Minor League Report for 6/30

Iowa 4 New Orleans 3 - Angel Pagan and Felix Pie scored 2 runs each at the top of the order and Michael Restovich went 2-4 and drove in 3 of the 4 I-Cubs runs. Randy Wells (1-1), who had been spectacular at West Tennessee (4-2 1.59 ERA), before getting called up and pounded in his first start, took the win. Wells went 6 shutout innings, giving up 5 hits, 2 walks, and striking out 5.

Hunstville 13 West Tennessee 2 - Huntsville hammered Diamond Jaxx' pitching for 13 hits, 13 runs, 8 walks, and thd D-Jaxx offense could only manage 2 runs, 5 hits, and no walks. Jake Fox was one of 5 players with a single hit, going 1-3 with a double, scoring a run, and adding a RBI.

Daytona 5 Vero Beach 4 - Jemel Spearman went 3-5 with a double and 3 RBIs, while Carlos Perez (1-4) went 5.2 IP, giving up 6 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and striking out 5. Andrew Lane was the only other D-Cub with a multi-hit game going 2-4 and scoring 2 runs.

Burlington 6 Peoria 5 - Ryan Norwood continues to hit, going 2-4 with a double, while Ryne Malone went 2-4 with a double and 3 RBIs. Prospect, Mark Reed, went 0-3 dropping his average to .320 on the year. Mitch Atkins (6-2) pitched 5.1 IP, giving up 9 hits, 6 runs, only 2 earned, 3 walks, and struck out just 1.

Tri-City 1 Boise 0 - 2006 draftee, Bill Muldowney went 4 shutout innings, striking out 4, while Mark Pawalek (0-3) relieved and took the loss going 2.2 IP, giving up 3 hits, 1 ER, 2 walks, and struck out 3. Boise managed only 2 hits, but 1 came from 2006 first rounder, Tyler Colvin, who DH'd and went 1-4. Alfred Joseph had the other hit going 1-2 with a walk.

Notes: Yesterday, Kyle Johansen from over at KeepHopesAlive and myself had an impromptu Q & A session on a few prospects in the Cubs organization, touching on Eric Patterson, Ryan Norwood, and Ronny Cedeno.

Minor League Report for 6/29

Iowa 2 New Orleans 1 - Glendon Rusch made the start for Iowa going 4 innings giving up 1 ER, and recently demoted David Aardsma (2-1) picked up the win going 2 perfect innings while striking out 3. Felix Pie continued his struggles going 0-4 with 2 strikeouts and is now hitting .250. The offense was provided by Buck Coats who entered the game as a pinch hitter going 1-2 with a RBI. Angel Pagan also made another rehab outing and went 1-4 with a double.

Tennessee 6 West Tennessee 2 - Sean Gallagher lost his first game of the season, going 5.2 innings giving up 9 hits, 3 ER, 3 walks, and striking out 4. Chris Walker went 2-4 with a run and Carlos Rojas went 2-3 to lead the way offensively for the Diamond Jaxx.

Daytona 1 Vero Beach 0 - Joe Simokaitis walked 3 times including once in the 8th, stole a base and was subsequently driven in on the only hit of the game for Daytona, a single by Jemel Spearman. That run was all the D-Cubs needed, as Donnie Veal started the game by going 6 shutout innings and was followed by 4 other relievers who finished off the shutout. One of the relievers was Grant Johnson, who recently was taken off the DL. Johnson went a shaky 2/3 of an inning giving up 2 hits and a walk but no runs.

Wisconsin 5 Peoria 1 - Ryan Norwood went 2-4 raising his average to .323 on the year and Kyle Reynolds drove in the only run of the game for the Chiefs going 1-4. Jesus Yepez (3-4) took the loss despite a quality start of 6 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, and 7 Ks.

Salem-Keizer 8 Boise 4 - Russ Canzler continued his display of power hitting his 4th HR of the year while Alfred Joseph added a HR as the two went back-to-back in the 8th inning, but it wasn't enough for the Hawks. NC State alum, Matt Camp went 2-5 with a triple and a RBI in the leadoff spot to raise his average back up to .214. Russ Canzler now leads the Northwest League in homeruns with 4 in 9 games.

Minor League Report for 6/28

New Orleans 8 Iowa 1 - Ryan O'Malley (4-4) only managed 4.2 innings and gave up 6 ERs, while the Iowa offense could only manage 1 run and 6 hits. Mike Fontenot did manage to go 2-4 and drove in Iowa's only run of the game, while Felix Pie went 0-4 dropping his average back to .253.

Tennessee 4 West Tennessee 2 - Juan Mateo (4-4) went just 5 innings in the opener of the a doubleheader, but couldn't control the Tennessee offense giving up 7 hits and 4 earned runs. Chris Walker went 2-3 with a double in the leadoff spot, while Jake Fox went 1-3.

Tennessee 1 West Tennessee 0 - Tennessee took the sweep, although Chris Shaver (4-5), pitched well enough to win going 5 innings giving up 1 run, 6 hits, no walks, and striking out 6. The offense only managed 4 hits, and Nic Jackson had the only extra base hit, a double.

Daytona 6 Palm Beach 3 - Matt Craig went 2-3 with a double and drove in 4 runs to push Matt Holliman to the win. Holliman (6-4) went 6 innings, giving up 3 hits, 1 ER, 1 walk, and striking out 7. Ryan Harvey continued his struggles going 0-4 with 3 strikeouts.

Peoria 6 Wisconsin 4 - Kyle Reynolds hit his 5th HR of the year going 2-5 in the game, while Ryan Norwood went 2-5, and pinch hitter, Ryne Malone came in the game and went 2-2. Wade Miller made his 2nd rehab start going 4 innings, giving up 4 hits, 1 ER, no walks, and striking out 2. Ultimately, Scott Koerber (4-1) picked up the win, while Matt Avery picked up his 5th save of the year.

Salem-Keizer 6 Boise 1 - Cubs 5th round pick, Jeff Samardzija (0-1) made his professional debut for Boise, going 2 innings, giving up 3 hits, 2 ER, 0 walks, and striking out 1. Offensively, Boise only managed 3 hits from Alfred Joseph, Matt Matulia, Deryck Lewis (triple).

Notes: Cubs first rounder, Tyler Colvin, has signed with the Cubs and will report to Boise.

