Tag: brian bogusevic

Cubs sign Chris Coghlan to minor league deal with ST invite

Coghlan won the Rookie of the Year voting in 2009, when he slashed .321/.390/.460 (aided and abetted by a .368 BABIP). Since then, he's taken turns being injured and ineffective. He tore his meniscus in 2010 and was never really the same. Last season, he was a super-utility guy, playing at least 1 game at 2B, 3B, LF, CF, and RF. He was a 3B in college and is not a great fielder, but I guess he's got as good a chance as anyone to be the 25th man on this roster and romantic, hot-chocolate-by-the-fire types can always dream on a return to the form he took a half-decade ago. He bats lefty, so he basically replaces Brian Bogusevic on our roster. 

You can now consider Justin Ruggiano a freeroll.

Winter Meetings Roundup

The annual Winter Meetings took place this week and we had you covered here on Obstructed View we were lazy bastards and kept you uninformed. I'd apologize for this. It is the first of the meetings that I have not covered thoroughly in 10 years. I'm just tired of apologizing so let's just get to it.

The biggest news is that the Cubs traded Brian Bogusevic to the Marlins for 31-year old Justin Ruggiano. Ruggiano is first-year arbitration eligible while Bogusevic would have earned roughly the league minimum. No worries. Ruggiano won't cost much to sign and offers the ability to play the same position and hit lefties rather well. Bogusevic could hit righties decently and had a good 2013, but was not by any means necessary to the Cubs rebuilding. 

It's maybe worth pointing out that with Ruggiano now on the roster, the Cubs could definitely afford to give free agent Shin-Soo Choo 15-20 off days vs. lefties. Choo does not hit lefties very well and if you could add Ruggiano's bat in his place, you'd be doing well. I'm not sure I'd take Choo at his cost, but I don't see him getting 7-years and $140 million either. 

Oliver is projecting a .331 wOBA (109 wRC+) out of Ruggiano in 2014 to go along with excellent defense (+7.2). If he can do that, he'll earn a starter's job in the Cubs outfield, which isn't exaclty stacked with talent right now. I'm a bit skeptical.

The Cubs also picked up right-handed starting pitcher Liam Hendriks off of waivers today. Hendricks hasn't made much of himself at the big league level, but has shown he can pitch in the minors. He doesn't strike a lot of batters out, but throws a lot of strikes. The Cubs could also move him to the bullpen if he doesn't work out as a starter and are under no obligation to have him on their 25-man roster. Hendricks was twice rated by Baseball America in the Twins top 10 prospects. 

Hendriks fits Minnesota's mold as a command-oriented starter. His fastball often sits at 86-92 mph and peaks at 94. He uses both two- and four-seamers, complementing his sinker with a solid slider. When he's in rhythm, Hendriks peppers the bottom of the zone and commands his fastball to his arm side, allowing him to induce weak contact with his slider and above-average changeup to his glove side. He mixes in a curveball as a fourth pitch. He's a strong competitor and good athlete, both owing in part to his family's Australian rules football background. — Baseball America, prior to 2012

I'll take that.

They signed Ryan Roberts to a minor league deal today. While with the Diamondbacks in 2009 and 2010, Roberts put together two fine seasons and looked like he might finally be putting it together. He then struggled in 2012, was traded to the Rays that year, and struggled again in 2013. He can hit for some power and will probably see some action with the Cubs, but I don't expect him to return to where he was in 2009 and 2010. Worth a shot, though.

Not yet done, the Cubs signed former top 100 prospect Ryan Kalish. Kalish was ranked just inside the top 100 back in 2008 and spent his career with Boston. He has not done anything at the big league level, but it was a waiver pick and you have to fill out the spring training roster. All 3 of these guys were given invites to spring training.

The Cubs didn't trade Jeff Samardzija and I'm still going to be surprised to see it done, but probably not as surprised as I'd have been several weeks ago. Word on the street is that the Cubs are asking for two of the Blue Jays top pitching prospects, along with another prospect, in return for Samardzija. Why not? Probably won't get it, but the Cubs don't have to act so may as well dream big. 

That ends our marathon coverage of the Winter Meetings.

