Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 5-3-16

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Box Scores:

 

Iowa won 2-1 Box Score

 

CF A. Almora 0/4, SB (3)

DH W. Contreras 0/3, BB, K

1B D. VOgelbach 1/4, R, K

2B A. Alcántara 1/4. R. HR (2), 2 RBI, SB (6)

3B L. Watkins 0/3

SS M. Kawasaki 1/3

SP R. Williams 6 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 10-2 GO-FO, 92-62 pitches-strikes

RP C. Edwards Jr 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 0-0 GO-FO

RP S. Patton 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 1-1 GO-FO

 

Tennessee had the day off

 

Myrtle Beach won 5-2 Box Score

 

RF R. Crawford 2/3, R, 2B (5), RBI, 2 BB, 2 SB (3)

SS G. Torres 2/4, R, HR (2), RBI, BB, K

2B I. Happ 0/5, 2 K

3B J. Vosler 2/5, R, 2B (6), K

DH S. Dunson Jr 3/4, 2 2B (5), 3B (3), RBI, BB, K

LF C. Burks 2/5, R, 2B (3), K, SB (5)

SP J. Martinez 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 WP, 3-3 GO-FO, 91-58 pitches-strikes

RP D. Torrez 0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, 0-1 GO-FO

 

South Bend lost 5-4 Box Score

 

2B C. Sepulveda 1/4, E (2, fielding)

C PJ Higgins 2/4, 2B (6)

CF D. Dewees 1/3, R, K

LF E. Jimenez 1/4, R, 2B (8), RBI, 2 K

RF E. Martinez 1/3, R, RBI, BB, K, SB (2)

3B J. Hodges 0/2, 2 BB, SB (1), CS (2), E (2, fielding)

1B T. Alamo 0/4, 2 K

DH M. Rose 1/4, R, HR (2), RBI, BB

SP R. Kellogg 6 IP, 5 H,0 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 7-4 GO-FO, 89-63 pitches-strikes

[CubsWin]

Gleyber-bomb! Let's get him going.

[TruffleShuffle]

kellogg is doing well (5 ip, 4 h, 0 r, 0 bb, 5 k). donnie dewees bunted for some reason.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Given their age in relation to their level, I'd like to see Kellogg and Stinnett promoted if they have a good May.

[Cubswin11]

Well, that's exciting. Where's a reasonable ending point of the season for Cease? Eugene? Obviously I'm sure they want to be extra careful with him and he'll be limited on his innings.

[CubsWin]

Well, that's exciting. Where's a reasonable ending point of the season for Cease? Eugene? Obviously I'm sure they want to be extra careful with him and he'll be limited on his innings.

He'll start in Eugene. Has a shot at a promotion if he does well by the end of the season especially if South Bend makes the playoffs. Heck, if he keeps pitching like this, the Cubs could surprise us and just promote him straight to South Bend. The main reason why he starts in Eugene is thought to be keeping his innings in check and the Cubs history of moving their prep arms slowly, one level at a time.

[CubsWin]

99-99-99-98-99-99-98-98-99-99-99

Love it.

[David]

Cease threw a higher percentage of strikes (62%) today than in any previous outing (he usually struggles to throw strikes, typically throwing 50-55% strikes), breaking his curve for called strikes time & again, and humming his heater consistently knee-high at 98-99 MPH (per both the Brewers & Cubs guns -- for example, 99-99-99-98-99-99-98-98-99-99-99 in the bottom of the 2nd). He even got a swing & miss on a change-up (the pitch that is his "work-in-progress").

 

Cease allowed four hits (three singles and a double) over his three-inning stint, but three of the hits were opposite-field grounders, and the fourth was a broken-bat humpback liner looped over the shortstop's head and into short left.

 

Cease was so dominating that one of the Brewer pitchers seated behind home plate asked "Is that Arrieta?" as Cease dropped his knee-bending hook to get ahead 0-2 and then blew unhittable gas past the last two Brew Crew hitters for strike-three in the bottom of the 2nd (stranding runners at 2nd & 3rd). It's unusual when the other team's pitchers are mesmerized by an EXST opponent who isn't a major league rehabber.

 

i want this guy to be awesome so fuckign bad. starters who throw gas like that are so fun.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Well, that's exciting. Where's a reasonable ending point of the season for Cease? Eugene? Obviously I'm sure they want to be extra careful with him and he'll be limited on his innings.

He'll start in Eugene. Has a shot at a promotion if he does well by the end of the season especially if South Bend makes the playoffs. Heck, if he keeps pitching like this, the Cubs could surprise us and just promote him straight to South Bend. The main reason why he starts in Eugene is thought to be keeping his innings in check and the Cubs history of moving their prep arms slowly, one level at a time.

 

Because of his innings history and recent surgery, I just don't see how the Cubs will surprise us and push him to South Bend this year. And given his erratic control, it isn't the worst decision even if health and innings jumps weren't a concern.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I was at the South Bend game again last night.

