Bernie Pleskoff released his prospect dream teams for the National League and American League this week. And four Cubs farmhands made his NL squad, along with two Pirates and two Cardinals prospects. At first base is the Cubs’ slugger Dan Vogelbach and the 21-year old can flat out hit according to Pleskoff, and everyone else that has seen Vogelbach swing a bat. Vogelbach ended last season with High-A Daytona and a .284/.375/.449 slash line with 23 doubles and 19 home runs in 131 games for … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 09/02/13
Happy Labor Day to everyone from the CCO! As the minor league season entered its final weekend, both the Iowa Cubs and the AZL Cubs were eliminated in their desperate attempts to make the playoffs. Meanwhile in Tennessee and Daytona, both teams are preparing for post-season as the bats of Javier Baez and Dustin Geiger have stayed hot. Boise put themselves in a must-win situation for their final two games after being no-hit on Saturday. As for Kane County, the Cougars wrap up their season on … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/13/12
The spotlight moved to the lower levels of the Cubs minor league at the end of the week, as most of the affiliates were on the uptick. Boise put together a four-game winning streak thanks to Dan Vogelbach's five home runs and outfielder Izaac Garsez. Jorge Soler moved from the rookie league to Peoria and was a big hit, literally, with a grand slam. Excellent pitching efforts by Nick Struck and Dae-Eun Rhee were backed by the offense of Jae-Hoon Ha for Tennessee, while struggling remained the … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 07/12/12
It was an abbreviated schedule to start the week, as everyone took Tuesday off for the Major League All-Star game. Wins were hard to come by, as Tennessee provided the thrills by coming from behind twice behind Greg Rohan, Logan Watkins, and closer Frank Batista. Iowa went off on a winning note due to the hot bats of Alfredo Amezaga, Dave Sappelt, and Josh Vitters. Daytona split a pair, with Arismendy Alcantara at the top of his game; while Boise and Peoria dropped two apiece. Along with … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/14/12
As the minor leagues hit the halfway point this week, improvement can be seen across the board for the organization. Peoria flirted with the .500 mark as their bullpen of Austin Reed, Felix Pena, Yao-Lin Wang, Sheldon McDonald, Luis Liria, and Hunter Cervenka did most of the heavy lifting. Ronald Torreyes' improvement has been a nice addition to the offense provided by Nelson Perez and Greg Rohan, as Daytona is 8-4 in June. Tennessee's Eric Jokisch may be on his way to becoming the best … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 06/04/12
Where has all this offense come from? Peoria's offense has gotten into high gear with the additions of Yasiel Balaguert and Javier Baez. Daytona has won four straight as Arismendy Alcantara, John Andreoli, Rubi Silva, and Ronald Torreyes have suddenly become hitting machines. However, Tennessee continues to struggle with putting runs on the board, needing great pitching by Eric Jokisch and Trey McNutt to secure wins. And Iowa's Josh Vitters has gone on a tear, which has also affected Brett … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 05/31/12
The season debuts of Robert Whitenack and Javier Baez were a mixed bag, with neither assisting in producing more victories. Peoria was able to manage one, as it took 14 innings to secure. The winning touch has seemed to elude Daytona despite the efforts of Greg Rohan, while it has found a home in Iowa, winners of five straight. Iowa's Josh Vitters has turned things on as Anthony Rizzo nurses a sore wrist. And Tennessee continues to stumble around in the field, as runs became hard to come by. To … [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...]
The Peoria Chiefs Announce 2012 Opening Day Roster
The Cubs' Low Class-A affiliate Peoria Chiefs announced their Opening Day roster Monday and will feature several of the top prospects in the organization. The Low Class-A Peoria Chiefs roster is highlighted by Zeke DeVoss, Marco Hernandez, Reggie Golden, Ben Wells, Jose Rosario and Taiwan Easterling. A majority of the Opening Day roster for the defending Florida State League Champions, Daytona Cubs, was also released Monday and will feature Matt Szczur, Austin Kirk, Tony Zych and Ronald … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 03/19/12
Minor League Preview - Low-A Peoria Chiefs and High-A Daytona Cubs Good Morning to everyone at the CCO! This is the second of a three part installment previewing the 2012 minor league season. Like in last week's report about the Boise Hawks, another team that will benefit from great seasons by the DSL Cubs, AZL Cubs, and Boise will be the Peoria Chiefs, as some of their talent will filter up to them. The defending Florida State League Champion Daytona Cubs continue to look strong with plenty … [Read more...]