Cubs DFA Carlos Marmol, release Ian Stewart

The Cubs have DFA'd Carlos Marmol and released Ian Stewart. They've also called up Brian Bogusevic. Marmol had been terrible and Ian Stewart didn't know how to tweet. It says quite a bit about Marmol that the Cubs didn't even wait until mid-July to see if some team might trade for him, but they do have 10 days to work out a trade or release him. My guess is he'll be released.

Bogusevic has a career .656 OPS at the MLB level, but has been really good at Iowa (.929 OPS).

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 6-12-13

Iowa Cubs 5 @ Oklahoma City Bombers 1

Your kids will no doubt remember this as the Brian Bogusevic game. He had 2 separate 2-run blasts, and drew a walk for good measure. He was near the entirety of the offense and a Quad-A MVP. Logan Watkins had a walk and a strikeout and nothing else; his line sits at .237/.347/.382 for the season. The Brett Jackson we know and love is back: 1-4, 3 SO. Junior Lake did Junior Lake things: 2-4, run scored, 2 strikeouts, caught stealing, throwing error. The agony and the ecstasy and all that jazz. 

I've been banging the drum on DFA'ing Chris Rusin for quite some time now, but credit where it's due. He had another really nice game yesterday, scattering a walk and 5 hits over 7 scoreless innings. He only had 3 strikeouts, but his ERA now sits at 3.38. The problem is he's 26 and sits right around 6 K/9 and 3 BB/9. That's not going to work, and in any case is eminently replaceable. I'd rather have the spot go to someone with genuine upside, like Yoanner Negrin or Guillermo Moscoso. Can anyone really envision Rusin as part of the next good Cubs team, or even trade bait for a piece of it? No way. I'm sure he's a great kid, but he's on his 3rd trip around the PCL and he's never struck out over 17.8% of batters (and doesn't exactly have pinpoint control). It's probably time to part ways. Barret Loux got a relief inning in and allowed a run on a walk and a hit. He also struck out 3 batters. I know dmick89 hates him, but I'm still intrigued by him, he's got some talent that may or may not ever show up after his injury. Brian Schlitter is being groomed for a relief role in Chicago in the mid-near future, and had another solid inning of work. 

That's the most I've ever spent on the Iowa Cubs, I think. 

Fort Myers Miracle 6 @ Daytona Cubs 3 (7 innings)

I think I've come around on the idea of promoting Javier Baez to AA. He's not going to struggle at A+ anymore, I don't think, because he's just too good for the caliber of pitching in this league. He hasn't "earned" his promotion, per se, because his holes are exactly the same as they were when he was drafted, but he deserves a chance to fix those holes as soon as he can. I think the longer he stays in A+, the more detrimental it is to his development, because he's getting confidence that he really shouldn't be getting. I had a little exchange with the always-excellent Sahadev Sharma, but find it laughable that he insinuates poor 1B and fielding conditions are to blame for his errors, when a) the other fielders around him don't have the same problem and b) poor 1B play would generally be an error on them. I can buy it a little, but I think some of that is just unnecessary fluff. Baez is a great prospect, and we don't need to gloss over his deficiencies for that to be true.

Baez was 0-3 with a walk and no strikeouts this game. John Andreoli had a pair of walks but never scored. Jorge Soler had a double and a single, scroing a run and striking out once. Oddly, he was the only play not to draw a walk in this game. Chadd Krist had a single and a solo shot, and drew a walk to boot. Zeke DeVoss had an RBI and a walk, but no hits. I'll have a piece on him later this week.

Ben Wells had another poor outing, though a Ben Carhart error (fielding, his 5th, undoubtedly poor turf 🙂 ) allowed 2 unearned runs to score. He only last 3.2 innings, allowing a pair of walks and quintet of hits. Sheldon McDonald was knocked around, recording an equal number of outs and baserunners, but allowed only one run. Larry Suarez finished with 1.2 uneventful frames. 

Fort Myers Miracle 5 @ Daytona Cubs 4

Javier Baez had a pair of walks in this game, which is good to see. Jorge Soler went 1-4 with 3 strikeouts, so he had a very Brett Jackson-like day. Zeke DeVoss had a two-run shot in the 7th to make a game of it, and had another walk and single as well. John Andreoli, the sort-of forgotten All-Star on this team, had double doubles and a single single, for an RBI and a run. Wes Darvill showed everyone what's up, and drew 3 walks and went 0-1. 