What to do with Rich Hill?

Rich Hill has been the Cubs own version of Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde so far this season.

At Iowa, Hill has posted ridiculously good numbers going 5-1 with a 1.91 ERA and a WHIP less than 1.

In Chicago, Hill has been horrendous, going 0-4 with a ERA of 9.31 with a WHIP of 2. Most surprising is the K/BB rate which at Iowa is nearly 7/1 while at Chicago is below 1.

So, the question remains, what do the Cubs do with Rich Hill? Where does his future hold? Do the Cubs attempt to deal him? Do they move him to the bullpen?

1. Call Hill up and allow him to start. Although Hill has yet to succeed as a starter for the Cubs, he has nothing left to prove at Iowa. Inserting him into the bullpen lowers his value immediately, and indicates to the rest of MLB a lack of faith in Hill's stuff.

2. Call Hill up and send him to the pen. Once again Hill, has nothing to prove at Iowa, but his value is in the bullpen. Hill doesn't have the 3rd pitch to be successful at the major league level. Hill does have a curveball that is well above average when he gets it over the plate, and should be able to get left-handed batters out.

3. Trade him. His value could be as high as it is going to get now, although it was higher before the start of the season. Rich Hill could be a piece used in the July and August trade months to finish off a deal. GMs often take the approach that "we can fix him", so use Hill has trade bait.

4. Let him lead Iowa to a PCL crown. Who are we kidding, Hill is simply a AAAA player, too good for AAA, but too mediocre to make it in the majors. Rich Hill still needs to develop a 3rd pitch, but 26 is simply too old to do it, and his prospect days are gone, so no one will want him.

Your Turn: Which is it? Where do the Cubs go from here? Is Hill a cornerstone of the franchise or just another blip on the radar?

Minor League Report for 6/27

Iowa 2 New Orleans 0 - Rich Hill (5-1) continued his masterful pitching in AAA, by going 7 IP, giving up only 1 hit, walking 2, and striking out 9. Hill dropped his ERA to just 1.91, and his numbers are just ridiculous at this point with a WHIP of .83 and a 6.79/1 K/BB ratio. Buck Coats provided enough run support for Hill by hitting his 4th HR of the year in the 3rd inning.

Peoria 3 Wisconsin 1 - Todd Blackford (7-2) went 7 shutout innings, giving up just 3 hits to take the win for the Peoria Chiefs, while Matt Avery picked up his 4th save of the year with a perfect 9th inning. Ryan Norwood went 3-4 at the plate with a double, while Jesus Valdez went 2-3. Prospect, Mark Reed went 1-4 with a walk and a RBI at the plate hitting in the 3rd spot in the lineup, and is now hitting 328/377/406 on the year.

Boise 5 Salem-Keizer 0 - A lineup change was made, and Russ Canzler added a timely 3 run HR in the first, his 3rd of the year. Ben Petrick (1-0) pitched 6 shutout innings, giving up 2 hits, no walks, and striking out 5, while Jeremy Papelbon pitched 3 shutout innings, giving up just 1 hit, no walks and striking out 2 to earn his 1st save of the year.

Notes: Baseball America posted their Prospect Hot Sheet and 2 Cubs were featured. A good bit of information is given on Randy Wells, and specifically his lack of appearance on the Hot Sheet, while Rich Hill was given the 6th spot on the list.

5 Cubs' Minor Leaguers that could get the Call

With the Cubs fire sale likely, some of the Cubs' youth will get a chance, so here is a list of 5 players who could possibly get the call for their first big league action.

1. Felix Pie - Despite Pie's lack of success at Iowa, the likely departure of Juan Pierre and the lack of depth in the outfield will lead to Pie getting the call. It is unrealistic to expect Pie to stick and open next year as the Cubs starting center fielder, but Pie has always been prone to excel when he has been forced to focus, as opposed to relying on his athletic ability.
2. Eric Patterson - The Cubs currently have 20 different second basemen on their roster, but none of them will stick. Expect Todd Walker to be moved, and even though Baker cronies, Neifi Perez and Tony Womack will still be on the roster, Patterson's play will force Jim Hendry's hand.
3. Buck Coats - The versatile infielder/outfielder may get the call if someone like John Mabry or Phil Nevin gets acquired. Coats can play 5 or 6 different positions, hits from the left side, and has pretty good speed.
4. Chris Shaver - The tall lefty could be the next AA pitcher called up to fill in if Scott Eyre or Will Ohman is acquired. Shaver is out of my area, pitching for Duke in college, and has nice success for the Diamond Jaxx. Shaver is 4-4 on the season and has an ERA of 2.37
5. Nic Jackson - A darkhorse for a callup, Jackson was on the fast track for a callup 3 or 4 years ago now before being sidelined by an injury. Jackson could help with outfield depth as well, and is currently hitting 314/382/476 for the Diamond Jaxx.

Notes: Personally, I don't believe either Jake Fox or Sean Gallagher will see Chicago this year, although if both continue to dominate AA, I certainly wouldn't be surprised to see either. Keep in mind the players above are the ones that could be affected positively due to the inevitable fire sale that the Cubs are approaching.

Weekend Thoughts

This weekend I fortunately missed most of the Cubs play, spending my time with extended family and playing some golf. While the big club stunk like a rotten egg, there were a few things of note in the minors that are worth mentioning. You know what that means, get ready to dodge, here come the bullets:

• Felix Pie has raised his average a few points by going 4-13 over the weekend. One of the most disappointing stats for the speedy Pie is his 4-12 stolen base success on the season.
  
• Mark Pawalek made his 2nd start of the season going a less than stellar 4 innings giving up 3 ER, 6 hits, 1 walk, and only striking out one.
• Yesterday, JR Mathes pitched a complete game shutout for the Diamond Jaxx giving up just 4 hits, no walks, and striking out 4. The win moved Mathes to 7-4 on the year and dropped his ERA to 2.97.
• Since being named to the Futures Game, Eric Patterson has raised his average from the low 280s to now .296.
  
• Two players, Jake Fox and Sean Gallagher, are making the transition to AA West Tennessee nicely. Fox is now hitting 333/375/667 in 5 games with 2 doubles and a HR. On Friday, Gallagher moved to 2-0 since being called up by going 6 innings, giving up 4 hits, 1 ER, 6 walks, and striking out 6. Gallagher is 6-0 combined on the season with a combined ERA of 2.32.

