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2013 Cubs Prospects In Review: Tyler Alamo

Tyler Alamo came to the Cubs organization as the 24th round pick in this year's amateur draft. A strong, big-bodied catcher out of a Cypress, California high school, Alamo was ranked as the 348th best prospect in the draft according to the BA 500, and was expected to be a tough sign, or at least an overslot pick. Alamo apparently was more ready for professional baseball than most thought, however, as he signed on July 7th for only the $100,000 slot bonus, providing no hit to the Cubs' bonus pool. He has spent the season in the AZL, refining his skills as a catcher and providing one of the most emo Twitter accounts I've ever seen. He caused a minor Twitter angst-storm when he tweeted (now deleted) about how baseball wasn't even fun anymore and how much he missed home. He remained in Arizona, however, and seems in better spirits now, having hopefully adjusted a bit to the life of a professional baseball player.

Performance

Alamo appeared in just 11 AZL games, offering a disappointing performance in just about every way you can in such limited time. For starters, he collected only 3 hits, 0 XBHs, and 15 Ks in 30 PAs, posting a .111/.167/.111 line. He also allowed 7 stolen bases and had a CS% of 0. I don't know AZL league averages for gunning runners down, but zero seems low.

Not much else to say here. The bad news is the numbers all suck. The good news is that 11 games is a meaningless sample. Chalk it up as an adjustment period and see if he can improve on them next season.

Scouting

There's actually decent video on Alamo, which is nice. Here's a nice showcase clip on YouTube:

I'm not a scout, and I offer my thoughts with the caveat that I'm just sort of starting to develop an eye for this sort of thing. That said, the swing looks long to me. In game action his bat looks a little quicker to the ball than it does in the BP portion, where it looks to me like he's opening up too quick and trying to crush everything. The game action also shows him using a double-tap stride, which is unusual. He does do a good job of staying balanced, but there's a lot of motion in his trigger. Defensively, all that stand's out for me is that he's kind of a stabby receiver.

Baseball America lines up with most of this assessment (phew). This came from BA's report filed on March 5th, when he, at the time, was ranked as the 48th best high school prospect:

Alamo stands out for his tightly-wound, 6-foot-4, 205-pound frame. He looks like a hitter at the plate, but has some moving parts to his swing that could be toned down. He uses an aggressive stride, collapses his backside at times and has a tendency to stride toward third base, opening his hips early. There is some length to his swing at times, but he has obvious strength potential and an intriguing bat for a catcher. Behind the plate, he shows good agility for his size, along with strong hands and above average arm strength.

They followed up with the scouting report included in the BA 500, where he apparently lost an inch of height and five pounds:

Alamo's durable 6-foot-3, 200-pound frame has plenty of strength, but scouts use words like "rigid" and "stiff" to describe him behind the plate and in the batter's box. His receiving skills have a long way to go to become passable. He has slightly above-average arm strength, but his footwork affects his accuracy, and he takes too long to unload the ball. He is an upright hitter whose grooved swing features an arm bar. He swings and misses too often, and scouts consider him a guess hitter. He does flash promising raw power.

The raw tools are there for a productive, useful player, but he's got a long way to go to realize them. And as much as I joke about his twitter account, the fact that two months into his professional baseball career he was publicly wondering if he even liked baseball anymore raises some fairly serious makeup questions.

Outlook

Alamo will almost certainly start 2014 back in short-season ball, and will have to show some serious want to get much further beyond that. The raw power he displays should earn him a decent number of chances, but the hit tool will have to improve to get to it, as will the receiving skills. He doesn't have the natural baseball instincts that would allow him to coast without a ton of hard work and passion for what he's doing, so if he doesn't really commit to improving his game, I could see him washing out surprisingly quick.

All in all, I wouldn't expect Alamo to have a major-league future. His carrying tool is power, with not much else to support it, and his natural swing is quirky enough where I'm not sure how far he could refine it. If he can improve defensively and become an acceptable catcher, and the hit tool becomes passable, he could have a ceiling as a competent backup on a major-league team somewhere, but I have a hard time imagining him becoming much more.

2013 Cubs Prospect Reviews

2013 Cubs Prospects in Review: Corey Black

The 5-11, 175 pound righty was acquired from the Yankees in the Alfonso Soriano trade on July 26th. Corey Black was selected in the 4th round in the 2012 Draft our of Faulkner University. He was born on on August 4, 1991. Player ages in baseball are the age of the player before August 1st so this is technically Black's age 21 season.

Performance

Corey Black split time (mostly) between Low A and A ball last year after the draft. I say "mostly" because he did make one appearance and threw 1.1 innings at rookie league. He combined for 52 innings.

This season he made 24 starts in the regular season and threw 107.2 innings. There was a noticeable increase in his walk rate this year, along with increased wild pitches and hit batsmen. Overall, it's been a pretty good season for the righty.

He struckout 23.8% of the batters faced and walked 11.3%. If you add in HBP, which I prefer to do, his walk rate is 13.1%. That's just not very good for the level and experience that Black has.

One thing he had on his side prior to joining the Cubs was that he kept the ball in the ballpark. In just 25 innings with the Daytona Cubs, he allowed 3 home runs. He had allowed 3 with the Yankees organization in 135 innings. I wouldn't read too much into considering the sample size, but it's worth watching as we move forward.

