Minor League Discussion & Boxes 5-26-2008

[Outshined_One]

Box Score

 

Iowa won 6-4 Box Score

 

2B E. Patterson 2/4, R, RBI

CF F. Pie 2/4, R, 2 RBI, 2B (1), SB (2)

LF M. Murton 2/4, R, RBI, 2B (6)

RF J. Kroeger 1/4

SP J. Berg 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4/2 K/BB, WP, 8-3 GO-FO

RP N. Cotts 1.2 scoreless, 1 H, 3/1 K/BB, 1-1 GO-FO

 

Tennessee won 6-5 thanks to 2 runs in the bottom of the 10th Box Score

 

CF S. Fuld 2/5, BB, 2 R

SS M. Camp 2/6, RBI, K

RF T. Colvin 3/4, BB, RBI, 2 2B (9)

1B M. Craig 1/3, 2 BB, RBI, K

LF J. Fox 1/4, RBI, K, E (1, fielding)

C S. Clevenger 1/3, BB

PR/3B M. Matulia 0/1

3B K. Reynolds 0/3, 2 K

PH D. Deeds 0/0, BB

SP D. Veal 7 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 5/3 K/BB, WP, 8-7 GO-FO

 

Daytona won 9-3 Box Score

 

2B T. Thomas 2/5, R, 2 RBI, HR (3), 2 K, SB (9)

3B J. Mota 0/4, K

C W. Castillo 3/4, 2 R, RBI, 2 2B (8), K, PB (8)

RF Y. Carter 0/4, K

CF J. Wyatt 1/3, BB, 2 R, RBI, K

1B R. Canzler 3/4, R, 2 RBI, 2B (7), K

SS D. Barney 2/4, R, 3 RBI, 2B (10)

SP E. Caridad 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1/1 K/BB, 6-8 GO-FO

 

Peoria won 5-2 Box Score

 

SS N. Samson 1/3, BB, R

DH J. Donaldson 1/4, R, 2 RBI, HR (4)

LF B. Guyer 2/4, 2 R, RBI, 2B (4), HR (1), K

3B J. Rosa 1/3, BB, R, 2 E (13, fielding, throw)

2B M. Smith 1/2, 2 BB, 2B (14)

1B D. Johnston 2/4, 2 RBI, K, E (4, throw)

RF C. Andersen 0/4, K

CF L. Johnson 0/4

SP B. Muldowney 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4/0 K/BB, HR, 8-3 GO-FO

RP T. Blackford 3 scoreless, 2 H, 0/1 K/BB, 8-1 GO-FO

 

OVERALL: 4-0

Edited May 27, 2008 by Outshined_One

[rawaction]

3 for 40 for Felix in Iowa.

[Guest]

Iowa: Justin Berg

Tenn: Donnie Veal

Daytona: Esmailin Caridad

Peoria: Billy Muldowney

[TruffleShuffle]

yay, 2-4 with a double and stolen base for pie. that .063 BABIP was bound to turn around eventually.

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Iowa won 6-4. EPatt, Pie, and Murton were all 2/4, with Murton and Pie each hitting a double.

 

Peoria leads 5-2 in the 8th. Donaldson is 1/4 with a HR. Muldowney went 5 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 4/0 K/BB, 1 HR

[Guest]

Randy Wells was the PCL pitcher of the week last week:

 

Pacific Coast League

Randy Wells, Iowa

2-0, 1.64 ERA, 2 G, 2 GS, 11.0 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 BB, 11 SO

Wells has put in work both as a starter and a reliever for the Iowa Cubs and has done quite well at both. Over the past week, however, he's excelled in the starter role. Wells, who's 3-1 with a 1.71 ERA as a starter this season, led his team to wins in both his starts. In his second outing of the week, Wells pitched six innings of Iowa's 9-2 win over Oklahoma, allowing just one earned run and striking out seven.

[Brett]

Do I remember correctly that Wells was picked up in the Rule V by the Blue Jays this year?

[Guest]

Do I remember correctly that Wells was picked up in the Rule V by the Blue Jays this year?

 

Yup.

[karenmac]

thought Muldowney looked really good after a slow start in the 1st. He settled in and pitched his last 4 innings lights-out. It was a good thing to see the Chiefs come back and bat around in the bottom of the 1st to get back into it.

