Travis Aune

Check out all that happened through the Cubs minor league system on Thursday. Javier Assad was on the mound, but he didn't get a lot of bullpen help. BJ Murray provided some offense for Tennessee, but did Kohl Franklin take advantage? A tough night in the organization, but we'll find some highlights. Image courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, USA Today Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS On Thursday, the Iowa Cubs activated second baseman Bryce Windham. On Wednesday, the Smokies released catcher Tim Susnara. IOWA CUBS COURIER Iowa 5, Indianapolis 10 Box Score The Cubs sent Javier Assad to the mound. Assad went four innings and gave up two runs on four hits. He walked three batters while striking out five. Assad had a very good start to the season though this start dropped his ERA on the year to 3.68. This was a rough one for the bullpen though. The Cubs then brought in Codi Heuer, and he gave up three runs on only one hit with two walks to take the loss. Tyler Duffey pitched two-thirds of an inning and gave up three runs on two hits along with three walks. Nick Neidert then came on and pitched two innings and gave up one run on two hits with three strikeouts. Bailey Horn pitched the eighth inning and gave up a run on one hit. Horn walked one batter while striking out two. The Cubs offensively were led by catcher Miguel Amaya who was 2-for-3 with a walk. Yonathan Perlaza went 2-for-4 with his second double and two runs scored. Jake Slaughter added his ninth double of the year. Nelson Velazquez added his sixth double. Levi Jordan went 1-for-3 with his second triple and a run scored. The Cubs are now 23-16, 1/2 game ahead of Memphis in the International League West Division. SMOKIES SENTINEL Tennessee 5, Pensacola 4 Box Score The Smokies gave the start to Kohl Franklin in this game, and he was really good. Franklin went five strong innings. He gave up a run on two hits with three walks and four strikeouts. With this start, Franklin dropped his ERA to 7.00 over two Double-A starts after five starts with South Bend in which he had a good 2.79 ERA to deserve the promotion. Carlos Guzman came in for Franklin and went two innings. He gave up three runs on three hits with a walk and a strikeout. Riley Martin picked up his second save of year, going two innings with a walk and four strikeouts. The Smokies were led offensively by B.J. Murray Jr. who went 3-for-5 at the plate with his tenth double and his 24th RBI. It is early in the season, but Murray Jr. has a .944 OPS. Jordan Nwogo had his first double. The Smokies are now 19-17, 1 1/2 games ahead of Chattanooga in the Southern League North Division. SOUTH BEND BEACON South Bend 3, Beloit 5 Box Score South Bend gave the start to Richard Gallardo. Gallardo had a rough one as he took the loss to drop his record to 3-3. He went five innings and gave up five runs on six hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Eduarniel Nunez pitched a shutout inning with a walk. Joe Nahas pitched the last two innings without giving up a run on one hit with two strikeouts. The Cubs were only able to pick up six hits on the day. Ezequiel Pagan led the team going 3-for-4 with his fifth double and two RBI. Kevin Alcantara added his 10th stolen base of the year. The Cubs are now 20-16, 1 1/2 games back of Beloit in the Midwest League West Division. PELICAN PRESS Myrtle Beach 10, Augusta 8 Box Score The Pelicans found a way to win a slugfest Wednesday 10-8. The pitching was not the story in this game. Marino Santy started and only lasted one inning. In that inning, he gave up three runs on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts. The major reason for coming out is he threw 41 pitches in the inning and typically in the low minors if you go over 30 in an inning, your night is done. Dominic Hambley came in relief and went 1 1/3 inning and gave up four runs on only one hit. He walked four guys and struck out one. Angel Hernandez had a rough outing, but somehow got the win. In three innings, he gave up one run on one hit, but what made it rough was six walks along with two strikeouts. Saul Gonzalez pitched