Black got the start last night for the Daytona Cubs and was very good.

Scouting

We wrote a bit about Corey Black's scouting report the day the Cubs acquired him so I don't want to add too much more.

He sits in the 93 to 95 mph range and may prove best suited for relief down the road. In short outings, he can hit 100 mph according to Baseball America. He also has a solid slider and changeup.

He's only 5-11 and when you factor in his control issues, he may could be moved to the bullpen sooner rather than later.

Outlook

We'll see Black at AA Tennessee next season and it will be the year in which the Cubs decide if they have a starter or a reliever. Black only threw more than 5 innings on four occasions this season and did not throw more than 6 innings. As a result, his inning total is rather low. If he's moved to the bullpen, and we see the usual improvements that come along with shorter outings, we could even see Black in a Cubs uniform by midseason. I doubt the Cubs make the change that quickly, but it wouldn't surprise me.

2013 Cubs Prospect Reviews

2013 Cubs Prospects in Review: Logan Watkins

For some reason, I was thinking that Logan Watkins was drafted in the 3rd round in 2008. He did sign for $600,000, which was probably 2nd round money considering the Cubs draft order that year (maybe even higher at that time), but he lasted until the 21st round. He had a strong committment to Wichita State.

Watkins weighs 175 pounds and stands 5-11. He's right-handed and bats left-handed. He turned 24 years old on August 29th.

Performance

The 2nd baseman had been better than league average at the plate prior to this season. Last year he had a very good season hitting .281/.383/.422. His wRC+ was 130. His first season of AAA didn't go as smoothly. He hit .243/.333/.379, which was good for a 90 wRC+. He was called up to Chicago at the beginning of August.

After beginning his MLB career with 2 hits in 6 plate appearances, he's managed just 1 hit in his last 19. He's walked twice and struckout 10 times. Watkins has typically had a walk rate above average and has mostly kept the ball in play. His 40% strikeout rate so far at the MLB level is nothing to be concerned with yet. The sample size isn't very large.

At AAA, he walked in 8% of his plate appearances, which was down from the 12.9% a year ago at AA. Watkins doesn't have a lot of power, but it's better than Matt Szczur's. He began his career with no home runs in his first two seasons and had just 6 of them over his first four. Those seasons totaled 1447 plate appearances. He's hit 17 over the last two seasons in the minor leagues (1060 plate appearances).

It's been a disappointing season for Watkins, but he was still deserving of the call up.

Scouting

A recent scouting report for Watkins is difficult to find. He was drafted as a SS and has played 106 minor league games at the position. From what I recall, he was a below average fielder at the position at the time of the draft, which explains why he was promptly moved away from shortstop. He's also been an above average fielder at 2nd base and can play all over the field. He won't hit for much power, but has shown good discipline in the minors and could keep the ball in play. He has above average speed and has swiped more than his fair share of bases in his career. He stole 28 last year at AA and 21 the year before. He stole only 10 this year, though. While he won't hit a lot of home runs, his ISO is much improved over the early part of his professional career.

Outlook

Watkins will get a shot to stick with the team, but his role will depend on a couple of things. First, he's going to have to hit better than he has so far and second, I'm not as certain about Darwin Barney's role with this team as a lot of Cubs fans might be. Barney has hit so poorly this season (57 wRC+) that he makes Starlin Castro's 2013 offensive performance look impressive.

I'm not convinced because I don't really know if it's possible to be so good at fielding that you can ignore how awful a hitter he is. Barney will be arbitration eligible after the season. How much do the Cubs really want to pay someone who is quite possibly the worst hitter in Major League Baseball? Can his fielding really be so awesome that you can overlook that?

If the Cubs decide they can't overlook that, Logan Watkins will likely get an early shot in the spring training to win that job.

2013 Cubs Prospect Reviews

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 8-31-13

Iowa Cubs 2 @ Nashville Sound 7

This is what I get for talking up Mike Olt yesterday. He went 0-4 with 4 Ks. Yikes. Jae-Hoon Ha went 2-3 with a double and a walk.

The pitching was fucking terrible.

Tennessee Smokies 4 @ Chattanooga Lookouts 3

Javier Baez doing Javier Baez Things. 2-5 with a homer and 2 Ks. His 36 homers on the season are now just one behind George Springer for the minor league lead. Here's hoping for a 4-4, 2 walk, 2 homer day from him today, just for the hell of it. Arismendy Alcantara was 2-5 with his 31st SB on the season. He's put together a nice little 15-30 season. Matt Szczur was 2-4 with a walk. Christian Villanueva was 1-3 with a homer and 2 walks. John Andreoli was 2-4 with a BB.

Nick Struck worked 5 innings and gave up 3 runs on 3 hits, 3 walks, and a K. A.J. Morris worked 2, allowing a hit and nothing else. Hunter Cervenka gave up a hit in the middle of getting 3 punchouts in his inning of work. And Frank Batista struck out 1 in getting the save.

