Monday was a good night for several of the prospects in the Cubs system. Shortly after Kyle Schwarber announced on his Twitter account that he had been promoted from Kane County to Daytona, Albert Almora collected his fifth hit of the night, a triple in the 13th inning, the hit he needed to complete the cycle. Almora went 5-for-7 with five RBI, four runs scored, a double, a triple and a home run.
And not long after the news hit the wire Albert Almora hit for the cycle, reports from Boise indicated Mark Zagunis, the Cubs third round pick in last month’s draft, was a double short of the cycle with one at bat left in the eighth inning. Zagunis got the double in the eighth to complete the cycle and Zagunis finished the night 4-for-5 with four RBI, three runs scored, a double, a triple and a home run.
Albert Almora not only hit for the cycle in the 13-inning game, but Almora drove in the go-ahead runs in both the ninth and 13th innings. The D-Cubs won the game 13-8 after scoring five runs in the top half of the inning. According to Robbie Aaron, Almora is the first D-Cubs player to hit for the cycle since Brett Jackson on June 14, 2010.
Albert Almora has been on a tear and is hitting .395/.422/.721 in his last 10 games with three doubles, a triple, three home runs, 10 RBI, two walks and seven strikeouts.
After a rough start to his season, Albert Almora is hitting .276/.300/.395 in 82 games with 18 doubles, two triples, six home runs, 11 walks and 42 strikeouts for a .695 OPS.
Boise beat Spokane 11-6 Monday night and Mark Zagunis hit third for the Hawks. Mark Zagunis is the first Boise Hawk in 20 years to hit for the cycle. Demond Smith hit for the cycle on Aug. 4, 1994 against Everett when Boise was an affiliate of the California Angels.
Mark Zagunis is hitting .356/.465/.508 in 15 games with two doubles, two triples, a home run, 10 walks and 13 strikeouts in 59 at bats for a .973 OPS.