The Winter League playoffs have condensed the number of Cubs prospects to a precious few, but there were still great performances. Despite the efforts of Chesny Young and Taylor Davis, Escogido could not make up any ground in the Dominican Republic. The same was true for Caguas in Puerto Rico, which floundered even with the excellent relief work of Miguel Mejia.
If you are experiencing a January chill, the Down on the Farm Report brings you the warmth of baseball.
Dominican Winter League
Leones del Escogido
Escogido kicked off the New Year by spotting Cibao four runs and losing 4-3 last Monday. Taylor Davis played first base and was 1-for-3 while third baseman Chesny Young went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored.
It was a bounce back for the Leones on Tuesday as they shutout Licey 2-0. Third baseman Chesny Young was 1-for-3 with a walk in the win.
The Lions pitching continued to stymie Licey on Wednesday in another shutout, this time 5-0. Chesny Young was back at third base and drove in two runs as he was 2-for-5 with a run scored.
Facing the round-robin leader on Thursday, Escogido came up a little short against Cibao, losing 6-5. Third baseman Chesny Young was 2-for-5 with an RBI in the loss.
On Friday, pitching abandoned the Leones as they gave up six runs in the seventh inning to lose 7-4 to Licey. Chesny Young remained at third base and was 2-for-4 with an RBI, while first baseman Taylor Davis went 0-for-3.
The Lions had Cibao on the ropes on Saturday, but let them wriggle out as they lost 7-6. Moving to catcher, Taylor Davis was 1-for-3 with an RBI, while third baseman Chesny Young was 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored.
Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League
Criollos de Caguas
All games in the LBPRC went into extra innings on Tuesday, with Caguas bowing to Mayaguez 4-3 in 14 innings. Miguel Mejia entered the game in the 11th and gave up two hits in a scoreless inning.
The Criollos got their first win of the postseason on Saturday as they defeated Mayaguez 5-4. Miguel Mejia entered with one out in the sixth and worked around two hits and a walk to go 1.2 scoreless innings with a strikeout.
Gigantes de Carolina
It was a true beat-down for Carolina on Saturday as they lost 11-0 to Santurce. Yasiel Balaguert was at first base and went 1-for-3 in the loss.