The Cubs announced Monday afternoon the organization’s first minor league player and pitcher for the 2015 season.
Double-A Tennessee’s 1B Dan Vogelbach was named the Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Month and Low-A South Bend’s RHP Jeremy Null was named the organization’s Pitcher of the Month for April.
Dan Vogelbach tore up Southern League pitching during the first month of the season while Jeremy Null silenced a lot of bats in the Midwest League.
Dan Vogelbach, 22, batted .362 (25-for-69) with seven doubles, three home runs and 13 RBI in 19 games for Tennessee. He drew 14 walks compared to 10 strikeouts, and delivered a 1.064 OPS thanks to a .470 on-base percentage and a .594 slugging mark.
Vogelbach ranked tied for first in the Southern League in walks, total bases (41) and extra-base hits (10), second in on-base percentage, slugging and OPS, tied for second in doubles, tied for fourth in hits and RBI and fifth in batting average. He earned consecutive Southern League Player of the Week honors for April 9-19 and April 20-26.
Vogelbach was selected by Chicago in the second round of the 2011 Draft out of Bishop Verot High School in Fort Myers, Fla. In 352 career minor league contests, the left-handed hitter owns a .291 batting average (383-for-1,316) with 83 doubles, five triples, 56 home runs and 234 RBI. He has a .381 on-base percentage thanks in part to 191 walks.
Jeremy Null, 21, went 2-0 with a 0.79 ERA (two earned runs in 22 2/3 innings) with a 0.79 WHIP in four April starts for South Bend. He struck out 23 batters without issuing a walk to any of his 84 batters faced. He pitched into the sixth inning three times and held the opponent scoreless in three of his starts. Null struck out seven, walked none and spun 5.0-shutout innings in his season-opening start, April 10 vs. Bowling Green.
Null, who is riding a 13 2/3-scoreless innings streak, is 4-0 with a 1.40 ERA (six earned runs in 38 2/3 innings) with a 0.91 WHIP in 11 career minor league games (five starts). He has struck out 36 batters, allowed just two walks and has not surrendered a home run in 38 2/3 career innings.
Null was selected by the Cubs in the 15th round of the 2014 Draft. A graduate of Bunker Hill (N.C.) High School, he was selected by Seattle in the 37th round of the 2011 Draft, but did not sign, and instead attended Western Carolina University. Null posted a 3.70 ERA with 265 strikeouts in 265.0 innings across three seasons for Western Carolina.