Notes: Over at Bleed Cubbie Blue, someone posted their notes from a visit to see the West Tennessee Diamond Jaxx play, it is worth a look; Over at MinorLeagueBall.com, John Sickels is reviewing his preseason top 20s and just recently reviewed the Cubs system.

Minor League Report for 6/23

Iowa 8 Omaha 5 - Felix Pie had a bases clearing triple, going 1-5 with the triple and 3 RBIs, while Luis Montanez added his 3rd HR of the year in the 1st inning with a 2 run homerun. Seven of the eight Cubs' runs were driven in by the first 3 batters in the order, with Ryan Theriot adding 2 RBIs as well on a triple, and going 2-4. Ryan O'Malley (4-3) went 5.2 innings giving up 3 ER for the win, while Scott Williamson went 2 IP on a rehab assignment for the save. Expect Williamson to be placed on the big league roster soon.

West Tennessee 3 Mississippi 2 - Fresh off the news of making the Futures Game, Eric Patterson went 3-4 with a triple, a HR, and 2 RBIs. Patterson's line is respectable so far this season at 284/346/444, although not quite as impressive as last year. Patterson was caught stealing which drops him to 21/27 on stolen bases this season. Chris Shaver went 6 IP giving up 0 ER while walking 4 and striking out 5.

Daytona 4 Vero Beach 1 - Matt Holliman (5-4) went 7.1 IP giving up no runs, just 2 hits, and 3 walks, while striking out 4. Holliman has been quite impressive this season, pitching 81.1 IP and giving up just 54 hits. Ryan Harvey went 1-3 with a double, an RBI, and also a walk. Jake Muyco, fresh from his callup from Peoria went 2-3 for the D-Cubs.

Quad Cities 4 Peoria 0 - The Peoria Chiefs managed just 4 hits with one from Mark Reed and Davy Gregg, and 2 from Raul Valdez. Wade Miller pitched 3 innings on a rehab start and gave up no runs.

Eugene 7 Boise 3 - For the 3rd straight game, Eugene beat Boise in the Northwest League. Boise managed only 5 hits, with Deryck Lewis leading the way going 2-4 with a walk and 2 RBIs. The one bright spot may have been the relief appearance of Jeremy Papelbon, going 2 shutout innings.

Notes: Typically, I won't do game notes on Rookie League games, but if I see something relevant, I'll report it in the Notes section here. Yesterday, Angel Pagan did begin his rehab by leading off for the Cubs Arizona League team, by going 0-3 with a walk. Also, The Cub Reporter has a nice recap of the Arizona Cubs' game yesterday.

Minor League Report for 6/22

Iowa 1 Omaha 0 - Rich Hill (4-1) pitched 7 shutout innings, giving up 4 hits, zero walks, and struck out 10, while Mike Wuertz pitched the final 2 innings picking up his 5th save of the year. The only run of the game came thanks to a Ryan Theriot walk, stolen base and a Michael Restovich hit to drive in Theriot. Felix Pie and Casey McGehee each added 2 hits.

West Tennessee 4 Mississippi 3 - Miguel Negron continues to hit since being picked up off of waivers, going 3-4 with a double, raising his average to .398. Jake Fox went 1-4 in his 2nd AA game with a double, while Chris Walker going 2-5 with a double, as well. Juan Mateo was one out short of claiming the win, going 4.2 innings, giving up 6 hits, 3 ER, and striking out 6.

Palm Beach 10 Daytona 3 - Palm Beach scored 4 runs in the 5th and 8th innings, both times off of Mike Billek who was recently promoted from Peoria. Jeff Culpepper was the only D-Cub with a multi-hit game, going 2-4 with a triple. Ryan Harvey went 0-4 dropping his average to .208 on the season.

Eugene 8 Boise 4 - Ben Petrick went 3.2 shutout innings striking out 5, and 2006 draftee, Bill Muldowney, pitched 2.1 innings for his first professional appearance giving up no runs and striking out 3. The bullpen couldn't keep up the effort though, and gave up 8 runs in the final 4 innings, with Jerry Blevins (0-1) taking the loss. At the plate, Sammy Baez went 2-4 while Matthew Canepa went 2-2 with a walk. Russ Canzler, who started off with HRs in his first 2 games, went 1-5 with a single, but struck out 4 times.

Futures Game Rosters Announced

Major League Baseball has released the rosters for the Futures Game. Eric Patterson (AA) will represent the Cubs on the US team, while Jae Kuk Ryu (AAA) will represent the Cubs for the World Team. This game seems to have lost some luster that it had early on, but this is a good opportunity for Ryu and Patterson to face some good competition, and ultimately either improve their play or their trade value.

Minor League Report for 6/20

West Tennessee 5 Mississippi 1 - In his first AA game, Jake Fox went 2-3 with his 17th HR of the year. Chris Walker joined Fox with a multi-hit effort going 2-2 with a walk, and RBI, and a run scored. JR Mathes (6-4) took the win for the D-Jaxx going 6 innings, giving up just 1 ER, and scattering 8 hits.

Mississippi 2 West Tennessee 1 - Playing two games wasn't enough, the players decided to go 11 innings before Mississippi scored a run in the top of the 11th to win the 2nd game of the doubleheader. Scott Moore went 3-4 for the D-Jaxx with his 12th HR of the year and also stole his 9th base of the year, as well. Bobby Brownlie started and pitched 5 shutout innings, lowering his ERA to 3.93.

Palm Beach 5 Daytona 4 - Palm Beach won by hitting a HR off of Tim Layden in the bottom of the 10th. Ryan Harvey hit his 7th HR of the year, and went 1-4 at the plate. Jake Muyco and Jonathan Mota, both made their Daytona debuts after being called up from Peoria.

Eugene 10 Boise 4 - For the 2nd straight game, Boise gave up double digit runs, and took the loss. Darin Downs (0-1) went 4 innings and gave up 6 ER, 6 hits, 1 walk, and struck out 3. For the 2nd straight game, Russ Canzler hit a HR, going 2-4 from the plate. Alfred Joseph also notched a 2 hit effort going 2-4 with a double.