Philadelphia Phillies 3 @ Chicago Cubs 4

This was one of those YCPB days. The shitty Cubs offense coaxed 3 walks and 9 hits out of Cliff Lee, which, what? Starlin Castro was 2-5 with a double and a homer. Darwin Barney was 2-4 with a walk, a SB, and a double. Donnie Murphy was 1-4 with a double. Junior Lake was 2-3 with a walk and didn't even strike out. Basball is weird. Welington Castillo was 2-4. Anthony Rizzo had what's becoming sort of the Anthony Rizzo Game (0-4, BB). He also made two pretty boneheaded plays in the field.

On the pitching side, I'm still waiting for the Chris Rusin Pixie Dust to wear off, but at this point it might take until next year. 5 innings pitched, 3 Ks, 3 walks, 4 hits, and only 3 runs (2 earned). I cannot figure out how he's not getting crushed, other than that, once again, baseball is weird. Regression is stalking him like a clever girl at this point. The bullpen kept things pretty boring after that, tossing a combined 4 innings of 2 hit, 1 K scoreless ball.

Daytona Cubs 1 @ Brevard County Manatees 5

Kris Bryant got the day off, which is dumb, because the rainouts have given him plenty of freaking days off and he's the most important prospect on the roster. Whatever. Dan Vogelbach played today, though, going 1-3 with a walk and 2 Ks. He's hitting .281/.372/.448 in his 16 games played at Daytona. Elliot Soto was 2-2 with a double. Wes Darvill was 3-4 with a double.

Yao-Lin Wang worked 3 innings in a "start", allowing 2 hits, no runs or walks, and striking out 4. Nice work sir. Ryan Searle worked the next 4 and shat all over himself, allowing 4 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks, and 3 Ks. Lendy Castillo worked the last, and was Lendy Castillo-ey, allowing a run on 2 hits and 2 Ks.

Peoria Chiefs 9 @ Kane County Cougars 0

Ryan Sweeney and Luis Valbuena both got rehab starts in preparation for coming back today, Sweeney going 1-4 and Valbuena going 1-3 with a walk. Jeimer Candelario was 0-4 with 3 Ks. Gioskar Amaya was 0-3 with a walk. Trevor Gretzky was 1-3. The Cougars had no XBHs in this one and struck out 8 times.

James Pugliese got that start and was not good. 3 innings, 5 runs, 6 hits, 2 walks, 2 Ks, and a partridge in a shitty baseball tree. Stephen Perakslis worked 2 and allowed a run on 4 hits and a K. Michael Hamann struck out 2 in his 2 innings. Kenny Socorro finished off the final two frames, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) on 5 hits and a punchout.

Hillsboro Hops 5 @ Boise Hawks 0

The Hawks got no-hit yesterday. Yasiel Balaguert's walk was the only thing keeping them from getting perfect-gamed.

Dillon Maples gave up 4 runs (2 earned) on 6 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings, but struck out 6. Corbin Hoffner allowed a run in his 3 innings, allowing a hit, 2 walks, and fanning 3. Trey Lang struck out the side in the ninth.

DSL Tigers 2 @ DSL Cubs 1

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 8-30-13

Iowa Cubs 2 @ Nashville Sounds 3

If I were the type of person to find a narrative in chaos, I would suggest that Mike Olt has realized that if he wants to not be in the PCL for the third season in a row next year, he better start hitting, and fast. He was 3-4 yesterday, and over the past week has gone 10 for 21 with a double, a homer, 7 walks, and 4 Ks. He's hit .357/.500/.500 over his last ten and I'm starting to wonder if maybe, just maybe, he might not totally embarass himself with a September callup. Olt is a big domino for deciding the futures of a number of other prospects (Baez, Alcantara, and Bryant's future positions and/or teams could vary drastically depending on what the Cubs can get out of him), and you would think his performance between now and about next June or so will have far-reaching implications for the look of the Cubs for years to come. No pressure, Mikey.

Zach Rosscup worked an inning with a walk and 2 Ks and no hits or runs. I have an intense apathy for everybody else on this roster.

Tennessee Smokies 12 @ Chattanooga Lookouts 1

Rough day for Javier Baez at the plate, going 0-4 with a walk and 3 Ks, eventually getting lifted in a double switch. Arismendy Alcantara (whose name I've been pronouncing as al-can-TAR-ah when, according to Sahadev Sharma on the Bleacher Nation podcast this week, it's actually al-CON-tur-uh. Fun with pronounciations.) was 1-4 with 2 walks and 2 Ks. Christian Villanueva was 2-5 ith a double. Matt Szczur was 2-4 with 2 walks. Justin Bour was about half the damn offense, going 3-5 with a double, a homer, and six RBI. Brett Jackson had a "PAY ATTENTION TO ME" game, going 2- with a double, a triple, a walk, and the requisite strikeout.

The pitching was great in this one. Eduardo Figueroa went 6 very strong frames, allowing a hit and a walk on no runs, striking out 5. His Tennessee ERA is now 2.38. He's been inexplicably awesome since getting moved up from Daytona and converting to a starter, allowing just 9 hits, 8 walks, and 3 homers. It's probably a fluke given the painfully low number of bats he's missing (just 17 Ks in 34 innings), but enjoy the ride while it lasts. Armando Rivero worked 2.1 and allowed a run on 4 hits and 2 Ks. And Tony Zych got the last two outs without issue, striking out 1.

