It was a rough middle of the week for the Cubs’ minor league affiliates. Several players kept producing at the plate and on the mound, but the overall win-loss record was not that good. The Cubs promoted first round pick OF/2B Ian Happ to South Bend. And Happ’s new teammate, Jeffrey Baez has not slowed down with the bat or on the bases. Donnie Dewees picked the right time to launch his first home run in pro ball, and it wasn’t a cheap shot. The ball traveled 404 feet. Chesny Young is … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 07/22/15
The ball continues to fly down on the farm. Eloy Jimenez went yard for Eugene while the reigning Midwest League Player of the Week, Jeffrey Baez, kept finding holes. And Erick Leal tossed a gem for South Bend. Chesny Young extended his on-base record and helped Myrtle Beach extend its winning streak. And a grand slam from Cael Brockmeyer did not hurt. The Smokies swept a doubleheader over a South Side affiliate. Christian Villanueva and Rubi Silva hit home runs but Iowa’s winning streak … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 07/20/15
Gleyber Torres and Jeffrey Baez continued to pound the baseball for South Bend while Rashad Crawford also heated up at the plate. Myrtle Beach ran their winning streak to six games. Chesny Young set a Carolina League record. Young has reached base safely in 38 straight games. Tennessee received a rare bad outing from Ryan Williams and dropped three games. It was Home Run Derby time at Principal Park as the Iowa Cubs completed a home sweep of the Memphis Redbirds for the first time since … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 07/17/15
After taking a break for the Major League All-Star game, all of the Cubs’ affiliates look refreshed as there were both big pitching performances and excellent offensive displays to end the week. Eugene was a base hit machine thanks to Ian Happ and Eloy Jimenez, while Yasiel Balaguert and David Bote went deep for South Bend. Tsuyoshi Wada looked sharp for Iowa, but Myrtle Beach got the best of both worlds. The Pelicans’ Jen-Ho Tseng and Jonathan Martinez were in top form while Kevin Brown, … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 07/08/15
After a big shakeup over the holiday weekend things seem to be settling in for the affiliates as Iowa is on a roll, winning three straight thanks to home runs from Junior Lake, Ryan Dent, Taylor Davis, Jonathan Mota, Matt Szczur, and Kyle Schwarber. Major leaguers Tsuyoshi Wada and Rafael Soriano were the center of attention in Tennessee, but pitchers Ryan Williams and Pierce Johnson grabbed the spotlight. Myrtle Beach was unable to capitalize on excellent pitching form Jeremy Null and … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 07/06/15
While perhaps a little late to the party, the Cubs made their midseason reshuffle of their personnel over the weekend. Myrtle Beach is back after scuffling for a while, thanks to the red-hot hitting of Jeimer Candelario. Another player who is swinging it well is Jacob Hannemann, who helped ignite the Tennessee offense. Pitching was also in the spotlight as South Bend’s Michael Wagner, Iowa’s Donn Roach, and Dylan Cease of the AZL Cubs all had outstanding efforts. So take a look at Down … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 07/01/15
The Cubs’ affiliates have a new first place team as the Eugene Emeralds took the top spot thanks to the hot hitting of Donnie Dewees and Matt Rose. South Bend remained in first place due to excellent pitching from Tommy Thorpe and Corbin Hoffner. A 4-for-4 performance by Jeimer Candelario got Myrtle Beach their first win of the second half, while Tennessee and Iowa squandered very good outings from Ryan Williams and Jeffry Antigua. With other fine efforts from Dylan Cease, Mark Malave, and … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/29/15
Streaks were the big story to start the week as South Bend came off of All-Star break and extended their winning streak to five games thanks to Gleyber Torres. Winning four games in a row brought Eugene’s record even as Eloy Jimenez and Ian Happ came up big. Both Tennessee and Iowa had modest two game streaks with strong performances from Albert Almora Jr. and Kyle Schwarber. On the downside, Myrtle Beach has yet to win a game in the second half of the season despite an excellent outing by … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/26/15
The end of an exciting week saw three affiliates start the second half of their seasons as Tennessee got a big boost from catcher Taylor Davis. South Bend also started off with a win as Jason Vosler went deep. Iowa swept a doubleheader thanks to an excellent pitching performance by Carlos Pimentel and Eugene took a series thanks to some patience and the pitching of Justin Steele. The affiliates also saw rehabbers galore as Mike Olt, Neil Ramirez, Rob Zastryzny, and Trey Masek are on the … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/22/15
As the first half of the minor league season closed, all teams are now in play as both the Northwest League and the Arizona Rookie League opened this weekend. The first half concluded with Myrtle Beach the Carolina League South Division Champions on the strength of pitchers Josh Conway and Daury Torrez. First round draft pick Ian Happ has made a splash for Eugene by cracking two home runs in the first three games he has played in. And while Tennessee fell out of playoff contention, a buzz … [Read more...]