Notes: Not sure what I was reading yesterday, but 4 Chiefs were represented in the Midwest League All-Star game, and they were actually, Mitch Atkins (1 IP, 1 K), Ed Campusano (.1 IP), Matt Avery (.1 IP), and Ryan Norwood (0-2).

Some Afternoon Notes

A few things caught my eyes that deserved some... you guessed it... (ellipses?), bullet points:

• Four Peoria Chiefs will be promoted after the Midwest League All-Star break. Donnie Veal, Jake Muyco, Jonathan Mota, and Ed Campusano all will promoted to Daytona.
  
• Jeff Samardzija has been given quite a bit of ink, here is some more from Baseball America in their latest Daily Dish. According to these articles, Cubs' scouts clocked Samardzija at 99 in the Big East tournament and also noted an improved slider that they attributed to his selection.
• Jake Fox makes his AA debut today for West Tennessee where the D-Jaxx are playing a double header.
  
• Keeping on the debut topic, Darin Downs of often injured fame, will be starting for the Boise Hawks today.
  
• Russell Canzler, who went 3-3 with a HR, played his first game above Rookie ball yesterday. Canzler was selected in the 30th round as a high schooler in the 2004 draft.
  

I'll leave one left in the chamber for now, as it seems like enough bullets for now. As always, if I miss anything, add a comment below.

Minor League Report for 6/19

Albuquerque 3 Iowa 0 - In early day game, the I-Cubs would have been better off staying in bed as they were shutout by former Cub minor leaguer, Renyel Pinto. Jae Kuk Ryu (2-6) took the loss giving up 2 ER on 9 hits in 6.1 innings. Micah Hoffpauir went 2-3 with the Cubs only extra base hit, a double, while Buck Coats had 2 hits as well going 2-4 with his 9th stolen base of the year. Felix Pie went 1-4 and is hitting .253 on the season.

Daytona 4 Palm Beach 3 - The D-Cubs scored one in the top of the 10th and Matt Weber pitched a scoreless 10th to earn his 1st save of the year. Carlos Perez started the game for Daytona and pitched 5 shutout innings, but the bullpen couldn't hang on to allow him to earn his 1st win of the year. Ryan Harvey went 1-5 with a triple and a RBI, while Jemel Spearman and Nate Spears both went 3-4 with an RBI.

Eugene 11 Boise 7 - Mark Pawalek (0-1) started and took the loss, going 4 innings giving up 2 ER, 4 hits, 3 walks, and striking out 3. Russell Canzler went 3-3 with 2 walks a double and a HR, while recent draftees, Josh Lansford went 1-5 with 2 RBIs and Steven Clevenger went 1-5.

Notes: As we suspected here, Jake Fox was promoted to AA West Tennessee, although his AA opener was postponed due to wet grounds yesterday.

Weekend Minor League Report

This weekend, I spent the majority of my time watching the US Open, the World Cup, and College World Series, so luckily I missed the ugly performance the big league club displayed against the Detroit Tigers.

Here are a few bullet points that summed up my experience this weekend:

• Phil Mickelson & Colin Montgomerie blew it.
• US Soccer has a tremendous opportunity to capture this nation on Thursday if they can make it to the round of 16. They need to beat Ghana, and Italy must beat the Czech Republic to advance.
• Andrew Miller has nasty stuff, and the UNC/CSF baseball game on Friday night was great. My alma mater, the Tarheels, after the win against Clemson yesterday, are now one win away from the championship series.
  
• The Ghana/Czech Republic match on Saturday was some of the most riveting soccer that I have watched in some time. OK, so it is the first soccer match that I have watched since the last World Cup, but it really was riveting.
• I saw Marquez Smith and Tyler Colvin, both Clemson Tigers drafted by the Cubs each get an at-bat yesterday against UNC. Marquez Smith struck out and Tyler Colvin popped up with men in scoring position, so both guys will fit in nicely with the Cubs.
  
• I have a wonderful wife and kids that made Father's day great yesterday.
  

Now onto to Cubs minor league system:

• Sean Gallagher made his first AA start going only 5 innings and walking 4, but wasn't terribly overmatched. Watch Gallagher, as this is a big test for a guy who is only in his 2nd year of professional ball.
• Jake Fox and Matt Craig posted 0-1 and 0-2 efforts in the FSL all-star game, while Sam Fuld went 1-4 in the leadoff position.
  
• Mark Reed went 8-14 over the weekend and raised his average back to .343
• Donald Veal (5-3) went 6 shutout innings and lowered his ERA to 2.69

Here are some reasons why you should be excited about the start of the Boise Hawks season today:

• #1 Cubs Prospect, Mark Pawalek will take the mound for the Hawks. Be patient with Pawalek, but watch his IP/K ration and K/BB ratio as these numbers will be more telling than his ERA and wins and losses
• Cubs inked 2nd rounder, Jeff Samardzija, to a 5 year deal and he will start out in Boise. It is likely that Samardzija will move up quickly, if he is successful.
• Here is the Boise Roster which includes several 2006 draft picks, Samardzija (5th), Steven Clevenger (7th), brother of Red Sox closer, Jonathan Papelbon, and Jeremy Papelbon (19th).

Minor League Report for 6/15

Iowa 5 New Orleans 2 - Ryan Theriot leadoff and went 2-3 with a triple and drove in 3 runs, while Geovanny Soto went 2-4 and drove in the other 2 runs for the I-Cubs. Rich Hill got the start and went 6 innings giving up 5 hits, 2 ER, 1 walk, and striking out 6 but getting a no decision. Andrew Shipman (1-3) pitched an inning to earn the win while Kerry Ligtenberg picked up his 6th save.

West Tenn 9 Huntsville 0 - In a bit of revenge after a 12-0 loss the night before, the D-Jaxx won 9-0 on Thursday evening. Scott Moore went 3-4 with his 10th HR of the year and drove in 3 runs, while Nic Jackson went 2-3 with a triple and drove in 3 runs. Chris Shaver (4-4) was the beneficiary of the run support, going a 7 inning complete game to get the win. Shaver gave up 5 hits, 3 walks, no runs, and struck out 5.

Daytona 2 Brevard County 0 - The D-Cubs scored two in the top of the 10th off of hits by Jake Fox and Jeff Culpepper. Fox went 1-4 with the RBI and a walk, while Ryan Harvey went 0-1 and left the game early. Like previously in the season, the news on Harvey is hard to find, so as I hear more, I'll pass it on. Robert Sotolongo started for the D-Cubs his first start after being demoted from West Tennessee, and combined with Matt Weber (4 innings) and Adalberto Mendez (3-0; 2 innings) for the shutout.