Brevard County Manatees 6 @ Daytona Cubs 11

Dan Vogelbach got the day off today, but in his place Dustin Geiger went 2-3 with a homer and 2 walks. Kris Bryant was 1-4 with a bomb of his own. Zeke DeVoss was 2-5 with a homer and a SB. Bijan Rademacher finished off the power surge with a 3-4, 1 homer day. Ben Carhart was 1-4 with a double and a walk.

Ivan Pineyro was mediocre, working 5 and allowing 4 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks, and 5 Ks. Sheldon McDonald worked 2, allowing as many runs on a walk, a K, and 2 hits. Austin Reed finished off the final 2 frames with a K and nothing else.

Kane County Cougars 2 @ Cedar Rapids Kernels 8

Gioskar Amaya was 1-4 with a double. Jeimer Candelario was 1-4. Carlos Escobar was 3-4 with a double. Meh.

Starling Peralta got rocked for 8 runs in 4 innings. He allowed 8 hits, 3 walks, 3 homers, and struck out 3. Yikes. There was a lot of bullpen work by guys who don't figure to be too important. As a group, the pen worked 4 innings, allowed 2 hits, 0 runs, 4 walks, and struck out 3.

Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 10 @ Boise Hawks 6

Shawon Dunston was 1-4 with a walk. Kevin Encarnacion was 1-5. Jacob Rogers was 1-3. Jeffrey Baez was 1-4 with a homer.

Duane Underwood got beat up for 8 runs, 4 earned, in 3 innings. He allowed 6 hits, 3 walks, and struck out 4. That's not gonna get you to full-season ball next year, Duane. Jasvir Rakkar allowed a run in 3 innings, walked one, and struck out 5. Good work Jasvir. Zack Godley worked 2 scoreless, allowing a hit and fanning one. He should definitely be in Kane County next year in some capacity, as he's been awesome in Boise, working 25.2 innings in 13 games, allowing 6 runs (5 earned), walking only 5, and striking out 27. He is 23, but with a good start to the year next season he could pretty feasibly catch up to an age-appropriate level rather quickly. Carlos Martinez-Pumarino allowed a run in his inning of work.

DSL Cubs 9 @ DSL Tigers 3

Philadelphia Phillies 6 @ Chicago Cubs 5

I didn't watch this one, so I may be a bit fuzzy on the details, but Jeff Samardzija was basically good until he stunk. He worked 5 shutout innings before falling apart in the sixth, allowing 5 runs total in his 6.2 innings with 8 hits, 2 walks, and 6 Ks. His ERA was so close to being under 4 again, too. Shucks. James Russell got 2 outs and struck out 1. Pedro Strop did exactly the same. Kevin Gregg took the loss when he remembered he was Kevin Gregg, allowing a run on a hit.

Offensively, Anthony Rizzo had a 2-4 day with a walk and his 21st homer. Nate Schierholtz had a 1-4, BB, HR day. Junior Lake's regression continued with an 0-5 day. I think the magic might be wearing off, finally. Donnie Murphy did Donnie Murphy Things, going 1-4 with a double. Starlin Castro was 2-4 with a double and a walk. Dioner Navarro was 2-5.

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 8-24-13

Better late than never, it's yesterday's JOT. Sorry for the delay.

Chicago Cubs 3 @ San Diego Padres 2

Is it April? Because Jeff Samardzija just put together two good starts in a row. 8 innings, 7 hits, 2 runs, 2 walks, and 7 Ks. PETCO helps, but he's almost got his ERA back under 4. He hit a double, too. Attaboy spellcheck. Kevin Gregg closed it out with a K in a perfect 9th.

Starlin Castro was 1-4. Anthony Rizzo was 1-4 with a walk. Darwin Barney is the best thing about the offense lately, going 3-4 with a homer and a double. I'm gonna start an irresponsible rumor that he's juicing: Darwin Barney is juicing. He has also stolen David Eckstein's old batting gloves. Prove he hasn't. Junior Lake was 1-4 with a double. Donnie Murphy is a helluva drug, 1-4. This is the last recap blurb I wrote after being in a car all day. I am punchy as hell.

Memphis Redbirds 5 @ Iowa Cubs 8

Holy shit did Mike Olt have a day. 4-4 with a homer and a double. Despite all evidence to the contrary, he apparently is capable of putting a bat on a baseball. Dave Sappelt and Brad Nelson were both 2-5 with a double. Tim Torres was 2-4 with a double. And Ty Wright was 1-3 with a double and a BB.

Casey Coleman had a "Hey, This Is The Best You're Probably Gonna Get Out Of Casey Coleman" start, working 5 and allowing 3 runs on 5 hits, 4 walks, and 4 Ks. Alberto Cabrera and Chang-Yong Lim each worked an inning, walking one and striking out two each. Cabrera added a hit to his line. Both were scoreless. Marcus Hatley worked the last two and allowed 2 runs on four hits and 3 Ks. Given that the I-Cubs used up a month's worth of offensive output, I doubt we'll see an interesting game the rest of the season.