Matt Loosen has an excellent chance of being released after this class of draft picks signs. he went 4 innings and allowed a pair of runs, both on a 2-run HR. He struck out 6, walked 3, and gave up 4 hits. Austin Reed gave up a trio of runs in as many innings.

Cincinnati Reds 2 @ Chicago Cubs 1

I hate games like this. Even when we were up, I though we were going to lose. Sure enough, we did. Trade bait Nate Schierholtz continues to do good work, and Ryan Sweeney (who EVER thought he'd be our 4th hitter this year?) had a single as well. Darwin Barney had a single, and I just described everyone who reached base for the Cubs this game (Travis Wood's walk excepted). Everyone else sucked.

Travis Wood had a great game but lost anyway, because this is the Cubs. James Russell pitched a mediocre eighth (and has been worse than his 1.46 ERA would indicate), and Kevin Gregg had a decent ninth (and dropped his ERA to 0.96). I think there's every chance that he's a Detroit Tiger in the very near future, probably for a lottery ticket in the low minors. Fine with me. That trade makes a ton of sense to me; they need a closer in the worst way, but probably don't want to spend a lot for it, the two teams have had an open dialog in the recent past, and Gregg is eminently available and in need of being traded (both to open up space for Shawn Camp and to give Carlos Marmol another opportunity to close). It makes a ton of sense, so it probably won't happen.

DSL Nationals 2 @ DSL Cubs 12 (7 innings)

Adonis Paula was a double away from the cycle. 

VSL Rays 1 @ VSL Cubs 13

Cubs scored 9 times in the bottom of the 8th. 

VSL Cubs Bottom of the 8th
  • Pitching Change: Jesus Rodriguez replaces Johan Marval.
  • Miguel Rico walks.
  • With Eufran Vargas batting, wild pitch by Jesus Rodriguez, Miguel Rico to 2nd.
  • Eufran Vargas singles on a ground ball to left fielder Manuel Castillo. Miguel Rico to 3rd.
  • Leonardo Gonzalez singles on a line drive to center fielder Oscar Rojas. Miguel Rico scores. Eufran Vargas to 2nd.
  • Humberto Garcia singles on a line drive to center fielder Oscar Rojas. Eufran Vargas scores. Leonardo Gonzalez to 2nd.
  • Martin Hodwalker flies out to center fielder Oscar Rojas.
  • Arnaldo Calero singles on a ground ball to left fielder Manuel Castillo. Leonardo Gonzalez to 3rd. Humberto Garcia to 2nd.
  • Bryant Flete out on a sacrifice fly to left fielder Manuel Castillo. Leonardo Gonzalez scores.
  • Roney Alcala singles on a ground ball to left fielder Manuel Castillo. Humberto Garcia scores. Arnaldo Calero to 2nd.
  • With Delbis Arcila batting, wild pitch by Jesus Rodriguez, Arnaldo Calero to 3rd. Roney Alcala to 2nd.
  • With Delbis Arcila batting, wild pitch by Jesus Rodriguez, Arnaldo Calero scores. Roney Alcala to 3rd.
  • Delbis Arcila walks.
  • Miguel Rico walks. Delbis Arcila to 2nd.
  • Pitching Change: Frehumar Rivas replaces Jesus Rodriguez.
  • With Eufran Vargas batting, Roney Alcala scores on a balk. Delbis Arcila advances to 3rd on a balk. Miguel Rico advances to 2nd on a balk.
  • Eufran Vargas doubles (2) on a line drive to left fielder Manuel Castillo. Delbis Arcila scores. Miguel Rico scores.
  • Offensive Substitution: Pinch-hitter Roberto Vahlis replaces Leonardo Gonzalez.
  • Roberto Vahlis walks.
  • Humberto Garcia hit by pitch. Eufran Vargas to 3rd. Roberto Vahlis to 2nd.
  • Martin Hodwalker singles on a ground ball to second baseman Jhonnathan Teran. Eufran Vargas scores. Roberto Vahlis to 3rd. Humberto Garcia to 2nd.
  • Arnaldo Calero grounds into a force out, fielded by third baseman Jose Hernandez. Humberto Garcia out at 3rd.

 

Greyfer Eregua pitched 5 innings of 1-run ball, plunging his ERA to 0.93.

