Albert Almora is having a great 2016 so far, I will speak more on that in a piece that will come out later today. In the meantime, enjoy this frozen rope from last night.
Month: April 2016
Prospect Files: Dan Vogelbach with an Absolute Bomb (VIDEO)
Dan Vogelbach has had a great start to the 2016 season, last night he destroyed a baseball.
Jake Arrieta Finishes his Second No-Hitter (VIDEO)
Wow, that’s it, I got nothing else. Over his last 24 regular season start Jake Arrieta is 20-1 with a 0.86 ERA, and two no-hitter, no one is better than him right now.
Dingerpalooza 2016; Cubs Blast Five Dingers (VIDEOS)
There are some interesting things going on in Cincinnati, most of them involve Jake Arrieta and zeroes. Taking a back seat to what Jake is doing is the support he is getting tonight, FIVE home runs from the Cubs. Kris Bryant went deep twice, one was a grand slam, David Ross with one, Ben Zobrist with his first as a Cub, and Anthony Rizzo with one. Enjoy the videos below.
David Ross launches a grandpa bomb
Riding the Bus (Cubs Minor League Reports): April 20, 2016
WEDNESDAY APRIL 20, 2016
After trailing all night the Iowa Cubs were able to tie the game up at two in the eighth only to see New Orleans walk-off in the bottom of the ninth for a 3-2 win.
At the Plate:
- Juan Perez got a chance out of the lead-off spot and came through; he went 2-for-5 with his first homer of the year, an RBI, and a run scored.
- Albert Almora is really swinging it right now; he went 3-for-4 with a double, a home run, an RBI, and a run scored; he’s now hitting .368 on the season.
- Matt Murton (!) got the start in left tonight; he went 2-for-4 in the loss.
- Munenori Kawasaki was 1-for-2 with two walks; clearly he has taken the approach of the major league club down to Iowa with him.
On the Mound:
- Drew Rucinski was brilliant last night, but had to settle for a no-decision. He worked six innings, giving up two runs on five hits while walking two, and striking out ten.
- Carl Edwards Jr. had a nice bounce back effort last night; he worked a scoreless inning while striking out one.
- Spencer Patton struggled with command but battled through it; he worked a scoreless inning, giving up one hit while walking two, and striking out one.
- Brandon Gomes took the loss in this one; he worked just 1/3rd of an inning, giving up one run on two hits.
A tough loss for the Smokies as they rallied to take a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the eighth then watched as the Biscuits scored three times in the ninth en route to a 5-4 victory.
At the Plate:
- It was the Chesny Young show last night; he went 4-for-4 with a walk, an RBI, and two stolen bases.
- Billy McKinney was 1-for-4 with his second double of the season, a walk, and an RBI in the loss.
- Taylor Davis, David Freitas, and Bijan Rademacher all finished the night with one hit a piece.
On the Mound:
- Tyler Skulina got the start and struggled with finding the plate; he worked 3.2 innings, giving up three runs on three hits while walking four, and striking out one.
- Gerardo Concepcion might actually be figuring it out; he was good again last night. Concepcion worked 2.1 scoreless innings, giving up two hits while striking out two.
- Juan Paniagua was also solid in relief; he worked two scoreless innings, giving up three hits while walking one.
- David Garner had a rough go of it, and was hung with the loss. Garner worked one inning, giving up three runs on three hits while walking one, and striking out two.
The Pelicans didn’t have much going offensively in this one, but they found just enough as they scored three times in the eighth to beat the Winston-Salem Dash 4-1.
At the Plate:
- Ian Happ has had a really solid start to the year; he went 1-for-3 with a walk, and is now hitting .296 on the season.
- Yasiel Balaguert was one of the offensive heroes last night; he went 1-for-4 with two RBI’s, and has now knocked in eight on the season.
- Daniel Lockhart went 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored in the win.
- David Bote provided the big blow in this one; he went 1-for-4 with his first home run of the season, two RBI’s, and a run scored.
On the Mound:
- Brilliance from Zach Hedges; he worked seven innings, giving up one run on four hits while walking one, and striking out four.
- James Farris was just as good in relief, and picked up his second save of the season. Farris worked two scoreless/hitless innings while walking one, and striking out three.
Eight runs over the first three innings put this one to bed early. The South Bend Cubs pounded out thirteen hits and eight runs on their way to an 8-4 laugher last night.
At the Plate: (There’s a lot)
- Eloy Jimenez had a solid game; he went 2-for-3 with a walk, and two runs scored.
- Eddy Martinez broke out of a small slump; he was 2-for-4 with two RBI’s, he now has seven RBI’s on the season.
- Daniel Spingola has been red hot as of late; he went 2-for-4 with two RBI’s, and a run scored; he’s now hitting .405 on the season.
- Tyler Alamo has been great in the early going this year; he went 3-for-4 with a double, and an RBI; he’s now hitting .455 on the season.
- Sutton Whiting, P.J. Higgins, Donnie Dewees, and Matt Rose all finished the night with one hit a piece.
On the Mound:
- Justin Steele has had a rough start to 2016, but last night was a step in the right direction. Steele worked five innings, giving up three runs, two earned, on four hits while walking one, and striking out six to pick up his first win of the year.
- Craig Brooks was good once again in relief; he worked two scoreless innings, giving up two hits while walking one, and striking out five.
- Scott Effross was also solid; he worked two innings, giving up one run, unearned, on three hits while striking out two.
Prospect Files: Albert Almora Smacks First Dinger (VIDEO)
Albert Almora has had a great start to 2016, last night he blasted his first home run of the season. Just stay healthy, Albert.