Mobile BayBears 4 @ Tennessee Smokies 3

Javier Baez was 0-4 with a K and made his 11th error. He's allowed an off day every now and again. Arismendy Alcantara went hitless but had two walks in 4 PAs. Justin Bour was 1-3 with a homer. Rubi Silva was was 1-3 with a homer and HOLY SHIT RUBI SILVA WALKED. This was just his 17th walk in 118 games, so it's worth celebrating. Brett Jackson had a double in a 1-3 day. Wooo.

Dae-Eun Rhee worked 6 1/3, allowing 2 unearned runs on 5 hits, 3 walks, and 2 Ks. Hunter Cervenka got an out without issue. Tony Zych gave up 2 runs on 5 hits in an inning and a third to take the loss. P.J. Francescon fanned 2 in a perfect 9th.

Daytona Cubs 7 @ Tampa Yankees 3

Kris Bryant was 2-5 with a double. He has 1 walk so far at Daytona. Dan Vogelbach was 0-2 but walked 3 times. Anthony Giansanti was 2-4 with 2 SBs. Wes Darvill was 3-5.

The returns are early, but I think Corey Black might be pretty mediocre. He worked 5 innings yesterday, allowing 3 runs (2 earned) on 4 walks and 2 Ks. Nothing about that excites me. All 10 of his batted ball outs were on grounders though, so that's a little redeeming. Frank Del Valle worked 2 innings, gave up 3 hits, but kept any of them from crossing, striking out 1. Ryan Searle worked an inning, striking out 2 and walking 2. Lendy Castillo gave up a hit and struck out 1 in the ninth.

Kane County Cougars 5 @ Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 3

Everyone had a hit except Gioskar Amaya in this one, who was 0-4, but did reach on an error once. Oliver Zapata was 2-5 with a double and a triple. Giuseppe Papaccio was 1-4 with a homer. Jose Dore was 1-3 with a 3B. Trevor Gretzky had a 2-4 day with a triple of his own.

Tayler Scott worked 6 and allowed 3 runs on 8 hits, 3 walks, and 6 Ks. The bullpen didn't blow it.

Boise Hawks 2 @ Hillsboro Hops 1

No XBHs for the Hawks in this one. Kevin Encarnacion went 2-4. Jacob Rogers was 3-4.

Duane Underwood had a nice start, going 5 and allowing a run on 3 hits, a BB, and 3 Ks. Zack Godley continues to be really, really good in Boise, working 2 and striking out 3. Jasvir Rakkar allowed a hit while striking out 2 in the 8th. And Eddie Orozco got the save, pairing a walk with a K.

AZL Angels 2 @ AZL Cubs 4

Rafael Dolis is rehabbing here, working the first inning, and allowing a walk against a K in a scoreless frame. Daury Torrez worked 6, allowing 3 hits with no runs and 6 Ks. Trevor Clifton was not great, allowing 2 runs in 2 innings on 2 hits and a walk. He struck out 4.

DSL Cubs 8 @ DSL Yankees1 3

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 8-23-13

Memphis Redbirds 0 @ Iowa Cubs 2

Kyle Hendricks got the win by tossing 7 strong shutout innings, allowing 4 hits and a walk on 3 Ks. Zach Rosscup and Eduardo Sanchez had 3 Ks between them in a perfect 8th and 9th.

Mobile BayBears 3 @ Tennessee Smokies 2

Dim the lights and put on a Luther Vandross record, because it's Javytime. Baez was 2-4 with a SB and his 34th homer of the year last night. That's 34 home runs in 121 games. Over his last ten he's hitting .447/.488/1.000. For the entire month of August he's hitting .404/.449/.730. If you believe in clutchness, he's hitting .386/.441/.783 with runners on, with a .385/.450/.846 line with runners in scoring position. If you believe it's a skill to get better when the moment is big, Javy is surely showing a knack for it.

Other performances of note: Arismendy Alcantara was 1-3 with a walk, a SB, and a CS. Rubi Silva was 2-4 with a homer and a triple. Brett Jackson's Mortal Coil was 1-1 with 2 walks before getting lifted in a double switch for Jonathan Mota, who was 1-1. Matt Szczur came in in the 6th and was 1-2 with a double.

Eduardo Figueroa put up a quality start, going 6 and allowing 3 runs on 8 hits, a walk, and 3 Ks. The bullpen finished it off with 5 combined Ks in 2 scoreless.

Chicago Cubs 6 @ San Diego Padres 8

The Cubs went 27 outs without scoring a run last night, which was Cubslike. They managed to grab six runs before doing so, which was not. They still allowed eight runs, which was Cubslike. They did so in PETCO, which is extra-Cubslike. Nate Schierholtz was 1-5 and hit a 3 run homer. Anthony Rizzo was 1-4 with a walk. Brian Bogusevic was 1-4 with a triple. Starlin Castro was 1-5. Donnie Murphy was 1-3 and managed not to hit a home run.

The pitching was pretty terrible, all things considered. Edwin Jackson allowed 6 runs (5 earned) in 6 innings. James Russell managed to give up a homer to a lefty in PETCO. I'm pretty sure you should be fired from your LOOGY gig if that happens. The Padres scored in each of the last five innings. Way to really get after that top 3 pick, boys.

Daytona Cubs 5 @ Tampa Yankees 1

Kris Bryant was 1-4 with 2 Ks. Dan Vogelbach went 1-3 with a walk and 2 Ks. Dustin Geiger was 1-4 with a double and 2 Ks. The entire D-Cubs roster struck out 13 times yesterday.

