Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 4-19-18

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Box Scores:

 

Iowa lost 1-0 (10 innings) Box Score

 

2B D. Bote 0/4, K

C C. Gimenez 0/3, BB, 2 K

RF M. Zagunis 1/3, BB

1B E. Navarro 1/3, BB

3B T. Davis 1/3, CS (1)

SS R. Court 0/4, 4 K

SP A. Baldonado 1.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K, 0-0 GO-FO, 45-26 pitches-strikes

RP R. Zastryzny 3.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 4-2 GO-FO, 55-34 pitches-strikes

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

RP J. Hancock 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 0-0 GO-FO

 

Tennessee won 5-1 Box Score

 

SS Z. Short 1/4, 2B (3), RBI, K

3B J. Vosler 1/3, R, BB, 2 K

RF E. Martinez 0/4

DH I. Rice 0/3, R, BB

SP O. de la Cruz 6 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HBP, 6-3 GO-FO, 82-52 pitches-strikes

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

 

Myrtle Beach lost 6-5 Box Score

 

CF DJ Wilson 1/4, BB, 3 K, outfield assist at second base

C PJ Higgins 0/4, 3 K, HBP; defense: 0/1 CS

3B W. Galindo 0/5, 2 K, E (3, throw)

12B A. Monasterio 3/3, 2B (3), RBI, BB, 2 SB (3), E (3, fielding)

SS A. Ademan 0/3, BB

SP T. Miller 6 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 5-3 GO-FO

 

South Bend lost 3-2 Box Score

 

LF R. Caro 2/4, K, SB (1), CS (1), outfield assist at second base - 2018 debut

3B J. Bethencourt 0/4, K

1B A. Filiere 0/3, K, HBP

RF B. Hughes 0/4, K

CF C. Singleton 0/3

DH Y. Peguero 1/3, R, 3B (1), K

SS R. Narea 1/3, RBI

SP E. Uelmen 4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 6-1 GO-FO, 84-53 pitches-strikes

RP B. Clark 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K, 2-1 GO-FO

[Regular Show]

Man, I really wanted to read/see highlights of Adbert Alzolay. I've seen very little of him and I've heard mixed things about his breaking ball.

 

Hopefully, he's legit and we'll see him at Wrigley later this year.

[Cubswin11]

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Oscar needed a start like that.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Today at Extended Spring Training: https://www.thecubreporter.com/04182018/cubs-rally-squeeze-past-giant-orange-riverview

[toonsterwu]

I keep wondering if there isn't a bit of Marco Hernandez in Aramis Ademan. Look, it's too early to judge any highs and lows, so I'm not certainly making a judgment on that. Furthermore, Marco did end up reaching the majors, only to be hurt in the past year and a half. I think the next month will be telling on what type of prospect Ademan is, in some respects, because his value was as much a talented kid with an advanced approach (versus say, an elite talent).

 

I'm not sure how they end up managing Oscar's innnings this year. If he shows well as a starter, you have to keep him there and just be patient for another year. Dunno, gonna be a tough call, but here's hoping Oscar forces them to make a tough call. A part of me wonders if, as the year progresses, to extend his innings without fully making him a pen arm, maybe you dial him back to 3-4 innings per outing and keep him at AA all year.

 

I don't know why I'm somewhat excited about Stinnett now, after a couple years of being lukewarm, but if he's hitting mid-90's (wasn't there a blurb on that) and still has a good breaking ball ... there might be something there for the pen.

 

Of those middling utility names, I'm really "banking" on Short, as he seems to have the pop and glove to be a bit more useful than Chesny Young, David Bote, Stephen Bruno, Jason Vosler, and so forth. With the paucity of talent in the upper levels, Short should have plenty of time to stick at short and show what he's got. I mean, only Ademan would really force him off, and it might be prudent to give Ademan some time to develop.

 

Total side note - not that it matters that much, but I'd like to see Bailey Clark start games at some point, if he keeps up his strong start. Although, actually, doesn't seem like he's piggybacking on a set rotation, so I guess they have him running extending innings out of the pen? Either way, one of the nicer notes for the minors to start the year, and unless the stuff is flat, gotta see what our best arms can do. Lord knows there's certainly the space and opportunity for guys.

[Tim]

I think you're selling Bote short at this point. I think he really has taken a step forward.

[craig]

It's a long season. Will be interesting to see how a lot of the pitchers settle in over the marathon. Inconsistency tends to be the name of the game at all levels of baseball, so nothing crazy about ODLC looking bad, then good, then perhaps just as bad next time. Too few starts to figure out what the ratio of good/bad will be for any of these guys, yet, over the long haul.

 

I look at the Cubs, Lester's been alternating between bad-sharp-bad-sharp. Darvish has been mostly off but on some. Q has been off and on. Just as I don't think that DArvish's present 6.0 ERA or Quintana's 8+ ERA well represent what they'll probably be over the duration, or that Chatwood is likely to sustain his >8BB/9IP rate, likewise I don't know how representative some of the early results are for the minor league pitchers.

 

But it would be nice if the good outings started to become more normal and the struggle outings rare outliers.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

I think you're selling Bote short at this point. I think he really has taken a step forward.

 

To be fair to toonster, he said pop and defense. Short is clearly further up the defensive spectrum since he can play an adequate SS. I’d definitely disagree if toonster prefers Short’s power to Bote’s (or Vosler’s even).