Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/14/12

As the minor leagues hit the halfway point this week, improvement can be seen across the board for the organization. Peoria flirted with the .500 mark as their bullpen of Austin Reed, Felix Pena, Yao-Lin Wang, Sheldon McDonald, Luis Liria, and Hunter Cervenka did most of the heavy lifting. Ronald Torreyes’ improvement has been a [...]

Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/11/12

As we hit the mid-season point for the minor leagues, all levels appear to be on the upswing as each level is near the .500 mark. Peoria had sparkling pitching performances from Gerardo Concepcion, Michael Jensen, and Kyler Burke to run its win streak to five. Greg Rohan continued on his tear through the Florida [...]

Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/07/12

While some are still coming down from draft day, there was still baseball taking place in the minor leagues. The Southern League announced their All-Stars, with James Adduci, Justin Bour, Frank Batista, and Kevin Rhoderick representing the Tennessee Smokies. The Dominican Summer League also opened play, with shortstop Luis Acosta putting on an offensive display. [...]

Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/04/12

Where has all this offense come from? Peoria’s offense has gotten into high gear with the additions of Yasiel Balaguert and Javier Baez. Daytona has won four straight as Arismendy Alcantara, John Andreoli, Rubi Silva, and Ronald Torreyes have suddenly become hitting machines. However, Tennessee continues to struggle with putting runs on the board, needing [...]

Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/21/12

The mid-May shuffle is now having an impact on all levels of the organization. Unfortunately, it is injuries, and not performance that is causing the shake-up. However, that doesn’t mean that some players haven’t deserved some consideration. Anthony Rizzo is posting MVP-type numbers, while Matt Szczur and Jae-Hoon Ha are bouncing back from rough stretches [...]

Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/17/12

With the return of some players from injuries, the system took a turn for the better, going 8-2 to start the week. Peoria welcomed back Anthony Giansanti, as he played a big part in their three wins. Daytona had an off-day and a rainout, but won on Monday thanks to Austin Kirk. Junior Lake has [...]

Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/14/12

The system closed out the week going 6-9 for a total record of 13-14. A rainout in which Daytona was leading 6-0 on Friday may have evened the record. While inconsistencies still plague the system there appears a light at the end of the tunnel. Peoria and Daytona are finally hitting. As Paul Hoilman, Taiwan [...]

Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/07/12

Thrills, chills, and spills abound in the roller coaster ride that was the Cubs minor league system this week. Blowouts occurred, but who was on the winning end? The tightrope act that is the Tennessee Smokies kept viewers on the edge of their seats. Paul Hoilman now sports an 18-game hitting streak, while Nelson Perez [...]

Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/03/12

As the first month of the season concludes, the organization finds their teams at all levels struggling to reach the .500 mark. Inconsistency seemed to be the recurring theme, as either pitching or hitting has let their respective teams down on a given night. There were fine pitching performances this week by Ben Wells and [...]

Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 04/23/12

As Casey Stengel once said “Can anybody here play this game?” Uneven efforts were the norm this week, as one or more elements, pitching-hitting-defense, were lacking throughout the system. However, there are always silver linings. Peoria’s Oliver Zapata has extended his hitting streak to seven, and the offenses of both the Chiefs and Daytona seem [...]