C.J. Edwards is a strikeout machine, and yesterday tossed 4 innings of 8 K, 1 walk, 4 hit ball. Kyler Burke was fine in 2 innings, allowing 2 walks against a K. Zach Cates got touched for a run in the final 3 innings, giving up 2 hits, 2 walks, and fanning 4.

Beloit Snappers 2 @ Kane County Cougars 5

Gioskar Amaya was 1-4. Jeimer Candelario was 1-3 with a walk. Rock Shoulders was 2-3 with a homer and a walk. Trevor Gretzky was 2-3 and is hitting .412 in 5 games at KC.

The pitching was mediocre as hell.

Boise Hawks 8 @ Salem-Keizer Volcanoes 1

Kevin Encarnacion had a helluva day, going 5-5 with a double and a homer, boosting his boise average to .356. Jacob Rogers was 1-4 with a BB. Justin Marra was 1-2 with a homer and 2 walks. Carlos Penalver had a triple in 4 ABs.

Paul Blackburn had what I am describing as a Rich Harden start, throwing 5 innings of 1 hit ball but walking six. He struck out 2 and somehow avoided plating a run. Scott Frazier tossed 2 and allowed a hit, a walk, and a K.

DSL Yankees1 @ DSL Cubs 6

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 8-17-13

Iowa Cubs 0 @ New Orleans Zephyrs 3

Offense: DNP (shittiness)

Justin Grimm worked 7 strong, allowing 3 runs on 4 hits, no walks and 8 Ks. Most of his damage came on a 2 run homer in the 4th. Zach Rosscup worked the 8th and struck out three, allowing a hit in the middle of it.

Chattanooga Lookouts 6 @ Tennessee Smokies 4

Your daily fawning over how great Javier Baez is: he was 1-3 with a double and a walk. He now leads Miguel Sano in all three slash categories at double-A, has one fewer homer in 15 or so fewer games, and plays a more premium position, but I'm sure Sano will be ranked well ahead of Javy on all prospect lists, because reasons. Prospect rankings are a bit stupid

Arismendy Alcantara was 0-3, and is headed in the wrong direction, hitting for a sub-.700 OPS over his last 10. I kinda wonder if he's not wearing out. This is his first season playing more than 100 games as a pro, and the grind of the season has got to be taking it's toll, especially for a guy who's dealt with injuries the past couple of seasons. It's likely for the best that he's spending the whole season in Tennessee, as exposing him to AAA pitching just as he was starting to tire out would probably have been bad for his development. Justin Bour had a 2-3 day with a BB. Christian Villanueva smacked a double for his hit in a 1-4 day. Brett Jackson needs this season to be over.

Eric Jokisch took the loss in a fairly mediocre start, allowing 4 runs (3 earned) on 6 hits, a walk, and 5 punchouts in 6.1 innings. Dayan Diaz finished off the seventh with a K. And Yeiper Castillo was lousy, walking three and giving up 2 runs on 3 hits and no strikeouts.

Daytona Cubs 2 @ Brevard County Manatees 10

Kris Bryant is good at hitting baseballs. He was 2-5 with a 2B. He does not have a walk yet at Daytona, which is a curiosity that I'm sure will resolve itself soon. Dan Vogelbach was 1-3 and had 2 walks. I'm going to presume because he's fatter that pitchers are more scared of him. Pin-Chieh Chen was 2-4 with a walk. Elliot Soto was 1-4 with a double.

Ivan Pineyro did not have a good day, getting nailed for 6 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in 5 innings. He did strike out 4 though. Yao-Lin Wang allowed 3 runs in 2.1 innings, and Lendy Castillo was Lendy Castillo. Rough day for the D-Cubs staff.

St. Louis Cardinals 4 @ Chicago Cubs 0

You know the story behind this one, so I won't waste too much time rehashing it. Starlin Castro was 0-2, fell asleep in the field and let a runner score from third on a shallow sac fly, and got pulled from the game. Natie Schierholtz was 2-4 with a double for the game of the day. Darwin Barney was 1-2 with a walk and is suddenly a better hitter than half the damn roster. Anthony Rizzo was 0-3 with a walk.

Travis Wood cruised through the first 3 innings, then got dinged up in the 4th and 5th. A 2-run Yadier Molina homer chased him in the 6th, giving him a final line of 4 runs, 1 walk, and 3 Ks through 5.1 IP. Blake Parker cleaned up the 6th with 2 Ks in 0.2 IP. Michael Bowden worked the 7th blemish-free, adding a punchout. And Hector Rondon worked the last two, allowing a hit and a walk against 3 Ks.

Clinton LumberKings 6 @ Kane County Cougars 7

Gioskar Amaya was 1-5 with a double. Jeimer Candelario was 1-3 with 2 walks. Rock Shoulders was 2-3 with a double and 2 walks. Carlos Escobar was 1-5 with a double. Trevor Gretzky apparently got called up while I wasn't looking, and went 0-3 with a walk in his KC debut.