Peoria 7 Kane County 5 - Yusuf Carter went 1-4 with a 3 run HR in a big 5 run 5th inning for the Peoria Chiefs. Raul Valdez added 2 hits going 2-4 with a double and 2 RBIs preceding Carter's HR. Mitch Atkins (6-1) took the win going 6 innings giving up 7 hits, 4 ER, 1 walk and striking out 5. Scott Williamson is on a rehab assignment and pitched an inning giving up a run, while Ed Campusano earned his 20th save of the year.

Notes: The D-Cubs now move to the all-star break where Matt Craig, Jake Fox, and Sam Fuld will be representing them. Fox and Craig will both be in the HR derby for the Florida State League; Cubs 2nd round pick, Jeff Samardzija, is expected to sign this weekend, and will be throwing at Wrigley field today.

Player Bio: Jacob Fox

Jacob Fox was selected in the 3rd round of the 2003 draft by the Cubs out of the University of Michigan. Fox was selected a round before FSU catcher, Anthony (Tony) Richie and has been pressured to succeed from the start of his professional career.

At Michigan, Fox hit 357 with 15 HRs and 67 RBIs in his junior season. Fox's BB/SO ratio was pretty good his sophomore (16/11) and junior seasons (18/22), and he deserved his 3rd round selection.

In his first round of professional play, Fox played 15 games in the Arizona League only hitting .240 with a HR, but was moved to Low A Lansing where he played 29 more games. At Lansing, Fox hit .260 and showed a little more pop in his bat by hitting 5 HRs in 100 ABs.

In 2004, Fox returned to Lansing where he had a line of 287/331/470 with 14 HRs and 55 RBIs. Those look like decent numbers, but the plate discipline has disappeared where Fox put up a 17/75 BB/SO ratio.

In 2005, Fox was promoted to Daytona and his numbers leveled off a tad in power production, but the plate discipline he showed in college returned. Fox put up a line of 281/357/456 with a 26/48 BB/SO and 9 HRs and 40 RBIs.

This year, Fox has dominated Daytona by producing a line of 314/382/580 with 16 HRs, 60 RBIs, and a 26/48 BB/SO ration, but is 24 which is pretty old for High A. Expect Fox to be called up very soon to West Tennessee to see if his skills are just maturing or if Fox is just using his professional experience against much younger pitchers to his advantage.

Fox's 2006 Numbers
Fox's College and Pre-2006 Numbers

Minor League Report for 6/14

New Orleans 4 Iowa 2 - The I-Cubs managed 6 hits, half of which were by Michael Restovich. Restovich went 3-4 with his 10th HR of the year which drove in both of the Cubs runs. Jay Kuk Ryu (2-5) took the loss going just 4 innings giving 5 hits, 4 ER, 4 Walks, and striking out just 1. The bullpen pitched 4 innings of hitless relief, but that seems pretty pointless in a loss.

Huntsville 12 West Tenn 0 - Ouch. Nick Jackson and Miguel Negron had the D-Jaxx only 2 hits of the game. The most entertaining feature of the game was when left fielder, Richard Lewis came in to pitch the bottom of the 8th and went 3 up-3 down while striking out 2 of the 3 batters he faced.

Daytona 2 Brevard County 1 - Justin Berg (5-5) went 6.2 innings giving up just 1 ER to get the win for the D-Cubs. Jake Fox and Matt Craig supplied with the offense with their 16th and 8th homeruns of the year, respectively.

Notes: It appears Mark Prior will no longer be subject to commentary on this page, as he will be making his 2006 major league debut on (drumroll please....) Sunday; If you interested in draft signings, the Cubs have now signed 14 of their 2006 draftees, including 7th and 8th round picks SS Steve Clevenger and P Bill Muldowney.

Minor League Report for 6/13

Iowa 2 New Orleans 1 - Mark Prior made perhaps his last rehab start at New Orleans and went 6.2 innings striking out 10 and giving up only 1 unearned run. Casey McGehee was the lone Iowa Cubs starter with 2 hits. Prior was relieved by two former Cubs teammates, Jerome Williams and Michael Wuertz (2-0), who received the win. Ultimately, Buck Coats pinch hit and drove in the go ahead run for the Iowa Cubs in the top of the ninth.

West Tennessee 1 Huntsville 0 - JR Mathes threw 6.1 scoreless innings, giving up 3 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 9. Chris Walker and Scott Moore both had 2 hits for the D-Jaxx, while Brian Dopirak went 1-3 with a walk. As a team, the Diamond Jaxx had 6 hits, all singles.

Daytona 7 Jupiter 6 - Mike Billek made his Daytona debut, replacing Sean Gallagher in the Daytona rotation, but received a no decision on a night where catcher, Jake Fox went 4-4. Fox hit his 15th HR of the year and drove in 3 runs. Fox is absolutely hitting the cover off the ball for the D-Cubs with a line of 314/381/570 with 15 HRs and 59 RBIs in just 64 games. Ryan Harvey went 1-3 with 2 RBIs and is now hitting .210.

Jupiter 4 Daytona 3 - Jeff Culpepper had his 2nd 2 hit effort of the day by going 2-4 with a double and an RBI, but it wasn't enough to sweep Jupiter in the double header. Once again Ryan Harvey raised his average by going 1-4 and seeing his average get bumped up a point to .211. Jake Fox couldn't quite match his superb opening game, but managed to go 1-4 at the plate, but striking out 3 times.

Notes: As mentioned in a previous thread, Sean Gallagher has been promoted to AA, West Tennessee. Mike Billek has been promoted from Peoria to Daytona to take Gallagher's place in the rotation. One thing I missed last week was that 2004 2nd rounder, Grant Johnson, has been placed on the DL.

A Blast from the Past: Part 3

I was following the Iowa Cubs game tonight, mainly to see how Mark Prior is progressing, only to get another blast from the past moment. The left fielder for New Orleans tonight was Tyrell Godwin. In my junior year in high school, I faced Tyrell in an easter baseball tournament in Fayetteville, NC. To this point in my life, he and Brian Roberts (of Chapel Hill High School in Chapel Hill, NC), are the fastest two people I have ever seen.