Screw the Slow Start; Heyward’s Defense is off the Charts (VIDEOS)
The season is just over two weeks old, and some out there want to complain about Jason Heyward‘s slow start with the bat. That’s fine, and fair, Heyward has been a bit in-between at the plate which is typically what his month of April looks like. But make no mistake, a big reason for Heyward being brought in is his defensive ability and it was on display last night as he gunned down Matt Holliday at the plate which kept the Cubs in front 2-1. Here’s a collection of defensive highlights of Jason Heyward that I’m sure you will enjoy.
Heyward’s spectacular catch (Sorry for no embed feature, come on, MLB)
Another tremendous catch by Jason Heyward
Prospect Files: Gleyber Goes Deep, Rademacher Powers Up, Lockhart Flashes the Leather (VIDEO)
Bijan Rademacher is lighting it up right now, here is video of his second homer of the night, a three run bomb.
Gleyber Torres has struggled for much of 2016 which isn’t entirely surprising for a 19 year old, but last night he showed why he’s such an exciting prospect by blasting an opposite field dinger.
Daniel Lockhart makes a tremendous play.
Riding the Bus (Cubs Minor League Reports): April 19, 2016
TUESDAY APRIL 19, 2016
Things started horribly for the Iowa Cubs as they trailed 6-0 after four innings before making a furious comeback that fell just short. With the loss the Cubs fall to 4-7 on the season while New Orleans moves to 5-8.
At the Plate:
- Arismendy Alcantara continues to have a bounce back 2016; he went 3-for-5 with his first triple of the season, a stolen base, and a run scored.
- Willson Contreras actually made a couple of outs last night; he went 1-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
- Dan Vogelbach had another solid game; he went 1-for-3 with his fourth double of the season, two walks, and two runs scored.
- Albert Almora had a huge game; he went 3-for-4 with an RBI, a stolen base, and a run scored. Almora is now hitting .324 on the season.
On the Mound:
- Scott Barnes got the start, and was torched. He worked two innings, giving up five runs on six hits while walking one, and striking out two.
- Stephen Perakslis was solid out of the pen; he worked three innings, giving up two runs, both unearned while walking one, and striking out two.
- Giovanni Soto worked a solid scoreless inning in his Cubs organizational debut.
- Felix Pena was strong as he kept the Cubs in it; he worked two scoreless/hitless innings while walking one, and striking out three.
It was all Smokies in this one as they smacked three dingers en route to a 9-3 victory over the Montgomery Biscuits.
At the Plate:
- Jacob Hannemann ripped his first homer of the season; he went 1-for-5 with an RBI, and a run scored.
- Chesny Young was all over the place last night; he went 1-for-3 with two stolen bases, and two runs scored.
- Jeimer Candelario snapped out of an early season funk; he went 1-for-2 with two walks, an RBI, and two runs scored.
- Bijan Rademacher had a huge game, what else is new? He went 2-for-4 with two homers (Four on the season now), four RBI’s, and two runs scored.
On the Mound:
- Brad Markey struggled a bit with his command but did enough to pick up his first win of the season. Markey worked five innings, giving up two runs on eight hits while walking four, and striking out three.
- Michael Jensen was decent in relief; he worked two innings, giving up one runs on two hits while walking two, and striking out two.
- James Pugliese and Josh Conway each worked a scoreless inning to shut the door on this one.
It was a rough night for the Pelicans as they blew two different leads before eventually falling to Winston-Salem by a score of 6-5.
At the Plate:
- Gleyber Torres has been really struggling so far this year; last night he went 1-for-4 with his first dinger of the year, an RBI, and a run scored, maybe that will get him going.
- Yasiel Balaguert had a solid game; he went 2-for-4 with his first homer of the season, an RBI, and a run scored.
- Jason Vosler continued his solid start to the year; he went 2-for-4 with a run scored, he’s now hitting .341 on the season.
- Jeffrey Baez had a solid game; he went 1-for-3 with his third double of the season, a walk, an RBI, and a run scored.
On the Mound:
- Jonathan Martinez turned in a solid outing; unfortunately he had to settle for a no decision. He worked six innings, giving up two runs on five hits while walking one, and striking out two.
- Jordan Minch was hung with the loss in this one; he worked 2.2 innings, giving up four runs on six hits while walking one, and striking out two.
At the Plate:
- P.J. Higgins had a solid game; he went 2-for-4 with a walk, and a run scored.
- Daniel Spingola has been red hot so far this year; he went 3-for-5, and is now hitting .394 on the season.
- Andrew Ely went 3-for-4 with a double in the loss.
- Ian Rice went 2-for-4, but the Cubs could not do anything as they were 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position, oof.
On the Mound:
- Preston Morrison got the start and was hung with his second loss of the season. Morrison worked 2.2 innings, giving up four runs, three earned, on seven hits while walking two, and striking out two.
- Casey Bloomquist poured a fair bit of gasoline on the fire; he worked 2.1 innings, giving up six runs on five hits while walking one, and striking out two.
- Scott Frazier was also roughed up in relief; he worked 2.1 innings, giving up two runs on one hit while walking three, and striking out three.
- James Norwood was the lone bright spot; he worked 1.2 scoreless/hitless innings while striking out one.
Prospect Files: Ian Happ Homers Twice, Blackburn Dominates, Rose Homers (VIDEO)
Matt Rose cracks his first homer of the season.
Paul Blackburn put up nothing but zeroes last night.
Ian Happ destroys home run number one on the evening.
Ian Happ does it again, opposite field no less, quite the night for one of the Cubs’ top prospects.
Born on Third 