Boise Hawks 0 @ Tri-City Dust Devils 11

Rough day for the hawks, who didn't hit or pitch. Carlos Penalver had a 2-3, 1 SB day, Lance Rymel was 1-3 with a walk, and Danny Lockhart was 1-4. That was it. On the pitching side, everybody that took that mound gave up at least two runs, which you'd think would be hard to do. Juan Paniagua was probably the most notably troubling, going 3 innings in relief and allowing 6 runs (4 earned) on 3 walks and 2 Ks. He's 23 (best case) and can't get short season hitters out. This is a problem.

DSL Cubs 3 @ DSL Nationals 1

AZL Cubs 9 @ AZL Reds 7

Erick Leal, one of the guys we got back from the Diamondbacks for Tony Campana, struck out 6 in 5 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and a walk. He's 18 and has a 50:6 K:BB rate in 45.1 innings. I already feel like we won the Campana trade.

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 8-16-13

St Louis Cardinals 0 @ Chicago Cubs 7

How 'bout that Jake Arrieta, huh? I'm starting to think we won the Feldman trade. Arrieta tossed 7 shutout innings against the cards, allowing only 2 hits and 2 walks against 7 Ks, and was dominating. Someone asked Keith Law on Twitter if Arrieta could be "a GUY" (which, can I say, the guy vs. GUY thing is the most blindingly stupid and annoying question an ESPN personality has contrived up since "Who's more NOW?" I understand it's scout-speak, but that doesn't make it any less stupid), and his response was that he wasn't as a starter, but maybe as a late-innings guy. I'm content to see if he can continue putting up dominant starts in a league with no DH before I start judging his future. James Russell worked the eighth and got a K in a perfect inning. And Blake Parker finished it off, with a walk being his only blemish.

Offensively it was an efficient, patient day, scoring 9 runs on 9 hits and 6 walks. Welington Castillo continues to have a blistering second half, hitting .308/.452/.446 since the break. Hew as 2-4 yesterday. Junior Lake was 0-3 with a walk, reaching on an error as well. Anthony Rizzo had a 1-2 day with 2 walks. Donnie Murphy continues to be good, going 2-2 with a walk. Darwin Barney had the day's only XBH (which, what?) going 2-3 with a double and a walk.

Iowa Cubs 2 @ New Orleans Zephyrs 5

Seriously, who gives a crap? Jae-Hoon Ha was 2-4 with a double and a homer. Mike Olt sucks this year. That's all the attention I'm giving this shitty team.

Chattanooga Lookouts 6 @ Tennessee Smokies 8

You can really just start copy/pasting these Javier Baez daily lines. 2-4 with a homer, a walk, a strikeout and an error. If his second hit had been a double intead of a single it would be a trademark Baez Cycle. You really can't overstate how good Baez has done in the Southern League. a .439 wOBA and a 182 wRC+ is just monstrous. It would seem like a waste of time to me to send him back here next year. He should start the year in Iowa, and I'm going to waste so much gas driving back and forth to Des Moines next spring. Jonathan Mota had the only other really noteworthy game, going 2-4 with a homer. John Andreoli was 1-4 with a SB.

EDIT: I missed that the Baez homer was a walkoff. The video is priceless:

Matt Loosen has not exactly brought his no-hit stuff with him back to Tennessee. He walked 5 in 4 innings, fanning 5, and allowing 6 runs on 6 hits. Gross. The bullpen continued to walk the world, but kept it scoreless the rest of the way.

Brevard County Manatees 1 @ Daytona Cubs 5

Kris Bryant and Dan Vogelbach both had 2-4 days, both singles. Anthony Giansanti was 1-3 with a double, as was Elliot Soto. Dustin Geiger was 1-4 with a 2 run bomb. The heart of this order, with Geiger, Vogelbach, and Bryant to get through, has got to be absolutely pants-shittingly terrifying for opposing pitchers to get through. Just a gauntlet.

The pitching that's been sent to Daytona continues to be nails as well, and I would think Daytona would have to be the odds on favorite to win their league championship at this point. It's a stacked roster. Corey Black took the mound today and tossed 5 innings of 1 run, 8 K ball, walking just 1 and scattering 8 hits. The work got his ERA down to just over 4, and after a tough first start, he's allowed 1 run in his last 11 innings. Zach Cates worked the next 3 and was insane, allowing a hit, a walk, and striking out six. Jeffrey Lorick closed it out with a perfect ninth, fanning one for good measure.

Kane County 1 @ Burlington Bees 5

This roster just isn't that interesting with Vogelbach's promotion and Almora's injury. If Candelario and Amaya aren't doing anything, not much going on. They didn't yesterday.

Boise Hawks 6 @ Tri-City Dust Devils 2

Kevin Encarnacion was 2-4 with a double. Shawon Dunson was 1-2 with a double and 3 walks. Jacob Rogers was 2-4 with a walk. Yasiel Balaguert was 0-4.

Jose Rosario got the start, working 5 innings and allowing a run on 1 hits, a walk, and 3 Ks. Jose Arias worked the next 3 perfectly, striking out 3. And Tyler Bremer closed it out shakily, allowing a run on a hit, 2 walks, and 2 Ks.

DSL Nationals 2 @ DSL Cubs 0

AZL Padres 0 @ AZL Cubs 6

Trevor Graham put up 3 innings of 0s, including 0 Ks. Tyler Alamo DHed and was 1-4 with 2 Ks.

