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2012 was Almora’s first professional season.
For full statistics please click here to be taken to Albert Almora’s Baseball-Reference page
Thanks for reading,
– George
Category: Peoria Chiefs (A) 2012
Cubs Make it Official: Reach an Agreement with Kane County
It has been speculated for about a month now, but today it became official, the Cubs have announced they have reached an agreement to move their single A affiliate from Peoria to Kane County. Opening day for the Cougars will be Thursday, April 4.
“We are extremely excited about our new relationship with the Chicago Cubs,” said Cougars General Manager Curtis Haug. “The close proximity between both organizations will be mutually beneficial in numerous ways. We believe that the Cubs organization and their philosophies about the minor leagues, including scouting, player development, and involvement in the community, are a fantastic fit for our franchise.”
The Kane County Cougars are excited to bring the Cubs affiliate to town and so are the Cubs as the comments from Jason McLeod below.
“We are excited at the opportunity to work with the Kane County franchise,” said Cubs Senior Vice President of Scouting/Player Development Jason McLeod. “The benefits of having one of our minor league clubs this close to Chicago are numerous and we look forward to starting this new relationship.”
Not only is it exciting for the Cubs and the Cougars, but for so many Cub fans who can see some of the young, exciting Cubs talent so close to the Chicagoland area. The new contract with Kane County will last for two years, running through the 2014 season.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
Peoria Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals Together Again
Consider this the start of the movement that will culminate with the Cubs single A affiliate becoming the Kane County Cougars. Today the Peoria Chiefs announced a PDC that will begin next year, thus confirming the Chiefs and Cubs split. So we now hate the Peoria Chiefs, I’m kidding, there are a lot of good people who work with the Chiefs and I wish them nothing but the best.
The Peoria Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals have announced that the two clubs have reached a four-year PDC agreement which reunites the former affiliation partners. The Chiefs were a Cardinals affiliate from 1995 to 2004 making the playoffs four times and winning their lone Midwest League Championship in 2002. The two organizations will hold a press conference on the agreement on Tuesday, September 25 at Peoria Chiefs Stadium. Details of the press conference, including the start time, will follow later in the week.
“This is a great day for baseball in Peoria and Central Illinois,” said Chiefs President Rocky Vonachen. “We are thrilled to bring the color red back to the ballpark with one of the greatest organizations and fan bases in baseball. We hope that with all the great young talent the Cardinals have produced the last few seasons to bring another MWL Championship to Peoria as they continue to bring World Series trophies to St. Louis.”
Stay tuned for details about the Cubs new Single A affiliate, we should get some sort of announcement soon.
Thanks for reading,
– George
9/3: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Peoria and Tennessee were the only Cubs minor league teams with regular season games today. Boise played game one, which we will have a separate post on.
Peoria finished the season strong beating Kane County 6-2. Ben Wells got the start pitching two scoreless innings allowing no runs on three hits. Willengton Cruz got the win pitching 4.2 innings allowing two runs on just one hit. Luis Liria struggled with his command, walking four in just 0.2 innings, but got the ball to Pete Levitt who recorded his first save of the season throwing the final 1.2 innings. Yaniel Cabezas had the big blow going 2-for-4 with a three run home run in the fifth. Pin-Chieh Chen also had two hits and a scored a run. Dustin Geiger was 1-for-3 with a double and an RBI and Timothy Saunders had a hit and a run scored. Jorge Soler and Chadd Krist each had a hit in the win.
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Tennessee ended the season on a high note as well beating Pensacola 8-1. Austin Kirk was good getting a win in his final start giving up one run on four hits in 5.2 innings. Frank Batista, Jaye Chapman, Rafael Dolis, and Trey McNutt combined to pitch the final 3.1 innings striking out three, giving up two hits, and allowing no runs. Newly acquired Anthony Recker was 2-for-5 with a home run and four RBIs. He his a three run shot in the seventh. Jae-Hoon Ha and Matt Cerda also had two hits a piece with Cerda driving in one run. Rubi Silva had a hit and drove in two in the Smokies win. Junior Lake, Logan Watkins, and Matt Szczur all had a hit and a run scored on the day.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
9/2: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Only three games on Sunday as the minor league season comes to a close. Daytona’s season ended on Sunday, while Peoria and Tennessee will play their final game on Monday.