We crossed paths again when we both went to UNC, and actually played basketball quite a bit together while on campus there. While Godwin is quite the baseball player, and also quite the football player, playing for the Tarheels, his basketball skills leave a lot to be desired.

Tyrell is now playing in the Washington Nationals organization, and is starting to look less and less like he will be anything more than a 4th outfielder at best.

Sean Gallagher Q & A

Baseball America has a great Q & A with Cubs prospect, Sean Gallagher who was just called up to AA, West Tennessee.

As I mentioned recently, Sean Gallagher didn't have much else to prove at Daytona. Gallagher was 4-0 with a 2.30 ERA in 78 innings for High A, Daytona.

Open to Suggestions

Well, the support for the site so far has been superb. It appears there are not too many sites out there that focus on minor league systems of specific organizations, so I like the idea that this site is unique. So far I have given you minor league reports on a fairly regular basis, monthly I plan on giving updated prospect rankings, and a few player bios here and there.

I NEED YOUR HELP THOUGH! I would love to hear some ideas of topics that you would like discussed. After all, if your reading this, there is something you are looking for, so here is your chance. There are two ways of making your suggestion, either post a comment to this thread or simply email me. I'm open to any and all suggestions!

Once again, thanks for the tremendous support.

Minor League Report for 6/12

New Orleans 15 Iowa 6 - Felix Pie went 1-4 with a walk in a game that saw Iowa starter, Les Walrond give up 13 runs. Walrond's ERA jumped from the 2s to 3.67 after the game where he pitched 3.2 innings. Both Micah Hoffpauir and Mike Fontenot homered for the I-Cubs. It was Hoffpauir's 15th HR of the year, 5th for the Iowa Cubs, while the other 10 came playing for AA West Tennessee.

Peoria 1 Clinton 0 - Todd Blackford (6-2) pitched 6.2 shutout innings while Matt Avery pitched 1 inning to claim his first save of the year, dropping Avery's ERA to 1.23. Robinson Chirinos went 2-3 leading off for Peoria with a double and a walk while Mark Reed went 1-4 driving in the games only run.

Notes: Missed this yesterday, but Baseball America also featured some information on Cubs first rounder, Tyler Colvin in their most recent Ask BA column.

John Sickels on the Cubs first round pick, Tyler Colvin

Over at MinorLeagueBall.com, John Sickels talks about Tyler Colvin, and the Cubs decision to use their first round pick on him.

Definitely worth a read.

Back to More of the Same

I'm back from my relaxing getaway with the family and it appears Cub Nation is back on an upswing after the Cubs 3 game winning streak. Recent callup, Carlos Marmol was dynamite yesterday against the Reds and now has an ERA of 0.90.

In the minor league system, Felix Pie is batting .262 with an OPS in around 750, which is pretty unimpressive. Brian Dopirak is batting around .250 and finally got his first extra base hit of the season with a double yesterday. Ryan Harvey is batting .209 now, but still has an OPS in the mid 500s.

On the positive side, Mark Reed continues to hit the cover off the ball by going 3-4 and is now hitting .331 on the season although only slugging .419 but his OPS is over 800 now. Also, in AAA, Michael Restovich is also rather hot and now is hitting 327/406/621 with an OPS at 1027. Jake Fox is also on fire as he keeps continuing to dominate the Florida State League and has a line of 303/374/556.

Also, its the draft signing time of the year for the Cubs, and according to the Sun-Times, the Cubs are nearing in on signing Jeff Samardzija. You can follow all of the draft signings on the Baseball America draft database.

First round pick, Tyler Colvin, had a nice day for Clemson in their super regional the other day.

Minor League Update

Well, I'm going on vacation for a few days so posting will be unpredictable this weekend, but here are a few highlights from last night's minor league action:

• Ryan Harvey continued his respectable play since his return from his mysterious absence. Harvey went 3-4, all singles, and raised his average to .206 on the season now.
• Nic Jackson went 2-4 and continues his improved play this season, now batting .336 at West Tennessee.
• Brian Dopirak went 0-3 dropping him to .211 and has yet to have an extra base hit on the season in 19 at bats.
• Scott Moore went 0-3 as well and has seen his average drop from .300 down to .257 now.
• NC State alum, Jake Muyco went 3-3 with a double and a walk for the Peoria Chiefs. Muyco was drafted last year and has yet to have much success at the plate batting 231/296/327

In the big leagues, with Kerry Wood going to visit a doctor about his shoulder, Carlos Marmol will most likely get the call to replace Wood in the starting rotation. Marmol has created quite a buzz in his first couple of games by being in total control on the mound. On the season, Marmol has now pitched 4 innings, given up 3 hits, no runs, no walks, and struck out 6.

Minor League Update

With Day 1 of the draft over which saw a surprise pick (Colvin), a no surprise pick (Samardzija), and a son of a big leaguer (Lansford), minor league baseball still went on as well.

Iowa 3 Oklahoma 0 - Felix Pie hit his 6th HR of the year and went 2-5, although did get caught stealing dropping him to 4-11 on the year stealing bases. Les Walrond (6-1) pitched 8 shutout innings dropping his ERA to 2.16 and gave up 4 hits and didn't walk a batter. Kerry Ligtenberg continued his impressive relief pitching by finishing off the game for his 3rd save of the year. Ligtenberg's ERA sits at 1.33 after pitching in 18 games this season for the I-Cubs.

West Tennessee 1 Tennessee 0 - The D-Jaxx had only 2 hits, 1 from Chris Walker and 1 from Eric Patterson, but it turned out to be enough. Walker's hit was his 1st HR of the year in the 3rd inning and it turned out to be all that Randy Wells (3-2) needed. Wells ERA is now 1.12 on the season after he went 7 shutout innings to earn the win.

Jupiter 2 Daytona 1 - Jacob Fox went 3-4 with an RBI, although all 3 hits were singles, while Ryan Harvey went 0-4 to drop lower below the Mendoza line. Matt Holliman (3-4) took the loss going 6.1 innings giving up 2 ER, 5 hits, 1 walk, and striking out 7.