JOT Minor League Recap 5-16-13

Tucson Padres 0 @ Iowa Cubs 1

Matt Garza’s final rehab start was a fantastic one. He threw 6 innings and allowed 4 hits and a run. He didn’t walk anybody and struckout 8. The question now is who is he going to replace in the Cubs rotation?

Brooks Raley threw the final 3 innings and allowed 2 hits and a walk while striking out 3.

The I-Cubs only had 5 hits and nobody had more than 1. Brent Lillibridge, Brian Bogusevic and Josh Vitters were each 1-3. Dave Sappelt was 1-4 and Donnie Murphy was 1-2.

Tennessee Smokies @ Jackson Generals

Matt Loosen is not having a very good time this year. In 4 innings tonight, he gave up 3 hits and walked 6 batters. He struckout 5 and allowed a home run, but somehow gave up only 4 runs. I guess that’s impressive. He’s been terrible in his 5 appearances this year.

AJ Morris had a very good night in relief. He threw 3 innings and didn’t allow any walks or hits. He struckout 3. Marcus Hatley pitched the 8th and allowed a hit. Frank Del Valle got his 5th save and struck a batter out.

The Smokies had 8 hits on the night. Arismendy Alcantara was 2-4 with a double and a strikeout. Ty Wright hit his first 2 home runs of the season for the Smokies. Jonathon Mota was 2-4 and so was Rafael Lopez. Lopez doubled.

Charlotte Stone Crabs 12 @ Daytona Cubs 7

PJ Francescon had about as shitty a start as you can have. In 5 innings he allowed 9 hits and 5 walks. He gave up 2 home runs. he allowed 10 runs. He’s had starts this year in which he’s given up 6 runs, 7 runs and now 10 runs. He’s made just 8 starts. He’s been kind of good in the others, but that’s not at all impressive.

Lefty Jeff Lorrick pitched 1.2 innings, allowed a hit and a walk. He gave up an unearned run. David Cates threw 1.1 innings, allowed a hit, walk and a run. He struck a batter out. Hunter Cervenka allowed a hit in an inning pitched.

Tim Saunders filled in at SS for Javier Baez who got the day off. Don’t worry. The Cubs got the same kind of offensive production out of him that they’ve gotten from Baez, except for the power part. Saunders continued to have a shitty season and was 0-5. I’m sure the only reason he hasn’t been demoted to Kane County is because he’d be on the bench behind another struggling 2nd baseman in Gioskar Amaya.

John Andreoli was in CF for the struggling Zeke DeVoss. He went 1-4 with a walk. Jorge Soler was 1-5.

Dustin Geiger was 3-5 with a double and a home run. In Chadd Krist’s 2nd game at Daytona, he was 3-3 with 2 doubles and 5 RBI.

Peoria Chiefs 0 @ Kane County Cougars (Game 1)

Cougars pitchers allowed only a hit in Game 1 of the double-header (7 innings). Bryan Smith went 4 innings, walked 2 and struckout 2. Eddie Orozco threw 2 innings, allowed the only hit and struck a batter out. Jeffry Antigua struck a batter out over an inning of work.

Pin-Chieh Chen was 2-3 with a walk. Gioskar Amaya and Marco Hernandez finally had good games. Each had 3 hits. Dan Vogelbach was 1-4 with a double and 2 strikeouts.

Following Myles write-up on Cubs prospects on the rise, Rock Shoulder’s inclusion on the list was rewarded with an 0-4, 4 strikeout performance.

Peoria Chiefs @ Kane County Cougars (Game 2)

This game is currently through 5 innings and all I’ve got two things I’m going to say about this game. Marco Hernandez hit his first home run of the season. The Cougars have committed 5 errors. 3 of them have been by Jeimer Candelario (now 11 on the season). That’s all.

UPDATE: The game is over and who really gives a shit who won because the Cougars made 6 errors. SIX ERRORS!

VSL Tigers 15 @ VSL Cubs 10

The VSL Cubs took 11 walks in today’s game. RF Ricardo Marcano was 1-3 with 3 walks.

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 4-30-13

Round Rock Express 2 @ Iowa Cubs 7

Guillermo Monosco threw 5 innings, allowed 3 hits and a run on a walk, 6 strikeouts. The run he allowed was on a solo home run. Yoanner Negrin threw 2 innings, allowed 3 hits and a run. He struckout 3. Casey Coleman allowed a hit in an inning pitched and Rafael Dolis struckout 2 in an inning.