Peoria led most of the way, but lost in extra innings 5-4. Starling Peralta got the start and pitched pretty good, but had one tough inning in which he gave up three runs on three hits, walked three, and struck out eight in 5.1. Sheldon McDonald and Steve Perakslis combined to pitch the next 2.2 innings allowing one run. Austin Reed took the loss as he gave up a run in the 10th inning. Jorge Soler was the story on the offensive side as he was 3-for-5 with a mammoth home run, his third with Peoria. Jacob Rogers and Timothy Saunders each had two hits with Rogers knocking in one run. Zeke DeVoss, Pin-Chieh Chen, and Sergio Burruel each had a hit with Burruel adding an RBI in the loss.
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Daytona ended the season on good note beating Brevard County in walk off fashion 3-2. Also ending the season on a positive note was Javier Baez who was 2-for-3 with two home runs and two RBIs. Taylor Davis was the hero though as he had two hits, including the walk off RBI. Ronald Torreyes was 2-for-3 with a double and a walk in the win. Nelson Perez and Micah Gibbs each had a hit. Ryan Searle got the start pitching six inning allowing two runs, one earned on four hits. Matt Spencer and Hunter Cervenka combined to pitch 2.1 innings not allowing a hit and striking out four. Eduardo Figueroa got the win getting the last two outs of the game. It was a nice way for Javier Baez and the Daytona Cubs to end the season.
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Tennessee scored four in the 15th beating Pensacola 7-3. Dae-Eun Rhee got the start pitching six innings allowing one run on five hits. Tony Zych struggled giving up two runs in just 0.2 innings, but Frank Batista and Brian Schlitter did a really nice job pitching the next 4.1 scoreless innings. Casey Harman was outstanding as well pitching four scoreless innings, allowing only one hit, one walk, and one strike out notching his first win of the season. Matt Cerda was 3-for-7 with an RBI and a run scored. Logan Watkins had two hits, including a double and two RBIs. Junior Lake had one hit, but he made it count hitting a three-run homer and ended with four RBIs on the night. Jae-Hoon Ha, Rubi Silva, and Michael Brenly each had two hits in the win.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
9/1: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Our daily minor league recap.
Boise closed out the regular season by winning a wild one Saturday night 12-11. Boise took an early lead, but gave up six in the fourth and five in the fifth and were quickly down by six runs. They came storming back scoring four in the sixth, one in the seventh, and two in the ninth to get the victory. Marco Hernadez was 4-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBIs, including the game tying RBI and the winning run scored. Dan Vogelbach had three hits and three RBIs. Gioskar Amaya was 2-for-4 with a double, triple, three runs scored, and two RBIs. Albert Almora and Rock Shoulders each had two hits, with Almora knocking one in and Wilson Contreras had two RBIs including the game winner. Stephen Bruno kept the hitting streak alive as he went 1-for-1, with an RBI, but was ejected shortly after that. Ian Dickson got the start, giving up six runs, four earned in just 3.1 innings. Hunter Ackerman followed and gave up five runs, two earned over the next 1.2 innings. Brian Smith was tremendous pitching three perfect innings with four strikeouts. Rafael Diplan got his third win of the season pitching a scoreless ninth. Boise starts their playoffs on Monday.
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Peoria gave up three in the sixth and took the loss 6-5. Jeff Antigua got the start, but struggled a bit giving up six runs on eight hits in 5.2 innings. Justin Berg came on and pitched the final 2.1 innings not allowing a run. Bijan Rademacher had a nice night at the plate going 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Oliver Zapata also had a double and rove in two. Chadd Krist was 2-for-4 with two doubles and two runs scored. Jorge Soler, Zeke DeVoss and Jacob Rogers each had a hit a piece, with Rogers scoring two runs. Peoria has two more games against Kane County as the season will come to a close on Monday.
