Minor League Discussion & Boxes, 4-27-23

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Scheduled Game (Central Time):

Iowa vs. Louisville, 12:08 pm

Tennessee at Birmingham, 7:05 pm

South Bend vs. Peoria, 6:05 pm

Myrtle Beach at Charleston, 6:05 pm

Probable Starters:

Iowa: RHP Kyle Hendricks (rehab)

Tennessee: RHP Ben Brown (15 IP, 0.60 ERA, 2.84 FIP, 22 K, 6 BB)

South Bend: RHP Brandon Birdsell (10.2 IP, 0.84 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 12 K, 6 BB)

Myrtle Beach: RHP Grant Kipp (10.2 IP, 5.06 ERA, 6.09 FIP, 10 K, 10 BB)

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Kyle Hendrics through 1: 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, 31 pitches-20 strikes.

Matt Mervis homered off Chase Anderson in the bottom of the first.

 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[jb10194]

Moved to the Des Moines area earlier this year and took advantage and decided to take a long lunch to watch Hendricks. Didn’t need to make it as long as I thought though as he couldn’t make it through 2. A lot of hard contact. He was sitting 85-87 though, which is for him, is encouraging maybe?

[Hrubes20]

In today's Fun With Arbitrary Endpoints:

Kevin Alcantara (last 10 games): .317/.383/.610, 8.5%BB, 21.3%K, .367 BABIP, 178 wRC+

[CubinNY]

I know all the reasons for keeping Mervis in Iowa. They all stink even if they are valid. The Cubs could use some SLG in their lineup. 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[Hrubes20]

1 minute ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

 

That neck tat is quite unfortunate.

[CubinNY]

Dela Cruz and Mcalin are going to be quite a tandem for Cincinnati for a long time.  

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Morel with a long homer 

 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Iowa roaring back. 

 

Slaughter coming around. 2 doubles yesterday and just hit his first dong.

[CubinNY]

7 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Morel with a long homer 

 

Mervis, Morel, ibid. 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Iowa wrecking shop this inning

[CubinNY]

I think Iowa is averaging 8 runs a game.  

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Riley Thompson in to piggyback with Hendricks. 2 scoreless innings so far.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Morel for the second time today:

 

[We Got The Whole 9]

18 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Riley Thompson in to piggyback with Hendricks. 2 scoreless innings so far.

He really stabilized the game for Iowa and then Borucki goes and gives up a 3 run HR immediately lol

[Irrelevant Dude]

How long can the Cubs really keep Morel down?  They are in a very interesting situation that I can't remember ever having been in before, with multiple Major League ready prospects and nowhere for them to go.  Velazquez, Morel, and Mervis have all shown that they belong on the roster, and that's not even considering what happens if Brennen Davis puts things together.  With Happ and Suzuki already locked into the corner spots long term, it seems like there is going to have to be a trade from the Minor League outfield depth at some point.  It's a nice problem to have, but one that will need to be addressed in the near future.

 

[We Got The Whole 9]

Iowa making another comeback. Quite a slugfest. Slaughter with a chance to do more damage. 

 

Slaughter walks with juiced bases and they're down 1. 

Edited April 27, 2023 by We Got The Whole 9

[CubinNY]

12 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

How long can the Cubs really keep Morel down?  They are in a very interesting situation that I can't remember ever having been in before, with multiple Major League ready prospects and nowhere for them to go.  Velazquez, Morel, and Mervis have all shown that they belong on the roster, and that's not even considering what happens if Brennen Davis puts things together.  With Happ and Suzuki already locked into the corner spots long term, it seems like there is going to have to be a trade from the Minor League outfield depth at some point.  It's a nice problem to have, but one that will need to be addressed in the near future.

 

Morel can play wherever. Nelly is a streaky hitter who might not be an everyday guy. Mervis, the jury is still out. However, they are better options than Hosmer, Rios, and Torrens. 

[Transmogrified Tiger]

26 minutes ago, Irrelevant Dude said:

How long can the Cubs really keep Morel down?  They are in a very interesting situation that I can't remember ever having been in before, with multiple Major League ready prospects and nowhere for them to go.  Velazquez, Morel, and Mervis have all shown that they belong on the roster, and that's not even considering what happens if Brennen Davis puts things together.  With Happ and Suzuki already locked into the corner spots long term, it seems like there is going to have to be a trade from the Minor League outfield depth at some point.  It's a nice problem to have, but one that will need to be addressed in the near future.

 

It's an unusual situation.  The K rate is still too high and probably will be exploited, he learned that at the MLB level in the 2nd half last year.  But if he's hitting like .335/.450/.800 despite the K rate then I'm not sure how much of a learning experience that is.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[Rex Buckingham]

Is the ball juiced again, at least in AAA?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Kevin Alcántara 2-run homer of Cardinals 2022 first rounder Cooper Hjerpe.

Hjerpe has a 7.71 ERA on the season.

[Hrubes20]

Just now, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Kevin Alcántara 2-run homer of Cardinals 2022 first rounder Cooper Hjerpe.

Hjerpe has a 7.71 ERA on the season.

Had a 12 pitch AB his first time up as well. Struck out looking but fouled off a bunch of pitches.