Cubs Arizona Fall League Week In Review: Dominick Reid, Jhon Cabral Flash Impressive Stuff for Solar Sox

[Jeremy Tecktiel]

Week 3 of Arizona Fall League Action is in the books! The Mesa Solar Sox are 6-9 through the first 15 games, leaving them as one of just two teams currently under .500. You can find recaps of both Week 1 and Week 2 here.

Every Chicago Cubs prospect got into at least one of the five games this week, so let's review how they did.

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Dominick Reid

Stats: 4 IP, 1 hit, 0 runs, 5 strikeouts, 1 walk

Dominick Reid was dominant in his start this week, facing the minimum through four innings. He walked the first batter of the game and then picked him off at first two batters later; he also gave up a one-out single in the third and then got the next batter to ground into a weak double play. Reid showed off his six-pitch arsenal while being efficient at just 14 pitches per inning.

He sat at 90-93 mph with his fastball mix and got strikeouts with his cutter, curveball (two of them), sinker, and four-seam. The only barrel he gave up was the single. This was all against a Surprise team that features top prospects close to the big leagues in Sebastian Walcott and Aidan Miller in the middle of the lineup, who went a combined 0-3 with 3 strikeouts against Reid.     

Anhuar Garcia

Stats: 3 IP, 5 hits, 4 runs, 1 strikeout, 0 walks

Garcia had one appearance this week and lasted three innings. His first two innings were solid; he gave up a single to the first man he faced but erased him with a double play on his way to retiring the side in order in his first two innings. The third inning went infield single, home run, single, and 112-mph home run on a combined seven pitches.

Garcia then got the last three hitters out to finish his day. He threw just 34 pitches to the 13 batters he faced; he was pounding the zone. Both home runs were on fastballs up in the zone on the first pitch of the at-bat, and those were probably the only two pitches of this outing that Garcia wants back.     

Luis Rujano

Stats: 1 IP, 0 runs, 1 strikeout  

In Rujano’s only appearance this week, he came into the game in the ninth inning with the bases loaded, no outs, and two runs already scored. He got a strikeout and a first-pitch double play to end the inning. The sinker was 94-96 and he threw strikes, coming away with a really strong showing.

Jhon Cabral

Stats: 2 IP, 0 hits, 0 runs, 5 walks, 5 strikeouts

Cabral finished the first game of the week for Mesa in fine fashion. He came in with one out and no one on in the bottom of the ninth and got a pair of strikeouts to end it, the second one on a three-pitch at-bat where he did not throw a fastball, only sliders and cutters. The fastball was still hovering around 97-100 mph, but it was good to see him utilize his breaking stuff.

His second appearance came much earlier in the game, as he entered in the fourth with two outs and no one on. He walked the first two hitters he faced, throwing only fastballs. Two of those fastballs were wild pitches and, combined with a stolen base, allowed a run to score. He struck out the third hitter on his first slider of the day and was done for the day after 15 pitches.

In his next appearance, he was in the game with one on and no one out in the third. He got a ground out and a strikeout and then walked three straight hitters to allow a run before getting a strikeout to end the frame. Cabral again was looking to use his breaking pitches, getting one strikeout on a curveball and the other on a slider.      

Yoendris Gonzalez

Stats: 1 IP, 3 hits, 2 runs, 1 walk, 1 strikeout

Gonzalez came into the second game this week to start the sixth inning and promptly walked the leadoff man. He went 3-0 on the next hitter before coming back to get the strikeout. He gave up a one-out bloop single and then a 108.3-mph single and a 104.1-mph single before getting pulled. He also allowed each of the three base runners to steal second. It was a rough showing for Gonzalez after a week where he didn’t pitch at all.    

Kade Snell

Stats: 13 ABs, 3 hits, 4 walks, 5 RBIs

Snell’s week was a bit of a mixed bag. He hit four balls over 97 mph this week, three of which were not on the ground(!). He put the ball in the air more than he did in the first couple weeks and he did not strike out a single time this week. He also largely made weak contact outside of those four swings and grounded into a pair of double plays. Still, this week represented some solid progress.

Juan Cabada

Stats: 6 ABs, 1 hit, 1 run, 1 walk, 2 strikeouts

Cabada only got into two games this week, but he continues to show signs of maturation. His first game started with a walk after going down 1-2 and included a pair of strikeouts looking on borderline pitches. More importantly, he hit a 109-mph ground-rule double.

His second game was nothing to write home about; he had three groundouts including a 95.9-mph double play and he reached on an error. He has been doing a much better job of not chasing breaking and offspeed stuff.  

Harrison Feinberg

Stats: 5 ABs, 1 hit 

Much to my dismay, Feinberg only played in one game this week. He did hit a ball 108 mph for a two-out, RBI single, but he also had three strikeouts, one of which looked to be a hit-and-run.

Miguel Useche

Stats: 15 ABs, 2 runs, 3 hits, 1 RBI, 2 walks, 3 strikeouts

Useche got more at bats than any other Cubs prospect this week, after not even starting the season playing for Mesa. The Solar Sox are thin at 1B and Useche also got a start behind the plate this week, although he allowed seven stolen bases and caught just one runner.

Overall this week, Useche was…fine? The walk and strikeout rates are solid, he hit a handful of balls hard (seven over 97 mph), had some good at-bats, and even stole a pair of bases. The defense was rough, as it seems clear he is not a catcher as he has allowed 12 stolen bases and made a pair of errors in just 16 innings behind the dish in the AFL. He played in all five games this week though, starting four of them split between 1B/C/DH.

Something else to monitor: Useche pinch hit for Ryland Zaborowski in the first game this week and the latter did not play the rest of the week, indicating a possible injury. Zaborowski leads Mesa in innings at 1B, so any injury will open up a bit of playing time going forward for Useche.

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