Logan Watkins took a walk in 4 plate appearances. He also struckout. Brett Jackson’s new swing struckout 3 times. Brent Lillibridge was 2-4 with a home run, his 2nd at Iowa. Brian Bogusevic just keeps hitting. He was 3-4 with 2 doubles and a triple. Brad Nelson was 2-2 with a home run and 2 walks.

That was Bogusevic’s 1st home run, which is kind of surprising when you consider the season he’s had at Iowa so far. In 24 games he’s hitting .420/.500/568. He has 7 doubles, a triple and that home run.

Palm Beach Cardinals 4 @ Daytona Cubs 11

Zach Cates threw 6 hitless innings last night. He pitched 6 innings, allowed 0 runs, walked 3 and struckout 7. On April 19th, Cates threw 0.2 innings, allowed 3 hits and 3 walks and 6 runs. Other than that awful outing, he’s pitched 22 innings, allowed 14 hits, 4 runs, 0 home runs, 8 walks and 22 strikeouts.

David Cales threw an inning, allowed 2 hits and a walk and struckout 1. Starling Peralta hadn’t appeared in a game since April 11th (only his 2nd start of the year) and came out of the bullpen last night. It didn’t go well. He allowed 2 hits and 2 walks in 1.2 innings. He gave up a home run and all 4 baserunners scored. Frank Del Valle finished the night and gave up a hit and a walk in 0.1 innings.

Tim Saunders was 1-3 with a walk, 2 strikeouts and an HBP. Zeke DeVoss batted 2nd last night for what I’m pretty sure was the first time. Guess what. He walked. He was also 2-3 with a double. Javier Baez was 1-5 with a double and 2 strikeouts. Guess what. Baez had an error. His 12th. He’s now on pace for roughly 67 errors this year.

Jorge Soler was 1-4 with a double. Ben Carhart was 2-4.

Kane County Cougars 13 @ Lake County Captains 9

Lendy Castillo makes me laugh. The Cubs picked this guy in the rule 5 draft last year. He was on the MLB team for part of the season. Usually with rule 5 picks, if they stick around, they’ll often get sent to AAA the following year. Maybe AA. Not Castillo. He didn’t even go to A+. He went to fucking A ball. Last night he sucked and in his 4 starts this year, only once has he allowed fewer than 5 runs. I’m guessing he’s sent to Boise when the short-season leagues begin. Maybe by that time they’ll send him to do DSL.

Justin Amlung threw 3 innings, allowed only one hit, a home run, walked 1 and struckout 2. Nathan Dorris threw 2innings, struckout 4 and allowed 2 hits.

RF Pin-Chieh Chen was 4-6 with a double. That improved his batting line to .242/.338/.303. Gioskar Amaya was 0-4 and it completed a terrible month for him. 24 strikeouts to 3 walks and a .560 OPS.

Dan Vogelbach was 4-6 with his 5th home run of the season. Vogelbach’s power didn’t come on right away, but it’s here. He’s hit 4 home runs in the last 10 games and has his slugging percentage up to .494.

Rock Shoulders was 2-5 and Willson Contreras was 2-4 with a walk and a home run. Yaniel Cabezas, a catcher, was 3-6. Cabezas is 24 years old.

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 4-23-13

Iowa Cubs 1 @ Memphis Redbirds 4

This will be short since the I-Cubs barely hit the ball last night.

Nick Struck went 6 innings, allowed 5 hits and 2 runs. He walked 2 and struckout none. Casey Coleman struckout the side in the 7th. Yoanner Negrin gave up 3 hits and 2 runs in an inning of work.

Logan Watkins was 1-2 with 2 more walks. Brad Nelson was 1-3 with a walk. Ryan Sweeney and Brian Bogusevic were each 1-4.

Montgomery Biscuits 4 @ Tennessee Smokies 3

Kyle Hendricks struckout 9 and walked only 1 over 7 innings. He gave up just 3 hits and a run. In his 3 previous starts this season he had struckout 6 and walked 6. The walks are a bit concerning for Hendricks, who was acquired along with Christian Villanueva for Ryan Dempster. At Daytona last year he walked just 18 batters in 147.2 innings. He’s not a strikeout pitcher, but with the kind of control he showed last year at Daytona, you don’t need to be.

