The Iowa Cubs announced Wednesday morning that Manny Ramirez has been added to the Iowa Cubs roster and will be activated in prior to Thursday’s doubleheader in Colorado Springs. OF Casper Wells was released to make room on Iowa’s roster for player-coach Manny Ramirez. Iowa plays five games in Colorado (doubleheader Thursday, single games Friday, Saturday and Sunday) before opening a five-game homestand Monday against Omaha at Principal Park. From the release from the Iowa Cubs: Manny … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/23/14
It was all about the First Round Draft Picks as the week ended and the second half began for most of the minor league teams. The Kyle Schwarber-less Boise Hawks have struggled mightily since his promotion, while his new team, the Kane County Cougars, won three out of four as Schwarber hit his first Low-A home run. Last year’s number one pick Kris Bryant has scuffled in a few games but has belted three homers since his promotion. Meanwhile, teammates Javier Baez (2011 first round) had a four RBI … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/16/14
The “big fly” played a prominent role to end the week in the minors. First Round pick Kyle Schwarber had two round-trippers for Boise and Justin Marra also went deep as the Hawks began their season. Kane County received homers from Yasiel Balaguert, Jordan Hankins, and Jacob Rogers as the Cougars finished the first half of their season. Taylor Davis was able to deliver a pinch-hit home run for Tennessee, while Javier Baez had a game-winner for Iowa. So look out in the bleachers, as they’re … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on Farm Report – 06/12/14
Rainy weather caused delays, postponements, and doubleheaders across the minor leagues to begin the week. Pitching seemed to dominate as Kane County received fine efforts from Jen-Ho Tseng, Tyler Skulina, and Daury Torrez. Daytona’s Rob Zastryzny has been pitching better of late, and Eduardo Figueroa did well for Tennessee, while Tsuyoshi Wada continues to chug along in Iowa. So instead of trying to play 'Find the Ball' during the next rain delay, why not look at today’s Down on the Farm … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/05/14
All-Star assignments were a big part of the news to start the week as 15 players from the Cubs’ organization will be representing their respective teams with Triple-A yet to be announced. Kane County’s Jose Arias, Paul Blackburn, Jordan Hankins, and Will Remillard were named to Midwest League squad. Gioskar Amaya, Marco Hernandez, Andrew McKirahan, Felix Pena, and Bijan Rademacher are Daytona representatives in the Florida State League and the Southern League made Tennessee players John … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/29/14
The most dominant thing in the news from the Cubs minor leagues at the beginning of the week wasn’t Kris Bryant, but he ran a close second to the rain. Bad weather cancelled and delayed games but didn’t slow down Bryant, who was 6-for-8 with two home runs and two RBI in three games. That did not seem to help Tennessee as they lost three straight while Daytona split a pair as they were rocked by a couple of suspensions. Arismendy Alcantara and Javier Baez homered in a Memorial Day romp for Iowa, … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/26/14
Kris Bryant and Javier Baez made most of the headlines in the minors at the end of the week as the top two prospects in the system extended their hitting streaks into double digits. Baez continued his streak on Sunday and extended it to ten games with a two-hit performance that included a grand slam. Bryant’s hitting streak came to an end at ten games on Sunday. There were several excellent pitching performances down on the farm. Juan Carlos Paniagua had an excellent outing while Paul … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/22/14
Bombs Away! … As the longball proved to be the theme to start the week in the minor leagues. Kane County was the only team not to hit a home run, but won two out of three thanks to the clutch hitting of Ben Carhart. Daytona has taken six out of their last eight games and saw Marco Hernandez leave the park in a victory on Wednesday. Kris Bryant leads the Southern League in home runs as he socked his 12th of the season on Wednesday night, with Wes Darvill also getting into the act. In Iowa Luis … [Read more...]
Kyle Hendricks Named PCL Pitcher of the Week and Cubs News from Down on the Farm
Kyle Hendricks was named Pacific Coast League Pitcher of the Week on Monday for the week of May 12-18. Hendricks made only one start, but it was a good one. Hendricks tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts with no walks and three hits allowed over eight shutout innings. Iowa topped Round Rock 2-0. Hendricks gave up just the three singles and faced 27 batters in his eight innings of work. Kyle Hendricks improved to 4-3 on the season with a 3.06 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. In eight starts, Hendricks … [Read more...]
Cubs Reassign Javier Baez to Minor League Camp, Seven Players Cut from Spring Roster
The Cubs announced the sixth round of spring roster cuts on Saturday morning. Javier Baez, as expected, was reassigned to minor league camp. Baez will begin the season as Iowa’s shortstop. If Baez continues to check boxes off his player development card, Baez will make his big league debut at some point during the upcoming season, likely in June after he passes the Super Two date. The Cubs optioned RHP Blake Parker to Triple-A Iowa and reassigned non-roster invitees Chris Valaika, Jonathan … [Read more...]