the last 3 2/3 innings of shutout ball on two hits along with a walk and seven strikeouts. The Pelicans put together a nice offensive game scoring 10 runs on eight hits. They were led by Juan Mora who went 2-for-3 with three RBI along with his second double. Cristian Hernandez went 2-for-4 with his first double. Andy Garriola went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Rafael Morel stole his third base, and Parker Chavers stole his second base. The Pelicans are now 17-18, 4 1/2 games behind Kannapolis in the Carolina League South Division. CUBS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Saul Gonzalez (Myrtle Beach Pelicans) - 3.2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 1 BB, 7 K. Hitter of the Day – B.J. Murray Jr. (Tennessee Smokies) - 3-for-5, 2B(10), R, RBI. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Cubs Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Sunday. #3 - OF Kevin Alcantara (South Bend) - 0-for-4, R, 2 K. #4 - OF Brennen Davis (Iowa) - 0-for-3, RBI (16). #8 - OF Owen Caissie (Tennessee) - 1- for- 4 BB, R. #11 - IF Cristian Hernandez (Myrtle Beach) - 2-for-4 RBI(16), K. #15 - 3B James Triantos (South Bend) - 0-for-4 RBI (5) #17 - C Moises Ballesteros (Myrtle Beach) - 1-for-4. BB, K. #18 - SS Kevin Made (South Bend) - 0- for- 4. #19 - C Miguel Amaya (Iowa) - 2-for-3, BB. Friday SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Iowa @ Indianapolis (6:05 PM CST) - TBD. Tennessee @ Pensacola (6:35 PM CST) - TBD. South Bend @ Beloit (6:35 PM CST) - Tyler Santana (1-5 6.08 ERA). Augusta @ Myrtle Beach (6:05 PM CST) - Jackson Ferris (0-0 1.50 ERA). Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Thursday’s games! View full article

Last week, Miguel Amaya was called up and made his MLB debut. In five games, he had three, big-league hits. He was optioned to Iowa recently, and on Sunday, he collected his first four Triple-A base hits. Find out who else had strong performances in Sunday's Cubs Minor League Report. Let’s get to the report. As always, please feel free to discuss and ask questions. TRANSACTIONS Iowa Cubs activated C Jake Washer. And sent C David Avitia to South Bend. IOWA CUBS COURIER Iowa 2, Toledo 6 Box Score The Cubs dropped the finale Sunday to Toledo by a score of 6-2. Iowa in a tight 2-2 game until the top of the 8th. That’s when Cubs pitchers gave up four runs including a three-run home run to put the game away. Iowa gave the start to rehabbing Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks. He fared how you would expect him to as he went five innings and only gave up two runs on six hits. He walked two batters, while striking out four on 79 pitches. After Hendricks, the Cubs went to their bullpen. Cam Sanders was the first arm summoned. He went 1 1/3 scoreless innings with two walks and two strikeouts. Left-hander Bailey Horn came on and got two outs while giving up an earned run on two hits and a strikeout. Next, Manuel Rodriguez entered and gave up two runs on two hits with a walk and a strikeout. Tyler Duffey pitched the ninth and had two strikeouts. The Cubs offense just couldn’t get the big hit with guys on base. They went just 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position. Miguel Amaya led the team going 4-for-4 with his first two doubles and an RBI. Sergio Alcantara went 2-for-4. The Cubs are now 22-14, one game back of Memphis in the International League West Division. SMOKIES SENTINEL Tennessee 1, Montgomery 4 Box Score On Sunday afternoon, the Smokies were on the short end of a 4-1 game. Tennessee fell behind 3-0 after three-and-a-half innings. They were unable to get much going at the plate. They only were able to score one run on three hits. The Smokies handed the ball to DJ Herz. The southpaw went 3 2/3 innings and gave up three runs on only two hits. He walked three batters but impressively struck out nine. With the three runs allowed it raised Herz’s season ERA to a solid 3.68. Herz was followed by Carlos Guzman who worked 1 1/3 innings with a walk and two strikeouts. Luke Little was very impressive as he went two perfect innings with three strikeouts to drop his ERA to 1.50. Little