Jon Lester did not start his career with the Cubs the way he would have liked. A dead, or tired, arm in Spring Training put him behind and kept him from preparing for the season. Lester struggled on Opening Night and lasted only 4 1/3 innings against the Cardinals while St. Louis exposed in front of a national audience that Lester does not like throwing to first base. Lester showed steady improvement throughout April as he basically had Spring Training in games that counted. Lester was 0-2 … [Read more...]
Cubs Weekend Headlines: News, Roster Moves and a Rumor, but No Meat Loaf
The weekend started out on a positive note with Jon Lester picking up his first win and Addison Russell going deep for the first time in the big leagues. But the other two games against the Brewers didn’t go the Cubs way. The Cubs made a couple of roster moves and Welington Castillo found himself back in the rumor mill. Here are all the headlines and a few videos too with links to the news and rumors from the last three days … Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/01/15 Gleyber Torres and … [Read more...]
Cubs Notes from Down on the Farm – 05/03/15
With the first month of the 2015 season over, here is an inside look at how the Cubs’ minor league teams are doing this year. Iowa Cubs Iowa has done the best they can having to cope with both injuries and needs at the Major League level. While it wasn’t a shock to anyone that Kris Bryant is now in the majors, it was expected for INF Addison Russell to last past the Super 2 date in early- to mid-June. With INF Javier Baez back from his personal leave, the infield should be more dynamic with … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 04/27/15
Grabbing the attention to start the week is Double-A Tennessee and their high octane offense. Riding a four-game win streak, the “Bash Brothers” of Kyle Schwarber and Dan Vogelbach have been joined by Stephen Bruno and Willson Contreras in providing the opposition multiple headaches. South Bend evened their record over the weekend behind outstanding starting pitching from Trevor Clifton and Ryan Williams. Myrtle Beach dropped three in a row as Jacob Hannemann and Billy McKinney are emerging … [Read more...]
The Daily CCO: Cubs Playing It Close So Far This Season and Other News and Notes
In case you haven’t noticed, these Cubs play until the last out of the game is recorded. And the days of mailing in a game early are over. The Cubs have been in just about every one of the 16 games this season, nine of the 16 games have been decided by two runs or less. Eight of the last 12 games have been decided by one run and the Cubs are 4-4 in those eight games. Five of the nine wins have come in their last at bat. The Cubs have won three games this season after trailing going into the … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 04/20/15
That rumbling you hear from far off is not just the spring storm clouds, which effected play in the minors this weekend, but that of several Cubs’ prospects beginning to show their stuff. South Bend starting pitchers Erick Leal, Zach Hedges and Trevor Clifton gave up only one earned run in 15 innings. In Myrtle Beach, pitchers Daury Torrez came back from a bad first start and Duane Underwood took a no-hitter into the seventh inning. It was the bats that provided the noise in Tennessee as … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 04/13/15
For the first games of the minor league season, the top prospects performed like, well, top prospects. Addison Russell has hit over .300 and has a home run, while Kris Bryant has belted two round-trippers for Iowa. Kyle Schwarber has also had a long fly for Tennessee while pitcher Paul Blackburn was dominant for Myrtle Beach. However, the best overall team so far has been South Bend, who was just a few pitches away from being undefeated. Shortstop Gleyber Torres has been everything that has been … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – Iowa Cubs Preview
Minor League Preview – Triple-A Iowa Cubs The fifth installment of a series previewing the 2015 minor league season focuses on the Iowa Cubs. Please note that the previews are based on current roster assignments and anticipated Spring Training success. All assignments, both as to position and level, are subject to change pending the completion of Spring Training. Click here for the Cubs' minor league camp rosters. Triple-A – Iowa Cubs Almost as difficult as previewing rookie and Short … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 12/04/14
Position Analysis – Triple-A Iowa Pitching Staff The ninth installment of the off-season series to summarize and project how the minor league system looks on a position by position basis focuses on the possibilities for the pitching staff at the highest level in the Cubs’ system, Triple-A Iowa. Triple-A Iowa Starters and Relievers The Cubs pulled off a big trade with the Oakland A’s last summer that not only netted top prospect Addison Russell, but RHP Dan Straily. Selected by the Athletics … [Read more...]
Kris Bryant Landed Another Post-Season Award and News from Down on the Cubs Farm
MLB Pipeline recognized the tremendous season Kris Bryant put together by naming the top prospect in the game to its 2014 All-Prospect Team. MLB Pipeline chose Kris Bryant as its top hitting prospect for the year two weeks ago. Kris Bryant (3B) is joined in the infield on MLB Pipeline’s All-Prospect Team by Matt Olson (A’s, 1B), Mookie Betts (Red Sox, 2B) and Corey Seager (Dodgers, SS). The Rangers’ Joey Gallo was named as the team’s DH. Behind the plate is the Red Sox’s Blake Swihart with … [Read more...]