Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Hello, readers. Sometimes, the news isn’t all that great. In the last two days alone we’ve seen two major prospect injuries. We don’t really know the severity of either injury yet, but it’s a sobering reminder of all the little things that can go wrong in the development of young players. Here’s to hoping that everyone gets healthy soon and can return in top form.
BP Top 10 Update (Stats for 5/18-5/21)
- SS Addison Russell, MLB: I will no longer be reporting major league stats for Russell or Bryant, as it seems a bit unnecessary.
- 3B Kris Bryant, MLB: I will no longer be reporting major league stats for Russell or Bryant, as it seems a bit unnecessary.
- OF Albert Almora, Double-A Tennessee: 1-for-10, 1 K, 1 SB; So, on Wednesday, this happened:
Ok, so that was really scary. Fortunately, the trainers for both the Smokies and Generals confirmed that Almora and Bijan Rademacher were fine and nothing was broken. Still, that gave me pause. Almora has been making great strides at the plate recently, so it would have been a real shame for him to have to miss a lot of time.
- C Kyle Schwarber, Double-A Tennessee: 0-for-10, 5 BB, 3 K; This is what passes as a slump for Schwarber. Just think about that for a second.
- OF Billy McKinney, Double-A Tennessee: 3-for-11, 2 BB, 0 K
- RHP Pierce Johnson, Double-A Tennessee: 7-Day DL
- SS Gleyber Torres, Low-A South Bend: 2-for-11, 1BB, 3 K; As if Almora getting injured wasn’t enough:
Not the most fun game for the SB Cubs: Trailing 5-2 in the 4th, and prospect Gleyber Torres pulls up with an injury running out a grounder.
— Jesse G-S (@jgoldstrass) May 22, 2015
Hopefully, it’s nothing too serious, as Gleyber was dominating the Midwest League as an 18-year-old and having a major breakout season.
- 1B Dan Vogelbach, Double-A Tennessee: 2-for-12, 6 BB, 3 K
- LHP Carson Sands, Extended Spring Training: Extended spring training stats are difficult to come by, but if you’re interested, Arizona Phil at The Cub Reporter does some great work covering the team out of Mesa.
- RHP Jen-Ho Tseng, High-A Myrtle Beach: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
The Non-Prospects
Javier Baez: Iowa only had two games this week, due to an off-day on Wednesday and a postponed game on Tuesday. Baez didn’t do anything special at the plate in these two games, but that’s really just fine. He took another walk last night and continues to look more confident at the plate than he has in quite some time. I’m fine with the Cubs taking their time with him because I want to make sure he’s ready when he gets called back up, but I’m excited for that day.
Arismendy Alcantara: Mendy had a really great game last night with a triple and a home run in four at-bats. Here’s to hoping that this is the start of some good things for the young utility man and that he can turn things around soon. I would still love to see him back in Chicago before the end of the season and really do hope he puts it together for an extended period of time in Triple-A.
Team Updates/Standings
South Bend Cubs, Low-A, Midwest League: 18-23, 6 GB of first place, seventh place in the Eastern Division
Myrtle Beach Pelicans, High-A, Carolina League: 24-14, first place in the Southern Division
Tennessee Smokies, Double-A, Southern League: 22-19, 3.5 GB of first place, second in the North Division
Iowa Cubs, Triple-A, Pacific Coast League: 19-20, 7 GB of first place, second place in the American Northern Division
Minor League Player of the Week: Ivan Pineyro, 23, RHP, Tennessee Smokies
I’m honestly wearing myself out writing about Pineyro, at this point. He’s been way better than just about anyone expected him to be and is really putting himself on the map. For those of you keeping score at home, here are his stats through his last four starts: 28 IP, 19 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 28 K. Yes, those numbers are insane and they’re making me buy into Pineyro’s potential. He’s quickly becoming a candidate for a promotion to Triple-A and he is raising his profile with each start. I’ll now be keeping close watch of what he does the rest of the way out this season.
Last Start (5/19 vs. Jackson Generals): 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K
Next Projected Start: Sunday, May 24, 6:35 PM ET @ Montgomery Biscuits
Player To Watch: Mark Zagunis, 22, OF, Myrtle Beach Pelicans
Zagunis had a good week capped off by a 4-for-4 performance last night, including a double. The young outfielder was drafted as a catcher, but that project has been abandoned this year in favor of developing him as a full-time outfielder. His hit tool is very advanced and the pitch recognition and plate approach skills seem to fit “The Cubs Way” better than just about any other non-top 10 prospect in the organization. Zagunis doesn’t have a great deal of game power, which limits his future as an outfielder. Some have begun to suggest that he may have the athleticism required to try center field in the near future, so that’s something to keep an eye on. Whether or not he can learn to play center could very well be the difference between his being an everyday regular in the majors and being a fringy fifth outfielder type.
Tweet(s) of the Week
Sam Wilson is a LHP in the Cubs organization who is likely no more than an org guy, really, but he stepped up his Twitter game this week. I have no reason to love this tweet other than that I was not aware there was such a thing as “all-you-can-eat sushi.” Can anyone verify this for me? I’m not a sushi person, but for some reason, this intrigues me. In any case, here’s the tweet.
Well @ScottFrazier44 found an all you can eat sushi deal nearby, saying I'm excited is a huge understatement!
— Sam Wilson (@swilson_33) May 18, 2015
Best Promotion of the Upcoming Weekend
If you’ve ever been to a minor-league baseball game, you’re likely aware that the teams have some great promotions. They are sometimes fun, sometimes silly, sometimes downright bonkers, and they ultimately are a large part of what make the minor league experience so much fun. Here, I will highlight an upcoming promotion that stands out to me.
Ok, so I’m going to be honest here. The Cubs affiliates really don’t have anything much special planned for this weekend. That really bums me out. That’s why I want to introduce you to this:
We introduce the #Frankenslice. Available only during our May 21st home game. Tickets || http://t.co/jiy7F5xVMq pic.twitter.com/rRXYmLkS9o
— Fresno Grizzlies (@FresnoGrizzlies) May 14, 2015
Yes, that monstrosity actually happened and it happened Thursday night! This is the type of thing you only see in the minors. There is a long and wonderful tradition in the minors of being creative with food and concessions items. This takes that a step further and makes me wonder who thought this was a good idea.
Game(s) To Look Forward To
Tennessee Smokies @ Montgomery Biscuits, Sunday, May 24, 6:35 PM ET: Myrtle Beach is playing the Potomac Nationals this weekend, but Lucas Giolito isn’t schedule to pitch until Monday, so I substitute in place of that series the next start of Ivan Pineyro and another chance to watch a truly dangerous lineup. Schwarber and Vogelbach are worth it all on their own, but McKinney is also off to a fantastic start at Double-A, Jacob Hannemann continues to be interesting, Wilson Contreras is really squaring the ball up right now, and the hope is that Almora can be back in the next few days. This will be a fun game and will help to tide you over until Monday when Giolito takes on Myrtle Beach. Enjoy.
Odds and Ends
- Many of the rookies around the league who started the year on top prospect lists are now about to graduate off those same lists. This means you should look for guys like McKinney, Torres, and even Vogelbach to begin showing up at the back end of the lists. Most evaluators release updates around midseason, but until then, they just slide their next best prospects up into the list and Torres and McKinney were likely just outside of many top 100 lists this offseason.
- This story from Curt Rallo about Cubs 2014 second-round pick Jake Stinnett is an absolute must-read. Stinnett has struggled thus far this season, but I remain bullish on his potential and hope he finds his groove.