The beginning of this week experienced a bounce back for the Cubs' system, as their combined 7-5 record was the first winning stretch of the year. Casey Coleman took things into his own hands at Iowa, while Tennessee finally welcomed back shortstop Junior Lake. Daytona appears to be on a roll, as great pitching performances by Austin Kirk and Eric Jokisch were complimented by Matt Szczur and Arismendy Alcantara. The hot-hitting Taiwan Easterling may have to take a back seat to Paul Hoilman in … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/07/12
Thrills, chills, and spills abound in the roller coaster ride that was the Cubs minor league system this week. Blowouts occurred, but who was on the winning end? The tightrope act that is the Tennessee Smokies kept viewers on the edge of their seats. Paul Hoilman now sports an 18-game hitting streak, while Nelson Perez had a career day. And don't look now, but those objects appearing in your rearview mirror and coming up fast are Taiwan Easterling and Elieser Bonne. All that and more are in … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/03/12
As the first month of the season concludes, the organization finds their teams at all levels struggling to reach the .500 mark. Inconsistency seemed to be the recurring theme, as either pitching or hitting has let their respective teams down on a given night. There were fine pitching performances this week by Ben Wells and Austin Kirk, as well as great hitting by Rubi Silva and John Andreoli. Some players, such as Matt Szczur, Zach Cates, Elieser Bonne and Brett Jackson seem to be turning the … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 04/30/12
Wins were hard to come by with inconsistencies in hitting, pitching, fielding, and even managing throughout the system. Peoria has emerging performers in PJ Francescon, Andrew McKirahan, Pin-Chieh Chen, Wes Darvill, and Paul Hoilman, but still can't find a recipe for winning games. The bats of Matt Szczur, Ronald Torreyes, and Elieser Bonne are starting to come around in Daytona. Like Peoria, the D-Cubs have not been able to translate that to wins. Tennessee ran their losing streak to five … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 04/26/12
The beginning of this week had the minors emulating conditions at the big league park, with seven of the 12 games happening in the daylight hours. Peoria's Oliver Zapata had his hitting streak stopped at eight, but Peoria received great pitching performances from PJ Francescon and Kyler Burke. Daytona continued to scuffle, but pooled their resources on Sunday for a win. Tennessee keeps on battling, and had an unlikely source come through on Monday. Iowa started out well, as Chris Rusin may … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 04/23/12
As Casey Stengel once said "Can anybody here play this game?" Uneven efforts were the norm this week, as one or more elements, pitching-hitting-defense, were lacking throughout the system. However, there are always silver linings. Peoria's Oliver Zapata has extended his hitting streak to seven, and the offenses of both the Chiefs and Daytona seem to be perking up. Tennessee is now second in the Southern League in pitching and third in fielding. Anthony Rizzo is in the top ten in the Pacific … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 04/19/12
A win streak has moved to three games as Peoria seems to be putting things together while riding the hot bat of Oliver Zapata. Meanwhile, Daytona continues to struggle to have their pitching and offense show up for the same game. Tennessee also lost some momentum, as their offense was hard pressed for runs in two losses. In Iowa, their hitters keep pounding the ball, as their pitching staff gets pounded. For the full stories ... check out Thursday's Down on the Farm Report. … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 04/12/12
Hot bats are what's in this spring, but there have been some cold results. Anthony Rizzo flashed big power while Josh Vitters has shown he is ready to play in Iowa. Jae-Hoon Ha remains steady in Tennessee. Rubi Silva has impressed at Daytona, and Wes Darvill is a surprise in Peoria. However, pitching still needs to catch up at every level. To see where all of this is leading to ... check out Thursday's Down on the Farm Report. … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 04/09/12
Welcome everyone to a new minor league season. This week, timely hitting, great defense, and some fine pitching performances allowed Peoria to start out 2-1 for the season. Rubi Silva and Arismendy Alcantara came out swinging in Daytona. Nick Struck pitched an Opening Day gem in Tennessee, while Brett Jackson showed why he is the organization's number one prospect in Iowa. To see how your favorite teams fared ... check out this week's Down on the Farm Report. … [Read more...]
The Daytona Cubs and Tennessee Smokies Announce 2012 Opening Day Rosters
The Daytona Cubs finalized their Opening Day roster Tuesday. The defending Florida State League Champions Daytona Cubs will feature Matt Szczur, Austin Kirk, Tony Zych, Ronald Torreyes and Rubi Silva to begin the season. The Smokies released their roster Tuesday. The Cubs' Double-A affiliate will begin the season with the likes of Trey McNutt, Dae-Eun Rhee and Nick Struck in the rotation with Logan Watkins, Rebel Ridling, Justin Bour and Jae-Hoon Ha in the infield and outfield. Once the big … [Read more...]