 

No Hernandez sightings yet...with the off-day tomorrow perhaps he'll be in town for the series that starts on Wednesday.

[Outshined_One]

Good news everyone!

 

None of the farm teams lost today. :D

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Tony Thomas went 2 for 5 with a HR, and Wellington Castillo was 3 for 4 with 2 2B. Three straight games with an XBH for Thomas.

[Outshined_One]

Good day all around for most of the notable hitting prospects. Sam Fuld is breaking out of his slump (which was as bad as Pie's), Colvin walked and doubled twice, Eric Patterson is continuing his consistency, Pie did some nice work at the plate and on the basepaths, and Brandon Guyer is emerging as a potential name to watch down in Peoria due to his nice power showing in his ABs thus far.

[Guest]

Earlier this season, Veal was having success despite walking more people than last season. Now, he's corrected that and is walking nearly .5 fewer per 9 (5.04 BB/9 in 2007, 4.53 this year). He's still striking out fewer people than last year but his improved groundball rate is keeping up.

[rawaction]

Colvin is heating up. I think, for the first time, he is finally showing his true potential. Looks like the patience has come around (9 walks in last 10 games). And the hits have followed (6 for his last 16). He has had a solid year at home where he will be for 9 of the next 14 games. He also has just 4 Ks over that time.

[cubweiser03]

Neal Cotts has a seat available on the Iowa shuttle.

Righties

17.2IP/16H/9BB/18K

Lefties

9.1IP/7H/1BB/15K

 

At least he is appearing to be a solid september callup. The walks or lack thereof is encouraging.

Also im hoping that if he can keep this up or close to it he will be the 2009 LOOGY replacing Eyre. And cheap!

[Guest]

Des Moines Register[/url]"]Could the Felix Pie touted to be the Chicago Cubs' centerfielder of the present and the future be back?

 

"I know I can hit in the big leagues, but my problem is that I've been late on the ball," Pie said. "I'm not back yet, but I can get back."

 

Pie's two-for-four day improved his batting average to .114 since the Chicago Cubs sent him to Iowa on May 16 to work on hitting.

 

"I'm working with the hitting coach, Von Joshua, and I'm doing what he tells me to do," Pie said. "We'll get it going."

 

Pie has been working extra to fix what caused him to hit only .222 for the big Cubs in 63 at-bats.

 

Monday, when outdoor batting practice was cancelled because of pregame promotional activities on the field, Pie hit indoors.

 

"Everyday he hits extra," Iowa manager Pat Listach said. "Its' like he sleeps with his bat."

 

Listach scoffed when asked before the game if a day off might help Pie forget his troubles.

 

"All he's going to do with a day off is sit there and think about why he's 3-for-35 of whatever he is," Listach said. "He needs to play, and he's going to play."

[rawaction]

Gerald Perry has been a pretty good hitting coach. But man, would I love Von Joshua involved in the majors more.

[jersey cubs fan]

Colvin is heating up. I think, for the first time, he is finally showing his true potential. Looks like the patience has come around (9 walks in last 10 games). And the hits have followed (6 for his last 16). He has had a solid year at home where he will be for 9 of the next 14 games. He also has just 4 Ks over that time.

 

And you sort of predicted this, right?

 

It's a nice little stretch, but it's still very little. His season long and May OPS are still just 702 and 707, respectively. He's going to have to sustain this for a while to impress me.

[rawaction]

Colvin is heating up. I think, for the first time, he is finally showing his true potential. Looks like the patience has come around (9 walks in last 10 games). And the hits have followed (6 for his last 16). He has had a solid year at home where he will be for 9 of the next 14 games. He also has just 4 Ks over that time.

 

And you sort of predicted this, right?

 

It's a nice little stretch, but it's still very little. His season long and May OPS are still just 702 and 707, respectively. He's going to have to sustain this for a while to impress me.

 

Definitely. He has to keep this up a lot longer to impress. But the BB rate is my primary concern right now. He's a career .290+ hitter so far, so I don't have much doubt that he's NOT going to hover around the .240s much longer.

[Outshined_One]

Colvin is heating up. I think, for the first time, he is finally showing his true potential. Looks like the patience has come around (9 walks in last 10 games). And the hits have followed (6 for his last 16). He has had a solid year at home where he will be for 9 of the next 14 games. He also has just 4 Ks over that time.

