Tag: jesus castillo

Journeymen of tomorrow: Cubs minor league recap (6.14.16)

Iowa Cubs @ Colorodo Springs Sky Sox (Postponed)

Chattanooga Lookouts 4 @ Tennessee Smokies 2

Jacob Hannemann was 2-4 with a double, home run and he drove in both of the Smokies runs. Ben Carhart and Daniel Lockhart were each 1-4 while Bijan Radenmacher was 1-3 with a double, walk and run scored.

Billy McKinney was 0-2 with 2 walks. McKinney has not gotten off to the kind of start he’d hoped for. Prior to the game he was batting .257/.351/.325 with a .324 wOBA and a wRC+ of 99. When you account for the fact that McKinney is only 21 years old and he’s been a league average hitter at a premium position, you’ve got to be happy with the results. Somewhat happy anyway. The only reason I’m a little less than ecstatic is that in 308 PA last season at AA, he was better. He had a lower walk rate, but he struckout less, hit for more power and had a wRC+ of 116, which for a 20-year old CF is outstanding. Combining the two halves, you’ve got a full season under his belt at AAA and he’s been roughly a 108-110 wRC+ hitter.

If we were looking it at that as one unit, I think we’d all be pretty happy. I know I would be. It seems clear ot me one of the things the Cubs wanted McKinney to work on in AA was working deeper counts, which is why we see an increased walk rate and an increased strikeout rate. I think this will eventually work itself out in a way that we’ll see him drive the ball like he did last year and he’ll be the better player for it. If he can get hot for a few weeks, I think the Cubs will promote him to AAA.

Tyler Skulina got the start and fell to 3-4 with 6 innings of work. He gave up 7 hits (2 home runs) and 3 runs. He walked 2 and struckout 6. David Garner pitched 2 innings, allowed a run on a hit, 2 walks and a strikeout. James Farris pitched a 1-2-3 9th inning.

Frederick Keys 7 @ Myrtle Beach Pelicans 3

Gioskar Amaya hit another home run. He was 1-2 with a home run and 2 walks. He’s hit 5 home runs and 3 of them have been in recent days. Yasiel Balaguert and Jason Vosler were each 1-3. Balaguert also added a walk while Vosler scored a run and struckout.

Charcer Burks was 2-4 as the team’s 8th hitter (DH) with a home run and a strikeout. Andrew Ely (2B) was 2-4 as the 9th hitter. He also struckout. Gleyber Torres got off to a terrible start, turned things around a bit and is now slumping again. Despite that, he had a 118 wRC+ prior to yesterday’s game. He’s doing just fine if you ask me. Especially for someone his age at his position. With the increased power this year, I couldn’t be happier to see what he’s doing this year.

Erick Leal fell to 8-3. He pitched 3.2 innings, allowed 6 hits and 6 runs. He walked 2, struckout 3 and allowed a home run. Only 3 of the runs were earned. James Pugliese pitched 4 hitless innings. He did walk a batter and struckout 2. Tommy Thorpe pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowed 2 hits and a run.

The Cubs acquired Erick Leal in 2013 when the team traded Tony Campana to the Diamondbacks for Jesus Castillo and Leal. Both of the pitchers were 17 years old at the time of the trade and was a pretty good return for someone who had been designated for assignment. Below is the scouting report from Baseball America back when the Cubs traded for him.

The Diamondbacks signed a 16-year-old Leal from trainer Robert Valera for $75,000 after the 2011 season, and he made his debut last year in the DSL. When Leal signed, he stood out for his size, delivery, ability to throw strikes and spin a breaking ball. He progressed quickly and in some ways became a different pitcher than scouts had expected. He threw from almost straight over the top when he signed, but he’s since dropped down to a lower slot and gotten more life on his fastball, which was 85-88 mph when he signed but now sits around 88-89. Leal’s best pitch is his mid-to-high 70s breaking ball, an advanced pitch for his age with a chance to be plus. He didn’t have a changeup when he signed, but he’s developed feel for that pitch as well, giving him the potential for three average or better pitches if his velocity continues to climb. He pitches inside, moves the ball around the zone and throws plenty of strikes, and he walked just 1.4 batters per nine innings last year. He did start to gain weight a little too quickly at one point, so he will have to stay on top of his conditioning.