Zach Rosscup struckout 3 and allowed a hit in his inning. Trey McNutt proved he was Cubs bullpen ready by giving up 3 hits and 2 walks in the 9th innings. He also gave up 3 runs.

Matt Szczur was 1-3 with a walk and Arismendy Alcantara was 0-3 with a walk. Jonathon Mota was 2-4 with a double and a home run.

Daytona Cubs 0 @ Dunedin Blue Jays 3

The Cubs had 0 runs on 4 hits so there won’t be much to talk about here either.

PJ Francescon allowed 5 hits and a run over 5 innings. He struckout 4 and walked 2. Yao-Lin Wang gave up 4 hits and a walk while surrendering 2 runs over 1.1 innings. Frank Del Valle struckout 4 and walked a batter in 1.2 innings of work.

In 8.2 innings pitched so far, Del Valle has an impressive 16 strikeouts. He’s also walked 7 batters so he’s been a little like Carlos Marmol. Neither his control or strikeout ability has been this high before. He’s generally thrown strikes and struckout a bit less than a batter an inning.

Ben Carhart was 2-3 with a double. John Andreoli was 1-3 and Matt Szczur was 1-4 with 2 strikeouts. Javier Baez was 0-3, but he did take a walk in his final at-bat. More of that, please.

Jorge Soler was 0-4. He’s returned to this place called Earth since returning from his suspension. He’s 1 for his last 13, but he’s still not striking out a lot. Has 9 strikeouts and 7 walks on the season.

Peoria Chiefs @ Kane County Cougars (Postponed)

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 4-22-13

Iowa Cubs 5 @ Memphis Redbirds 2

Brooks Raley gave up 5 hits and 2 runs in 5.1 innings. He walked 2 and struckout 3. Zach Putnam, Rafael Dolis and Blake Parker finished the game without allowing any runs. He did give up 3 hits and walked 3 while striking out 5.

1B Brad Nelson was 2-4 with a home run and a strikeout. I expected to be writing his name in these recaps frequently, but he's gotten off to a slow start. Nelson is the perfect example of a quad-A talent.

Brian Bogusevic was 2-4 with a double. Ian Stewart and Logan Watkins were both 1-3 with a double. Watkins also walked twice.

Montgomery Biscuits and Gravy 3 @ Tennessee Little Smokies 9

Eric Jokisch gave up 8 hits and 3 runs, only 1 of which was earned, in 6.1 innings. He struckout 3 and walked 2. He has an impressive 1.11 ERA over his first four starts and this last one was actually his worst. He's struckout 20 and walked 5 over 24.1 innings. He's allowed 19 hits.

Brian Schlitter threw the final 2.2 innings, didn't allow a hit or a run and struck a batter out.

Arismendy Alcantara was 2-4 with a home run. Everyone else in the lineup had one hit with the exception of Ronald Torreyes who went 0-3.

Matt Szczur and Christian Villanueva were each 1-4 with a double. Jae-Hoon Ha and Rafael Lopez were each 1-3 with a double and a walk.

Daytona Cubs 7 @ Dunedin Blue Jays 4

In Austin Kirk's 4th start of the season he threw 5 innings and allowed 4 hits and runs. He also gave up a home run. However, He struckout 8 and walked 2. It was his best strikeout to walk ratio of the season. In 18 innings he's struckout 16 and walked 10.

Zach Cates walked a batter in 1.1 innings. He didn't allow any hits or runs. Hunter Cervenka walked a batter and struckout 2 in 2.2 innings.

Javier Baez had a good day at the plate. He was 3-5 with a double and a strikeout. Over his last 10 he's started to hit, but still has not gotten on base nearly enough. His batting average is just over .300 and his OBP is .289. He's slugged over .550 so he's made up for it, but over that span he has 12 strikeouts and 0 walks. On the season he has 24 strikeouts and 2 walks and a .250ish OBP.

Zeke DeVoss was 0-3 with 2 walks. This guy can get on base. He's struggled a bit over the last 10. His batting average is barely over .200 and his slugging is under .300, but his OBP is over .425.