Peoria 6 Burlington 4 - Kyle Reynolds had 2 hits and hit his 3rd HR of the year, while Wes Norwood added 2 hits as well. Mark Reed moved back behind the plate and went 1-4, but drove in 2 runs. Matt Avery threw another 1.2 innings of scoreless work dropping his ERA to 1.34 on the season.

Not Exactly Breaking News

So, the Cubs took Tyler Colvin from Clemson with the 13th pick overall in the MLB Draft.

Colvin is said to be very athletic CF who is aggressive at the plate and who should grow into his power. Tyler, will you please look into the mirror and say hello to Felix Pie!

This seems to be an odd pick in my mind, but obviously Tim Wilken knows what he is doing. On one hand I am pleased that the Cubs selected a college position player, but on the other it certainly seems like we have this guy already. I would have personally selected Kyle Drabek, but that is beside the point.

The Cubs next pick is at #149, where they are reportedly going to select Notre Dame WR/Pitcher Jeff Samardzija (a big thank you to my 2 friends Copy & Paste). Jeff Samardzija (C & P) will warrant a sizeable signing bonus to not play football this next year, which possibly explains why the Cubs selected a 2nd round talent, Colvin, with their first selection.

Minor League Update

With the draft going on today, I'll give you some quick bullet points from the night for the Cubs minor league system:

• Felix Pie went 1-4 with a double and did not strikeout
• Luis Montanez has another Oh-fer and his average now sits at .204
  
• Ryan Harvey went 2-5 with 2 doubles and raised his average to .199
• Sean Gallagher went 7 innings and gave up 7 hits, 2 ER and struck out 7
• Mark Reed played 1st and 3rd showing off his versatility and went 1-4
• Donald Veal (4-3) took the loss despite going 6 innings, giving up 8 hits, 3 ER, walking none and striking out 6
  

Will Andrew Miller fall to the Cubs?

With an 8 figure asking price for a signing bonus, college LHP, Andrew Miller is no longer being seen as the top pick in the MLB Draft today, despite being the most talented player in the draft. The Royals are not going to take Miller, opting for Hochevar or Lincon instead. With Miller's asking price, if he falls to the Cubs you can bet they will gobble him up. The Cubs have only one pick in the first 4 rounds, and have the money and the desire to get an impact player in the draft.

Miller could move fast if drafted by the Cubs. Other possibilities are HS 3b Billy Rowell, HS SS Stephen King, or JC RHP Pedro Beato who is said to have one of the best arms in the draft.

BA projects the first 15 picks

All Baseball America, all the time! Another interesting read from BA, Jim Callis projects the top 15 picks of the draft, including the Cubs 13th pick overall.

Here is his Cubs selection:

13. Cubs. More than one club has speculated that Miller's advisers are hoping to drop him to Chicago, but that's an impossible dream. The Cubs are another team willing to pay top dollar and deal with Boras, so they'd go after Hochevar or Scherzer if given the chance. But they're probably going to be left looking at high school bats such as Rowell (if he's there), Miami third baseman Chris Marrero and Washington outfielder/first baseman Travis Snider.

Projected Pick: Chris Marrero, 3b, HS/Miami.

For what it's worth, over at John Sickels blog, in the Mock Draft that was done yesterday, Rowell was selected with the 13th overall pick.

Dopirak in the Weekend Dish

On Baseball America, Brian Dopirak was the lead story from their Weekend Dish.

Here is an excerpt with a quote from Dopirak:

“Getting hurt was no doubt a blow to who I was as a person and where I stood confidence-wise after doing pretty well in the spring. It sucked, but there’s nothing else you can really say about it. I look at it as the injury just gave me more time to work on my swing, especially coming off the year I had last year. I just try to learn something from the positives and learn something from the negatives—and that’s not just in the game, but in my life. That’s how I roll.”

Minor League Update

Iowa 4 Oklahoma 2 - Felix Pie returned to the leadoff position and was unimpressive going 0-4 with a walk and 2 strikeouts. Rich Hill continues to dominate AAA Iowa going 7 innings giving up 2 ER and striking out 7. Hill now has an ERA of 2.42 and has 61 Ks in 44.2 innings and a WHIP under 1.

West Tenn 7 Tennessee 1 - Eric Patterson went 2-4 with a double and 2 RBIs while Chris Walker finished with 2 hits in 4 at-bats as well. Brian Dopirak was not in the lineup, but hopefully this is only because he was a little sore after his return to the field.

Daytona 8 Fort Myers 4 - Ryan Harvey and Jake Fox both went 1-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs and Harvey is slowly but surely bringing his numbers back to respectability. Matt Craig went 2-4 with a triple, double, and 4 RBIs. Justin Berg (4-4) took the win going 6 innings, scattering 10 hits, and 4 ER.

Fort Wayne 6 Peoria 0 - Raul Valdez was the only Chief to have 2 hits on Sunday and Mitch Atkins took his first loss of the year. Atkins (4-1) pitched 5 innings, struck out 5, and gave up 3 runs, but only 1 ER.

Notes: Carlos Marmol made his major league debut for the Cubs yesterday and pitched 2 innings retiring 6 of the 7 batters he faced and struck out 3. According the Sun-Times, Dusty Baker implies Marmol will be used in long relief.

Carlos Marmol gets the call

With Scott Williamson getting injured and subsequently being placed on the 15 day DL, the Cubs called up AA pitcher, Carlos Marmol.

Marmol is a converted catcher, and here is a good scouting report on him courtesy The Cub Reporter from last September:

His fastball and slider are both among the very best in the system, the former clocking in the low- to mid-nineties with excellent downward movement, the latter very hard-breaking. He also mixes in a changeup. Numbers-wise he's been known to have control problems come and go, and he allows a few too many home runs too. But for someone so new to pitching, who therefore could well have plenty of room for further improvement, he's a very promising prospect.

It's interesting that none of the 4 pitchers at Iowa (Guzman, Hill, Ryu, and Williams) are getting another shot, especially Rich Hill. Guzman still is rough around the edges, Ryu was tipping his pitchers, Williams has been awful at Iowa, but Hill has remained pretty dominant for the I-Cubs.

This says one of two things about Hill, either they have given up on him, or he is working on something new down at AAA to help him be more successful in the big leagues, we shall see what the future holds for Hill.

As far as Marmol, Al at Bleed Cubbie Blue says he believes Marmol will be in the starting rotation, as he hasn't had a relief appearance for 2 seasons. We shall see how he is used, but I hope Rusch is moved back to the pen.

