Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 4-14-18

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Box Scores:

 

Iowa lost 3-1 Box Score

 

SS D. Bote 1/4, R< HR (2), RBI, K

LF B. Rademacher 1/3, BB, 2 K

C C. Gimenez 1/4, 2 K

CF J. Hannemann 0/4, 2 K

1B-3B R. Court 1/4, 3 K, E (3, pickoff)

3B C. Young 1/3, BB

SP D. Underwood Jr. 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 6 K, 7-0 GO-FO, 73-52 pitches-strikes

RP A. Bass 1 IP, 1 H, 0R , 0 BB, 0 K, 1-2 GO-FO

 

Tennessee lost 10-2 Box Score

 

SS Z. Short 0/3, BB, 2 K

LF C. Burks 0/3, BB, K

RF E. Martinez 1/2, 2 BB

3B J. Hodges 1/3, R, BB, E (1, fielding)

SP O. de la Cruz 2 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP, 2-2 GO-FO, 64-37 pitches-strikes

RP J. Stinnett 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K, 2-0 GO-FO

 

Myrtle Beach won 14-6 Box Score

 

C J. Pereda 1/4, 3 R, 2 BB

3B W. Galindo 2/6, 2 R, 2B (2), 2 RBI

1B T. Alamo 2/4, R, 2B (1), 2 RBI, K

2B A. Upshaw 1/5, R, HR (1), RBI, 2 K

SS A. Ademan 2/5, 2 R, HR (1), RBI, 2 K

SP B. Hudson 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HBP, 2 WP, 5-1 GO-FO, 77-48 pitches-strikes

 

South Bend PPD - Rain

[weis21]

Going to watch MB play tonight in kinston, nc

 

I’ll try to find some more scouts and will give my amateur scouting report regardless. Hopefully i bring MB better luck

[Regular Show]

Going to watch MB play tonight in kinston, nc

 

I’ll try to find some more scouts and will give my amateur scouting report regardless. Hopefully i bring MB better luck

 

I don't have high hopes for Bryan Hudson, but let us know if his curveball/breaking ball looks good. That was his best pitch in HS and it's really regressed since he signed.

 

Obviously, the big name at MB is Aramis Ademan. Hopefully he looks good and has a great game.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

David Bote HR

[Cubswin11]

Should we be getting excited about Underwood to at least be a bullpen option soon?

 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I’m gonna need Underwood to keep that up for a while before I start believing in him. By my calculations he needs to perform until...2027 to reach that point.

[Cubswin11]

Ademan HR

[Regular Show]

Ademan HR

 

[weis21]

Ademan HR

 

Yep! I was very impressed with him to be honest.

 

My initial impression was the physical appearance of him looking like a little kid. I mean it could be a factor that Hudson, Alamo, Mitchell and others are so much bigger (or older/more mature) but damn, he looked like a baby out there. Maybe it's because they are both SS but if you remember the size of baby-faced Starlin when he was called up for the first time, Ademan kind of reminded me of him. Anyway, this is a long way of saying I thought I remembered hearing that he had bulked up some since last year and if that is the case then he had the build of DJ Qualls in 2017. But he's 19 so it's not shocking - he just stood out among all the other MB and Woodduck players imo. It's a feather in his cap I'm sure because this is an aggressive assignment for someone of his age and experience.

 

SO, that was the most backhanded compliment ever. I liked what I saw for sure. He struck out on 3 straight pitches in the first AB when most other MB hitters weren't being fooled in the least and I was thinking, "damn, he's the only one that looked completely overmatched". But, from that point on I was very impressed. He had one more strikeout but made solid contact in all other ABs (and obviously the HR). He had good, quick bat speed and ran well. I was maybe most impressed with his defense, though. Really good instincts, strong arm from what I saw. One play in particular he had a great jump on a ball heading to left-field and made a quick, solid play on the grounder, perfect throw to 2B and Upshaw finished the double-play with a strong throw to Alamo. He just looked really comfortable in all aspects of the game and with more time and experience - and when he no doubt fills out physically - he's only going to keep getting better.

 

Again, take this all with a grain of salt but athletically speaking I felt like he was in the same vein as Castro. I could see him sticking at SS for sure based on what I saw but if/when he puts on more muscle then I wouldn't be surprised either to see a move to 2B. But, the instincts for the position are certainly there in my "in now way should anyone believe anything I say because i'm no more a meteorologist than I am a baseball scout" opinion.

 

Other random notes:

 

-This was one of the first real "dates" with new GF so I was also spitting game and fending her off from the rednecks around us so blame any wrong opinions on that. Also, she will be around for Cubs 2018 playoff run. I got you guys covered.

-Hudson just looked like organizational fodder to me. I mean he was fine and all. He's tall af. I remember thinking anybody his size and left-handed should be better but he was solid I guess. Breaking ball was good at times and then he was wild with it other times. Like I said, i was just "meh" overall but he didn't suck so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

-I kind of really liked Kevonte Mitchell. Maybe just based on size alone but he seemed to have a good idea at the plate and made solid contact. I can say the same for Galindo, too. I was encouraged by both based on this huge one-game sample size.

-Connor Myers simply must be related to Sam Fuld in some way. I mean he is the epitome of "scrappy white ballplayer". He played the game the right way last night. Gritty and tough. He's a real gamer. He also doesn't wear batting gloves and spat on his hands a lot when he stepped out of the box. (but seriously he had a nice game and nice approach at the plate).

-No clue who or what a Vimael Machin is but he also impressed me at the plate. I also just wanted to call him "the machine" and made me think of these videos which made me happy:

-Could be based on the Woodducks horsefeathering HORRIBLE defense but MB was fundamentally sound and played really good defense for the whole game.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Yesterday in Mesa: https://www.thecubreporter.com/04142018/alzolay-breezes-through-five-riverview

 

Have to think Alzolay is ready for Tennessee or Iowa:

 

Adbert Alzolay: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 7 K, 1 HBP, 1 GIDP, 4/2 GO/AO, 75 pitches (46 strikes)

 

Prior to the game, RHPs Yovanny Cruz, Eduarniel Nunez, Jesus Tejada, Garrett Kelly, and Stephen Ridings, and LHP Riger Fernandez threw "live" BP on Field #4. Y. Cruz, Fernandez, and Tejada attended AZ Instructs post-2017 but did not pitch in any games, but E. Nunez is making his U. S. debut at Extended Spring Training this year. G. Kelly (ex-MIN) was acquired by the Cubs from Schaumburg (Frontier League) last month but he has not yet pitched in a game.