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 8-10-13

Chicago Cubs 6 @ St Louis Cardinals 5

Anyone else kind of baffled that this Cubs team has 13 walks in a two game stretch? I really don't get it. The Junior Lake Show was 2-4 with a double yesterday. He just keeps going. Welington Castillo's quietly solid second half is becoming less and less quiet of late. He was 1-1 with two walks and a homer last night. Dioner Navarro seems to have recovered well from that brutal looking strain from the other night in Philly, as he legged out a close pinch hit double in the eighth. Starlin Castro was 2-5. For as nice as his July hot streak was, he's cooled off in august, and his post-ASG OPS is actually lower than his first half thus far. Anthony Rizzo was 1-5. Darwin Barney was 1-5 and had the knock of the night, a huge bases clearing double against Rosenthal in the eighth that took the lead. I don't even know.

Carlos Villanueva had a pretty meh game, working six innings and allowing 4 runs on seven hits, a walk, and 4 Ks. Blake Parker and Pedro Strop each worked the next two scorelessly, then Gregg had to go and make things interesting by giving up a ninth-inning homer to Matt Holliday to get the Cards within one. He Groggled his way out of it though and got the save. Bully for him.

Iowa Cubs 3 @ Fresno Grizzlies 0

Jae-Hoon Ha was 1-3 with a 2B and a walk. Brooks Raley tossed 8 innings of shutout ball on 2 walks, 2 hits, and 3 Ks. It's stretching the definition of the term to suggest that these were the only interesting things that that happened in this game.

Montgomery Biscuits 10 @ Tennessee Smokies 2

I was gonna make some awful food puns, then it occurred to me that Tennessee's basically named after sausages. Minor League baseball is weird.

Jonathan Mota had a pinch hit triple in what was pretty much the performance of the day. Arismendy Alcantara was 1-4. Javier Baez was 0-4, including a gross AB where he flailed wildly at three straight pitches with two men on. Christian Villanueva was 1-3.

Nick Struck was struck hard, allowing 4 runs on 4 hits and 4 walks in 4 innings in his southern league debut. He struck out 2. Struck struck struck. A.J. Morris tossed three innings and was worse, getting knocked around for five runs (2 earned) on 4 hits, 3 walks, and 4 Ks. P.J. Francescon worked the final 2 and allowed a solo home run on 4 hits and a K.

Tampa Yankees 3 @ Daytona Cubs 6

When this Daytona team can actually get on the field, they're a pretty solid squad. Zeke DeVoss was 1-5 with a double. Pin-Chieh Chen went 1-5. West Darvill was 2-5. Bijan Rademacher had the game of the day, going 3-3 with a walk. Dustin GEiger went 1-3. Elliot Soto was 1-1 with 2 walks.

C.J. Edwards' impressive streak of allowing zero home runs as a professional is unfortunately over. He gave up a 3-run shot last night for his only damage in 3.2 innings of work, allowing 2 hits and 4 walks. Even though he didn't have it, he still managed to strike out eight. The kid definitely misses bats. Zach Cates worked 2 in this one, allowing a hit and 2 walks on 2 Ks, but preventing any runs. Frank Del Valle finished off the game, striking out four on a hit and no runs in 3.1 innings.

Cedar Rapids Kernels 6 @ Kane County Cougars 0

The Cougars were getting no-hit through 5, and ended up getting 2 hits and a walk, total. Dan Vogelbach was 1-3. Jose Dore was 1-3. And Jeimer Candelario was 0-2 with a walk. Every Cougar except Candelario and Carlos Escobar had a K on their line.

Felix Pena was not very good, allowing 6 runs (2 earned) on 9 hits, 3 walks, and 3 Ks in 5.1 innings. Sheldon McDonald worked the next 2.2 without blemish, allowing a hit, 2 walks, and a K. Stephen Perakslis had an issue-free ninth.

Vancouver Canadians 2 @ Boise Hawks 9

Kris Bryant did Kris Bryant Things, going 1-4 with a double, a walk, and 2 Ks. Yasiel Balaguert continues to be quietly good for the Hawks, going 2-4 with two doubles last night. Kevin Encarnacion was 2-5 with a double. Rony Rodriguez was 2-4, as were Trevor Gretzky and Lance Rymel. Carlos Penalver had the game of the day, though, going 3-4 with a double and a bomb.

On the pitching side, Dillon Maples was quite solid, scattering a run, five hits, a walk, and 5 Ks across five innings. Corbin Hoffner worked the last 4 in relief, allowing a run on 4 hits and 2 Ks.

AZL Cubs 4 @ AZL Rangers 5

Brian Bogusevic was 0-2 with a walk. Charcer Burks was 1-3 with a walk. Burks is having kind of a hilarious season in the AZL, as he has a sub-700 OPS despite a .350 OBP. He has 1 double in 71 ABs for his only XBH. Just zero, zero pop in that bat. This amuses me.

Trey McNutt showed up again, working an inning and allowing 3 hits on 1 K and zero runs. Also notable was a Trevor Clifton sighting, who got 2 outs and gave up 3 runs on 3 hits, two walks, and a strikeout.

DSL Cubs 3 @ DSL Cardinals 1