JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 4-19-13

Nashville Sounds 0 @ Iowa Cubs 5

Logan Watkins had another good day. He was 2-5 with a run scored and a strikeout. He would score once. Brett Jackson 2: The Quest for Curly's Walks did not play in this game. Ian Stewart didn't put a single ball in play: he was 0-2 with 2 strikeouts and 2 walks. The only extra base hit was a double from Brian Bogusevic; everyone else was non-descript. The I-Cubs as a team drew 7 walks and struck out 13 times. 

Barret Loux got the start and did very well. He punched 6 out and walked 1, scattering 3 hits en route to a scoreless day. Casey Coleman, Zach Putnam, Rafael Dolis, and Blake Parker each pitched an inning of scoreless relief and none of them gave up a hit. All in all, a dominating pitching performance. The Iowa Cubs are now 5-9 on the season.

Tennessee Smokies 8 @ Huntsville Stars 1

All 4 offensive prospects had a nice day today. Matt Szczur went 2-5 with a triple, scoring 2 runs and striking out once. Ronald Torreyes went 1-4 with a double and 2 runs scored. Arismendy Alcantara continues to rebound from a poor last week with a 2-3, 2 RBI, 1 BB performance. Alcantara did have his 7th error of the season, however. That's got to change or there's no way he can stick at SS. He's back up to .288 on the season. Christian Villanueva had a 2-run double in the first and ended up with a 1-4 line with 2 R and 2 RBI. The Smokies as a team only walked twice and struck out 11 times, but were 5 for 14 with RISP.

Matt Loosen had a pretty great start. He allowed no runs over 4 IP, with 8 SO and 2 BB to go with 4 hits. The WHIP is 1.500, but he allowed less than half of his balls to enter the field of play. That's a pretty good plan. A.J. Morris needed a good performance and he delivered one also. He allowed a single run over 3 innings of 3 hits, 2 walk, 2 strikeout baseball. His ERA is down to 6.75 on the season. Brian Schlittler cleaned it up with 2 scoreless innings of 3 H, 3 SO. The Smokies are the only good team in the system, with a 9-6 record. They also have a pretty cool stadium.

Tampa Yankees 8 @ Daytona Cubs 3

Javier Baez continues to play poorly. He had another 0-4 day with a strikeout and an error. His line sits at .212/.239/.455 this season. Zeke DeVoss went 1-4 with 2 strikeouts. Jorge Soler had a double and walk in a 1-3, 1 R performance. He also struck out once and drew the teams only walk. No other performance was really notable; the team struckout 8 times, walked once, and had only 2 extra base hits, a double by Soler and Chad Noble.

Zach Cates couldn't get out of the first innings. His line: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR. He gave up a grand slam to Yankees farmhand Jose Toussen, a nobody. Hunter Cervenka came in relief and walked 3 and struck out 1. He didn't allow a hit in his 2.1 innings of work. Luis Liria gave up a single run in 3.1 innings of work, as did  Frank Del Valle in 2.2 innings. As a team, the D-Cubs walked 12 batters and struck out 8. That's not a recipe for success. The Daytona Cubs are 7-8.

Quad Cities @ Kane County Postponed.