The annual General Manager Meetings officially begin Wednesday in Palm Springs. The meetings run through Friday and these meetings usually set the groundwork for future trades and free agent signings. Theo Epstein, Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod, Randy Bush and Shiraz Rehman made the trek out west and will continue conversations they've already had with other teams and agents. The Cubs have significant flexibility and are going to be aggressive in free agency according to a report from Comcast … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 09/17/12
Second Half Minor League Report In looking at the Cubs' minor league system for the second half of the 2012 season, one can break things down into three phases. First there are the AZL Cubs and the Boise Hawks, which received the greatest influence of the Cubs' new front office team. With their rosters heavily populated by players from the 2012 draft and international free agent signings, both ended up in the playoffs at the end of the season, with Boise losing in the finals. Next there were … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 09/04/12
Hurricane Isaac, which played havoc with the Daytona Cubs' schedule last week, moved inland and forced the cancellation of Peoria's final home game and Iowa's last series of the season in New Orleans. The Cubs' system claimed two champions, with Boise's Stephen Bruno winning the Northwest League batting title while Daytona's John Andreoli led the Florida State League in stolen bases. Tennessee used the power pitching of Chris Rusin and Nick Struck to put them in position to join the AZL Cubs … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/27/12
There looks to be some excitement down the stretch as the minor leagues enter the last week of play. Boise has clinched the second half pennant thanks to players such as Gioskar Amaya, Stephen Bruno, Jeimer Candelario, Willson Contreras, Tayler Scott, and Dan Vogelbach. Peoria is charging to the finish line on the bat of Tim Saunders and the pitching of Michael Jensen. While in Daytona, John Andreoli is sure to make a number of other prospects nervous with the season he is having. And Rubi … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/20/12
Things continue to look good from the ground up in the minor league system and Iowa surprised by winning three out of four to end the week as Dave Sappelt appears to have his eye on the big league club in September. Boise has stayed in the lead in the second half of the season thanks to Rock Shoulders, Stephen Bruno and Albert Almora joining an already impressive list of hitters in Gioskar Amaya, Jeimer Candelario, Dan Vogelbach, and Willson Contreras. Speaking of promising hitters, Jorge … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/16/12
Changes appear to be in the air for the minor league system, as Vice President of Player Personnel Oneri Fleita was fired on Wednesday afternoon. Long deserved promotions for pitcher Austin Kirk and outfielder Rubi Silva have finally happened, while Yoannis Negrin, Willengton Cruz, and Jacob Rogers also received a bump up in level. Tennessee has tightened up their defense, which has resulted in shut out wins for Dae-Eun Rhee and Yoannis Negrin. And Iowa actually posted a couple of wins, with … [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 – 08/06/12
As the dust began to settle from last week's flurry of roster moves, the minor leagues got back to the business of winning ballgames. Dustin Geiger set an RBI record for Peoria, while Christian Villanueva had a smashing debut for Daytona. Not to be outdone, Dong-Yub Kim was also going deep for Boise and Justin Bour led the system in dingers for this week. While in Iowa, Chris Rusin helped stop a losing streak with an assist from Josh Vitters. A top prospect received a promotion after being … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 08/02/12
The win-loss records improved across the system for the most part and several of the top prospects in the organization continue to play well. A couple of players made their organizational debut and several additions were made with the trades at the big league level. Dillon Maples made his pro debut on Sunday and Pierce Johnson made his first appearance for the AZL Cubs on Wednesday. Dan Vogelbach launched his first homer in a Hawks' uniform while Javier Baez just keeps on hitting. Daytona kept … [Read more...]
Cubs Down on the Farm Report – 07/26/12
Movement was once again the focus of the early part of the week, although there were none of significance above the Single-A level. This past week saw the debuts of outfielders Jorge Soler and Albert Almora in the rookie league, while Dan Vogelbach said hello to the fans of Boise. Yao-Lin Wang was also on the move in Peoria, as he went back into a starting role after leading the team in saves. And it was "thank you for the two scoreless innings" from Iowa to Ty'Relle Harris, "but now, go back … [Read more...]