Update: Marmol was used in relief today against the Cards. Odd callup if you ask me, it seems as though Weurtz or Lightenberg may have been the better choice as far as relievers go.

Other notes from the system yesterday:

• Felix Pie, Jake Fox, and Ryan Harvey all put up 2 hit performances yesterday; with Harvey nearly reaching the "Mendoza Line" at .197.
  
• Brian Dopirak's second game back saw him go 0-3 with a walk and an RBI
• Angel Guzman pitched 6 innings giving up only 2 runs but took the loss for Iowa.

Brian Dopirak returns

I'm not going to elaborate as I'm still wiped from watching the 14 inning win over the Cards last night, but Brian Dopirak returned to the lineup for the D-Jaxx last night going 2-4.

A Blast from the Past: Part 2

According to Baseball America, Josh Hamilton's drug suspension is finally over. Obviously, this doesn't relate to the Cubs minor league system, but it is interesting to me because I faced Josh Hamilton years ago in high school. Josh was a sophomore when I was a senior in high school, and his Athens Drive team faced my high school, Durham Riverside a couple times.

At the time, Hamilton was probably 5'10" 160 lbs but he had the biggest feet I had ever seen on a kid his size. Like most high schoolers, we heckled the kid while he was on the mound, and his stuff wasn't extraordinary, but if memory serves he pitched decent against my school, something most teams weren't able to do (we were ranked #1 in the state for a few weeks my senior year).

A few years later, I got to see the circus that followed the future #1 overall pick in the draft when I was coaching for Durham Riverside when Hamilton's Athens Drive came to Durham to play us. Hundreds of scouts followed Hamilton's every move, from watching him warm up in the bullpen to watching him toss "soft-toss". For those of you that don't know, soft-toss is a drill will one player hits and another takes a knee directly in front of the hitter and tosses the ball to the batter. During this drill, scouts were actually writing things down, although I can't imagine what:

"Good soft-tosser"
"Excellent at under-handing"
etc
etc

Hamilton touched 97 as a left-handed pitcher that game, although the Durham Riverside leadoff batter, Byron Cherry, hit a lead-off homerun against Hamilton, Hamilton went on to shut us out the rest of the game. Hamilton also hit a monster homerun in the game showing off his bat as well to the numerous scouts.

Josh Hamilton went on to be drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays with the first pick in the 1999 draft and after a decent minor league start, has had drug and emotional problems ever since, including an obsession with tattoos. Most likely Hamilton will never go on to play in the majors, but his career will be one I will follow thanks in large part to our paths crossing on the playing field.

Good luck Josh, I hope you can turn it around!

What Caught My Eyes

I'm in the middle of a busy morning at work, so I figured I would just pass on what caught my eyes in the Cubs system yesterday.

• Felix Pie continued to bat down in the order but did manage to go 3-4 and drive in a couple runs. On the bad side of things, he struck out his only at bat without a hit and got picked off as well.
• Geovanny Soto, who is getting ready for a possible callup when Michael Barrett serves his suspension, went 2-3 and raised his average to .285. On this note, check out a very interesting article over at the Cub Reporter on this possible roster move and the affects it will have.
• Mark Holliman pitched 7 shutout innings for the Daytona Cubs in their 1-0 win, but got a no decision. Holliman's H/9 innings sits at around 6.5 right now which is pretty impressive.
• Ryan Norwood and Mark Reed both added 2 hits for the Peoria Chiefs while Norwood hit his 6th HR of the year.

In the bigs, the Cubs start a series with the Cards this weekend, here's hoping the Cubs can recapture that feeling they had way back in April when they swept the Cards at home. Here are a few pictures to recapture the feeling that surrounded Cubs baseball then:

Seems like years ago, doesn't it?

June: Cubs Top 10 Prospects

Its the 1st of June, so now seems as good of a time as ever to give the latest and most up to date Cubs Top 10 Prospects, keeping in mind, guys that have made an appearance in the majors (Guzman, Hill, Cedeno, Marshall, etc) are no longer available for this list:

1. Felix Pie OF
2. Mark Pawalek LHP
3. Sean Gallagher RHP
4. Brian Dopirak 1B
5. Donald Veal LHP
6. Eric Patterson 2B
7. Mark Reed C
8. Buck Coats IF/OF
9. Ryan Harvey OF
10. Mitch Atkins RHP

Honorable Mention: Carlos Marmol, Scott Moore, Luis Montanez

Notes: Ryan Harvey has taken a severe fall in my opinion, while Mitch Atkins has taken a decided jump onto the radar. Some may think Brian Dopirak is still high, but I believe that when Dopirak returns, you will see him show that last season was an aberration.

Your Turn: Where did I go wrong? Show me your Top 10 as of June 1st!

Minor League Update

Nashville 6 Iowa 5 - Felix Pie was moved down in the order to 7th in the lineup due to his recent struggles and went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts. Luis Montanez hit his 2nd HR for AAA Iowa, his 4th overall this season. Ryan Theriot replaced Pie at the top of the order and went 2-4 with a walk scoring 2 runs. Jerome Williams, who is now pitching in relief, went 2 scoreless innings dropping his ERA to a painful 5.23.

West Tennessee 10 Huntsville 6 - In the first game of the double-header, Chris Walker went 4-5 leading off and stole his 18th base of the season. Richard Lewis hit 3rd in the order and hit his first HR of the season and went 3-5 and drove in 4 runs. Nic Jackson didn't start but did come in to play RF and had 2 hits in his 2 at-bats raising his average to .317 on the season for West Tennessee.

West Tennessee 5 Huntsville 2 - Nic Jackson added 2 more hits in the 2nd game of the double-header raising his average now to a respectable .324. Scott Moore went 0-4 and has been struggling of late at the plate.

Brevard County 4 Daytona 3 - Ryan Harvey was moved back to the 3 hole in the lineup and went 0-4 but did drive in a run. Sam Fuld and Jemel Spearman both had 2 hits at the top of the lineup and Nate Spears hit his first HR in the top of the 9th to send it to extra innings, but ultimately it wasn't enough. Sean Gallagher pitched 6 innings giving up 6 hits, 2 walks, 2 ERs, and struck out 5, and got a no decision.