was followed by Cayne Ueckert who gave up the fourth run on a solo home run but added two strikeouts. Chris Kachmar pitched a scoreless 9th inning and recorded a walk and a strikeout. The Smokies were held in check by Montgomery’s pitching. They were only able to collect three hits. They were led by top prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong who went 2-for-4 along with his 10th stolen base of the season. Crow-Armstrong is hitting .287. The other hit was by catcher Caleb Knight. The only run came in the 4th inning on a Owen Caissie sacrifice fly, his 25th RBI of the season. The Smokies are now 18-15, two games ahead of Rocket City in the Southern League North Division. SOUTH BEND BEACON South Bend 2, Wisconsin 1 (11 innings) Box Score With the score tied 1-1, a James Triantos RBI single in the top of the 11th put the Cubs ahead for good. With runners on 2nd and 3rd and two outs, a big strikeout won the game. South Bend gave the ball to Manuel Espinoza, and he gave the Cubs three shutout innings on only one hit. This was only his second game and first start for South Bend. Frankie Scalzo Jr. followed and pitched two shutout innings with a strikeout. Next was Brad Deppermann who pitched a perfect inning with a strikeout. The Cubs brought in Joe Nahas who went three innings and gave up a run on two hits with two walks and a strikeout. Sheldon Reed pitched the last two innings to improve his record to 4-1 on the season. In Reed’s two innings, he walked one while striking out two batters. Offensively, the Cubs were held to just five hits, but five was all they needed. Triantos went 2-for-5 with the game-winning hit. Fabian Pertuz hit his second triple of the year. Bryce Ball went 1-for-3 with his fourth RBI and his first stolen base. The Cubs are now 18-15, three games back of Beloit in the Midwest League West Division. PELICAN PRESS Myrtle Beach 3, Lynchburg 1 Box Score The Pelicans finished off their series with Lynchburg on Sunday evening. They scored two runs in the third inning and then another insurance run late to put this game away thanks to some great pitching. The Pelicans got a really strong start from Brody McCullough. The 22-year-old right-hander went five innings and gave up just a run on three hits. He walked two batters while striking out eight. The start brought his ERA on the season to a very good 2.92. The Pelicans then brought in Branden Noriega. Noriega went 2 2/3 and did not give up a run on two hits. He walked two batters and struck out two. Saul Gonzalez worked the last 1 1/3 perfect innings with two strikeouts to pick up his second save. The Pelicans did not do much offensively, but it was just enough. They left nine runners on base, to keep the game close. Juan Mora led the way. He went 3-for-4 with an RBI and stolen base. Rafael Morel went 2-for-4 with a run scored. Cristian Hernandez also went 2-for-4 at the plate. The Pelicans are now 16-16, 2 1/2 games behind Kannapolis in the Carolina League South Division. CUBS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY Pitcher of the Day – Brody McCullough (Myrtle Beach Pelicans) - 5 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K. Hitter of the Day – Miguel Amaya (Iowa Cubs) - 4-for-4, 2-2B(2), R, RBI. PROSPECT SUMMARY Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Cubs Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Sunday. #1 - OF Pete Crow-Armstrong (Tennessee) - 2-4 R, SB(10). #3 - OF Kevin Alcantara (South Bend) - 0-for-4, 2 k #4 - OF Brennen Davis (Iowa) - 1-for-4, #6 - 1B Matt Mervis (Chicago) - 2-for-4 #8 - OF Owen Caissie (Tennessee) - 0-for-2, RBI (25), K. #11 - IF Cristian Hernandez (Myrtle Beach) - 2-for-4 #15 - 3B James Triantos (South Bend) - 2-for-5 RBI (2) #17 - C Moises Ballesteros (Myrtle Beach) - 1-for-4. K #19 - C Miguel Amaya (Iowa) - 4-for-4, 2-2B (2), R, RBI TUESDAY SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES Iowa @ Indianapolis (5:35 PM CST) - TBD Tennessee @ Pensacola (6:35 PM CST) - TBD South Bend @ Beloit (6:05 PM CST) - TBD. Augusta @ Myrtle Beach (6:05 PM CST) - TBD Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Sunday’s games! View full article