 

And you sort of predicted this, right?

 

It's a nice little stretch, but it's still very little. His season long and May OPS are still just 702 and 707, respectively. He's going to have to sustain this for a while to impress me.

 

Definitely. He has to keep this up a lot longer to impress. But the BB rate is my primary concern right now. He's a career .290+ hitter so far, so I don't have much doubt that he's NOT going to hover around the .240s much longer.

 

That and we already know he can put up pretty good power numbers.

 

Heck, if the guy can finish the season at .280/.358/.469 (this year's IsoD and last year's IsoP, if you're wondering) while playing a good CF, the guy will make a strong case for being the top Cubs prospect. Those aren't superstar numbers, but I don't think anyone would complain about getting that kind of production out of CF.

[craig]

Karen or Nate, can you give any scouting info on Muldowney? I assume he's got some control, more than your average Peoria guy. And he's got a better curveball than is normal at that level. In terms of arm, would you say he has better-than-average velocity (relative to midwest league?), with a chance to be fairly average in the majors? Or is he definitely a guy who'll be slower-than-average in the majors and will need to have special command/breaking stuff to make it at the highest level?

 

On Colvin: I'm pretty astonished that he's sustained this walking business for as long as he has. I still assume it's an experiment in progress. That's why getting some hits now is, I think, perhaps crucial. If he's taking walks plus he feels like he's getting hits besides, he might buy in and stick with it. But if he feels uncomfortable and like he can't get as many hits this way, he may scrap it or relapse sooner or later. It's pretty amazing, though, what a transformation there's been, and seemingly so abruptly. Unlike Cedeno, who was a hacker and then somewhat abruptly seemed to decide to be patient, Colvin has been a big-K and a can't-handle-breaking-stuff guy. Very difficult to go patient when you know reaching two-strike counts means breaking balls that are going to make you very uncomfortable.

 

I understand the theory that if you're selective, it actually helps your hitting and slugging because you're whacking at whackable pitches. But I still think that's not realistic for most hitters. Strike one really is one of the best pitches to whack at, and often the patience game requires cutting down on the swing. So we'll see how it plays for Colvin. We'd like the walks, the power, and the batting average all three. But it's well possible that the power and/or the average will need to be compromised to get more walks. Hopefully he'll be one of the lucky ones where it really can all work together. It would be nice to see him enjoy a hitting binge that makes his average and his power look more respectable. Still, I'm a lot more optimistic than if you'd asked me three weeks ago.

 

As an optimist, I think it's also worth remembering that Colvin is 22 and will be all season. That's pretty young for AA and for a guy with such limited pro experience. If in fact he really is learning and adjusting favorably, then he's certainly not too old to get better.

[rawaction]

 

I understand the theory that if you're selective, it actually helps your hitting and slugging because you're whacking at whackable pitches. But I still think that's not realistic for most hitters. Strike one really is one of the best pitches to whack at, and often the patience game requires cutting down on the swing. So we'll see how it plays for Colvin. We'd like the walks, the power, and the batting average all three. But it's well possible that the power and/or the average will need to be compromised to get more walks. Hopefully he'll be one of the lucky ones where it really can all work together. It would be nice to see him enjoy a hitting binge that makes his average and his power look more respectable. Still, I'm a lot more optimistic than if you'd asked me three weeks ago.

 

As an optimist, I think it's also worth remembering that Colvin is 22 and will be all season. That's pretty young for AA and for a guy with such limited pro experience. If in fact he really is learning and adjusting favorably, then he's certainly not too old to get better.

 

Agreed. We all like to make fun of Dusty's comments about being aggressive and "it's called hitting not walking", but I agree with what I feel was his point. I feel the best way for a hitter to become patient is to become a good hitter first. You become a good hitter by minimizing the holes in your swing, giving pitchers fewer ways to get you out. Once you become a good enough hitter and know your strengths as a hitter, you automatically become more patient as you only swing at pitches in a zone that you know you can do something with. I'm positive Colvin isn't to the level where he has minimized all his weaknesses as a hitter, but he should be good enough right now to know what he can and can't hit well. If he "stays the course", it then becomes a matter of execution when he gets those pitches to hit.