Dustin Geiger was 3-5 and Jorge Soler was 0-5. That's the first 0-fer I can remember for Soler.

Peoria Chiefs 9 @ Kane County Cougars 6

Michael Heesch is off to a pretty good start this season. He threw 6 innings, allowed 5 hits and 2 runs. He walked 2, struckout 5 and did allow a home run. In 3 starts this year, he's thrown 14 innings, allowed 11 hits and 5 earned runs. He has allowed 9 overall runs, a 5 walk and 12 strikeout rate isn't too bad. It's not great by any means, but it could be a lot worse. He's had 2 pretty good starts and a terrible start.

I've known 3 guys in my life named Brian Smith. I met one in high school, another while in Iowa City and the other one in Des Moines. There's a writer on Fangraphs named with the same name, though his name is spelled Bryan. There's also a Brian Smith with the Cougars and he sucked in his most recent outing. He allowed 3 hits, walked 2 and gave up 5 runs though only 1 was earned.

Smith is a left-handed reliever born on December 12, 1992. In 8 innings this year he's walked 7 and struckout 7.

Matt Iannazzo pitched 2.1 innings, gave up 5 hits and walked 3 and escaped while allowing only 2runs.

Dan Vogelbach was 2-4 with a home run and Marco Hernandez was also 2-4. His two hits were doubles. Pin-Chieh Chen was 2-4 with a walk and Gioskar Amaya was 2-5. Jeimer Candelario had 2 walks and a hit in 5 plate appearances.

JOT: Cubs Minor League Recap 4-21-13

Iowa Cubs 0 @ Memphis Redbirds 1

It’s not easy writing about the Iowa Cubs. They are easily the least interesting team in the Cubs organization. Hell, the team in Chicago is even more interesting. We get paid the big bucks to do it so here we go.

It was Hide Your Children Day in Memphis as Brent Lillibridge made his 2nd straight start. He was 1-4. The Cubs had only 6 hits and no runs so the children didn’t miss much. Brian Bogusevic and JC Bocsan had the best days for the Cubs as each were 1-3 with a walk and a strikeout. Impressive.

Brett Jackson’s new swing was a late-inning replacement, but never batted. Logan Watkins didn’t start, but got 2 at-bats and struckout once.

Drew Carpenter allowed 2 hits in 5.2 innings, but walked 5 and struckout 6. He didn’t allow any runs. Hisanori Takahashi pitched 1.1 innings and struck a batter out. Yoanner Negrin pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowed 2 hits and the only run of the game.

Montgomery Biscuits and Gravy 9 @ Tennessee Little Smokies 6

Alberto Cabrera struckout only 1 and walked 4 over 5.1 innings. He also allowed a home run, a total of 5 hits and 4 runs. Marcus Hatley threw 1.2 innings, allowed a hit and struck a batter out. Kevin Rhoderick gave up 4 hits and 2 runs in an inning. He struckout 1. Trey McNutt threw 2 perfect innings and struckout 1. Tony Zych got the loss in the 11th inning as he gave up 3 hits, a walk and one run.

Matt Szczur was 1-4 with 2 walks and a strikeout. Rubi Silva was 2-5 with a double and Johermyn Chavez was 1-4 with a double and a walk. Anthony Giansanti was 2-2 with a double and a walk.

Ronald Torreyes was 0-1. I’ll have more on him later today.

Daytona Cubs 1 @ Dunedin Blue Jays 9

The Cubs pitchers sucked (one of them didn’t). The offense had only 2 hits. Fun game.

Ryan Searle gave up 6 hits and 5 runs over 4 innings. He surrendered 2 home runs, walked 2 and struckout 4. Austin Reed struckout 2 and walked no one in his 2 innings of work. Sounds great. Nope. He gave up 6 hits and 4 runs.

David Cales allowed just one hit in 2 innings, no runs, no walks and struckout 3.

Tim Saunders and Jorge Soler were each 1-4. Zeke DeVoss, John Androli and Micah Gibbs each walked. Nobody else did anything. Javier Baez didn’t start, but got 2 plate appearances later in the game. He was 0-2 with 2 strikeouts.

