 19 and walked just four. He did not allow a home run nor did he give up any unearned runs, so that ERA is solid. Opposing hitters hit just .208 off Assad in April.
Poll
Who is the BCB Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Month for April?
This poll is closed
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31%
Iowa Cubs Adbert Alzolay
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11%
Tennessee Smokies Thomas Hatch
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19%
Myrtle Beach Pelicans Matt Swarmer
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7%
South Bend Cubs/Pelicans Bailey Clark
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29%
South Bend Cubs Javier Assad