I’ve read that he’s since got his fastball up to 91-92 mph last year at South Bend. Leal went from strking out a lot of batters in 2012 and even 2013 when he came to the Cubs to under 5 the following year with the Cubs. It’s probably much more to do with the increased talent he was facing, but it fits in with the Cubs overall emphasis on low strikeout pitchers. He did strikeout 6.02 last year and had an excellent walk rate. His strikeout rate this year is again under 5, but his walk rate is under 2.

South Bend Cubs 6 @ Dayton Dragons 1

P.J. Higgins was 2-4 with an RBI and run scored. Ian Rice had one of the two big offensive performances from the Cubs last night. He was 3-5 with a home run, RBI and run scored. Eddy Martinez was 4-4 with an RBI and run scored. Josh Silver was 2-4. Eloy Jimenez was 1-4 with a double and run scored while Jesse Hodges was also 1-4. Hodges struckout once and scored a run.

Kyle Miller threw 6 innings, allowed 4 hits and only an unearned run. He walked a batter and struckout 3. Kyle Twomey got the 3-inning save. He allowed 3 hits, no runs, walked nobody and struckout 6.

DSL Indians 2 @ DSL Cubs1 9

The Cubs1 team improved to 3-5 behind a great offensive night and some strong starting pitching from Jesus Tejada. Here are the highlights in bullets.

DSL Cubs2 2 @ DSL Orioles2 3

The Cubs2 fell to 4-4. Abraham Rodriguez was 3-4 with an RBI. Miguel Amaya and Aramis Ademan each had a hit. Ademan doubled and struckout twice while scoring a run. Amaya scored a run and walked. That’s all the offense in this one.

Alfredo Colorado threw 5 innings, allowed 2 hits and 2 unearned runs. He didn’t walk anybody and he struckout 4.

Fauris Geurrero picked up the loss with 3 decent relief innings. He pitched 3.2 innings, allowed 3 hits and a run. He walked 2 and struckout 3.

Cubs trade Tony Campana to Arizona

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Cincinnati Reds v Chicago CubsThe Cubs and Diamondbacks completed a trade that sends recently DFA'd Tony Campana to Arizona while the Cubs acquire two 17-year old pitching prospects.

The Cubs dealt popular speedster Tony Campana to the Diamondbacks for a pair of 17-year-old Venezuelan right-handed pitchers: Erick Leal and Jesus Castillo.

Campana, 26, led the Cubs with 30 stolen bases last season, but he didn't get on base consistently enough to utilize his speed. He was designated for assignment on Feb. 10. In 89 games last season, Campana batted .264 with a .308 on-base percentage.

"It's difficult to lose Tony from the organization," Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer said. "Great person, he's a fantastic base stealer and a guy we really enjoyed getting to know. But ultimately you can only protect 40 guys on the roster, and he got caught up in the roster crunch. We have a little bit of depth in the outfield and less depth in pitching, and given that, it led us to designate Tony for assignment."

Leal could play in the U.S. this year, but Castillo will likely stay in the Dominican Republic and play in the Dominican Summer League. Leal was 6-2 with a 2.44 ERA in 14 appearances for the DSL last season, striking out 70 over 70 innings. Castillo was 2-4 with a 5.40 ERA in 14 appearances in the DSL.

Impossible to know much about these guys based on their numbers at that age, but the fact the Cubs got something younger than 24 or 25 is kind of impressive.

From Ben Badler and John Manuel of Baseball America:

Castillo was Arizona's most expensive international amateur signing in 2011, when he signed for $250,000 from Oswaldo Camacho's program on Aug. 27, his 16th birthday. With his August birthday, he was one of the youngest signings in 2011 and pitched the entire Dominican Summer League season at age 16. Castillo is from Valencia but has also lived in Spain. He used to play soccer as well and his athleticism is evident in his smooth delivery, which he repeats well for his age. He has a long, loose arm stroke, a long stride and gets good extension out front. He signed throwing in the mid-80s with a lanky build, but he now touches the low-90s and has a good changeup for his age, although his breaking ball is still a work in progress. Castillo did post a 5.40 ERA last year, but if he were born a week later, he wouldn't have even been eligible to sign until July 2, 2012, so he's an intriguing arm for the Cubs to take a flier on.