Peoria Chiefs 6 @ Kane County Cougars 7

Tyrell Jenkins struckout 7 and walked 0. That’s about as good as you can ask for when. A lot of balls did fall in for hits (7) and due to the number of batters faced he pitched only 4 innings. Corey Baker gave up 5 hits and 4 runs in 2 innings of work. Jhonny Polanco didn’t give up any hits or walks in 2 innings and struckout 2.

Pin-Chieh Chen was 2-4 with a double. Marco Hernandez was 1-4 with 2 strikeouts. Dan Vogelbach was 0-3 with the team’s only walk.

Jeimer Candelario and Oliver Zapata were 1-4. Rock Shoulders and Chadd Krist were each 2-4. CF Trey Martin was 3-4.

JoT: Cubs Minor League Recap 4-14-13

Alburquerque Isotops 1 @ Iowa Cubs 4

Chris Rusin made his 3rd start of the season for the I-Cubs on Sunday. He had his best start of the year. He had allowed 7 runs (6 earned) over his previous 11 innings of work while striking out only 6 and walking 6. On Sunday he threw 7 innings, allowed just 4 hits and a run while striking out 4 and walking no one.

Zach Putnam got the 2-inning save and didn't surrender any hits or runs. He walked 1 while striking out 3.

The Cubs had just 6 hits and Brian Bogusevic was the only Cub with more than one. He was 2-4 with a run scored. Brett Jackson got the day off and Bogusevic started in CF and led off. Darwin Barney filled in for Logan Watkins. Barney was 0-1 with a strikeout and 3 walks.

Ian Stewart began his rehab at Iowa and was 0-3 with a walk and 2 strikeouts.

Brad Nelson, Darnell McDonald and Luis Flores were each 1-4. Chris Rusin added a hit in 3 plate appearances.

Chattanooga Lookouts 3 @ Tennessee Smokies 7

Dae-Eun Rhee is off to an interesting start. He walked 3 and struckout only 1 in his first start last week, but allowed just 2 hits and a run in 4.1 innings. On Sunday he threw 6 innings, allowed just a single hit and no runs or walks while striking out 3. He's allowed just 3 hits in 10.1 innings, but has gotten a little lucky as far as BABIP goes. Better to be lucky than unlucky.

Rhee was once a prospect who had a high ceiling, but was derailed with injuries very early in his career. He either never fully recovered or simply didn't have the stuff to make it as a lot of people though.

Zach Rosscup strukcout 3 and walked 0 in an inning of work. He did allow 2 hits and a run though. Kevin Rhoderick allocked 2 hits and 2 runs while walking 1 and striking out 1 in an inning of work. Brian Schlitter struck out a batter and allowed a hit in his inning.

Jae-Hoon Ha was 3-3 with a double and a walk. LF Rubi Silva and 2B Ronald Torreyes also had multi-hit games. Torreyes was 2-3 with a walk and Silva was 2-4 with a strikeout.

ronald-torreyesTorreyes came of the DL on Friday and has 4 hits and 3 walks in 9 plate appearances. He was the best player the Cubs got in return from the Reds for Sean Marshall after the 2011 season (they also got Travis Wood). The guy can hit, but got off to a slow start in High A last season. He did turn it around late in the season and ended up with a respectable line.

He's just 20 years old and already in AA so he's very young for the level. He might be the youngest position player in the Southern League. Among players with 17 at-bats (qualifed hitters), Arismendy Alcantara is the 2nd youngest player and Torreyes is younger than him, as well as the player above Alcantara.

I'll have a prospect profile for Torreyes next week. I think Myles may have overlooked Torreyes in his prospect rankings.

Alcantara and Matt Szczur were each 1-4. Alcantara struckout once and Szczur struckout twice. Szczur stole his 5th base of the season. Jonathon Mota was 2-4.

Daytona Cubs 3 @ Tampa Yankees 1

Zach Cates walked 3 and struckout 4 in 6 innings of work. He allowed 4 hits and a run. Austin Reed pitched the next 2 innings and allowed 3 hits, no runs, no walks and struckout 2. Peacekeeper Frank Del Valle got his 2nd save and struckout the side in the 9th.

Stephen Bruno, Dustin Geiger and Micah Gibbs were each 2-4. One of the hits for Gibbs was a double. The only other hits in the Cubs lineup belonged to Ben Carhart (1-4) and Javier Baez (1-4). Each player doubled.

Kane County Cougars @ Wisconsin Timber Rattlers double header postponed