 

Kellogg is an interesting case. He was only sitting 84-87 with his fastball last night. But, he was still so damn effective. He gave up hardly any hard contact. A lot on the ground, a lot of weak contact. Several hitters were visibly frustrated and two different hitters even yelled at themselves, one after a ground out and another after a strikeout. He pounded the zone, got ahead early in the count and kept his fastball down. He did a great job of mixing in his off-speed stuff. And both his changeup and curveball looked really good. Both pitches generated a lot of swing and miss. He kept hitters off-balance, and they stood no chance against either of those pitches. The fastball certainly wasn't overpowering, but he does have a nice plane and must be getting some movement on it, because nobody really hit his fastball hard, either. He was able to hit 88 and 89 a couple times in the sixth inning with it.

 

He knows how to pitch. And he has everything you would like to see in a pitcher: big frame; a smooth, effortless and repeatable delivery; great command and control. It's just... that velocity. We'll have to see how he holds up against tougher competition in higher levels. He's outclassing the guys he's facing right now, though. And, who knows, maybe the velo will tick up to 90 or so?

 

Matt Rose's home run was a shot. He got all of it.

 

Eloy is Soler. He hammers fastballs and looks really bad against breaking balls. When he hits it, he gets his money worth, though. His double was scorched.

 

Dewees beat out an infield single. He didn't really show blazing speed on it, though. When he did impress was on Eloy's double, when he scored from first. Eloy's ball was a rocket and there wasn't much time between him hitting it and the left fielder playing it off the wall. Dewees was flying and taking optimal turns around the bases. He runs the bases really well.

 

P.J. Higgins is a prospect. I like him a lot. He's got a really strong arm. He's a good receiver, too. He's got soft hands, nothing herky-jerky. He'll need some work on blocking balls. He had a little trouble with a couple. But, he did make a few nice stops. He'll need time to develop behind the plate, but I think he looked fine. And his arm will definitely work back there.

 

Higgins is a very disciplined hitter, too. He's got a great eye and he waits for pitches he can do something with. There aren't any holes in his swing, either. I'm not sure how much power he'll hit for; it's more of a line drive swing. But he does hit the ball hard. He hit a double that one-hopped the wall in straight away center. It was launched over the center fielder's head. He hit a single, too, that was right at the shortstop, but it ate him up. It was a rocket and the shortstop really was just trying not to die, rather than make a play on it.

 

Eddy Martinez is fast. There was a ball that got away from the catcher when Martinez was on third. It rolled only about, maybe, 15 feet, right up the first base line. I don't know how the hell Martinez scored on it, but he did. Couple that with his arm and good bat speed, maybe there's something. But if he can't play center, my expectations are tempered. Also the fact that he is clueless at the plate really tempers my expectations.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Yeah, Kellogg was working 87-90 in college (obviously with an extra day of rest). That's not a promising velocity report.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Ewwwwww on the velocity from Kellogg. Here's hoping that was a warped stadium gun combining with some early season stuff (he didn't seem to get much work in March). The radio announcer only called out a 71 MPH curveball, which didn't make me optimistic but at least there was an air of mystery. I'll be more worried if this is still the case come July.

 

Thanks for these reports Duke, hopefully you can keep doing these into the summer. JMO but more optimistic about Jimenez's athleticism than Soler's, mostly because the Cubs got him at younger ages and generally have more say in his routines and nutrition at huge ages.

 

I don't think it was the stadium gun. The Wisconsin pitcher the night before was routinely 94-95 and the lefty on the mound last night for them was at 92-93 a lot.

 

Unfortunately, I think that's the last time I will see South Bend this year, though.

 

And, yes, Eloy looks much better than Soler in the field and on the bases. He's definitely more of an athlete.

[CubsWin]

Well, that's exciting. Where's a reasonable ending point of the season for Cease? Eugene? Obviously I'm sure they want to be extra careful with him and he'll be limited on his innings.

He'll start in Eugene. Has a shot at a promotion if he does well by the end of the season especially if South Bend makes the playoffs. Heck, if he keeps pitching like this, the Cubs could surprise us and just promote him straight to South Bend. The main reason why he starts in Eugene is thought to be keeping his innings in check and the Cubs history of moving their prep arms slowly, one level at a time.

 

Because of his innings history and recent surgery, I just don't see how the Cubs will surprise us and push him to South Bend this year. And given his erratic control, it isn't the worst decision even if health and innings jumps weren't a concern.

I agree. That's why it would be a surprise! :D

 

The only reason why I think it's possible is that they can control his innings as easily in South Bend as they can in Eugene. If they feel he'd benefit in some way from facing the advanced hitting, why not?

 

Still the most likely result is he'll start in Eugene with a shot at a late promotion, especially if South Bend is in the playoff hunt.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

Yeah, Kellogg was working 87-90 in college (obviously with an extra day of rest). That's not a promising velocity report.

 

When I saw him in the Quad Cities last week, Kellogg was working 87-90. Might it have something to do with him only being on 4 days rest for the first time this year?