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Daytona beat Brevard County on Saturday 4-2. Matt Loosen got the start and pitched quite well in his five innings. He allowed one run on two hits and struck out six, in earning his 11th win of the season. Jeff Lorick gave up a run, but pitched the next two innings before getting the ball to AJ Morris threw the final two innings and earned his seventh save of the season. John Andreoli, who has had a really nice season waited until tonight to hit his first home run of the season. He ended the night 2-for-3 with two runs scored, an RBI, and two stolen bases bringing his total to 55. Nelson Perez was 2-for-3 with two doubles and an RBI and Rafael Lopez had a hit and knocked one in as well. Javier Baez and Christian Villanueva each had a hit, with Villanueva stealing two bases and scoring a run as well. Daytona’s season will come to a close on Sunday.
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Tennessee scored two in the fifth, but gave up one in the ninth to lose 3-2. Eric Jokisch started, but did not factor in the decision going five innings and allowing one run on six hits, while striking out five. After Zach Rosscup gave up a run in his inning of work, both Jaye Chapman and Rafael Dolis pitched a scoreless inning each. Kevin Rhoderick took the loss giving up a run in the ninth inning. Logan Watkins was 1-for-3 with a home run and two RBIs, he also walked twice. Matt Szczur had two hits, including a double and he scored a run. The pitcher Eric Jokisch and pinch hitter Dustin Harrington were the only other Smokies to record a hit in the loss. Tennessee has two games left and will end their season on Monday.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/30: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Here is a quick look at the Cubs minor league recap for Thursday, August 30th. When the AZL Cubs playoff game ends we will have a full recap of that game.
Boise scored two in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough as they lost to Everett 4-3. What else is new Stephen Bruno was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. His hit streak now sits at 20. Rock Shoulders hit a pinch-hit two-run home run in the ninth. Albert Almora was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Dan Vogelbach also had a hit in the loss. Justin Amlung started and took the loss going two innings allowing one run on two hits. James Pugliese pitched the next four innings allowing two runs and striking out four. Su-Min Jung and Tyler Bremer combined to throw the last three innings, with Bremer giving up a run and striking out two.
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Cedar Rapids put up four big runs in the 10th inning to beat Peoria 11-7. The Chiefs had a lot of nice nights on the offensively. Pin-Chieh Chen was 3-for-4 with two walks, a triple, three runs scored, and a stolen base. Wes Darvill also had three hits, including a double and an RBI. Jorge Soler was 2-for-6 with an RBI and Sergio Burruel also had two hits including a double and two RBIs. Zeke DeVoss had a hit and an RBI as did Jacob Rogers. Timothy Saunders, Oliver Zapata, and Bijan Rademacher all had a hit in the loss. Joseph Zeller started and pitched 6.2 innings allowing five runs on eight hits. Sheldon McDonald and Larry Suarez pitched the next 2.1 innings, but Luis Liria took the loss giving up the four runs in the 10th.
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Going into the ninth tied Brevard County scored two and Daytona one, so the final ended up 6-5 Brevard County. Kyle Hendricks started and pitched four innings allowing three runs on seven hits. Matthew Spencer and Hunter Cervenka combined to pitch the next 2.1 innings giving up one run and striking out four. Eduardo Figueroa took the loss as he allowed the two runs in the ninth inning. John Andreoli had a nice night going 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored. Javier Baez was 1-for-4 with a home run and Christian Villanueva had a hit and an RBI. Rebel Ridling was 2-for-5 with a double and a run scored and Elieser Bonne knocked in a run with a hit in the loss.
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Tennessee beat Pensacola on Thursday 4-2. Dallas Beeler started and pitched five innings allowing two runs, one earned on four hits, while walking two and striking out four. After Casey Harman pitched a scoreless sixth, Trey McNutt pitched an outstanding inning as he struck out the side and didn’t allow a base runner. Brian Schlitter notched his six save as he struck out four over two innings. The Cubs offense used the long ball as all four runs accounted for via the home run. Logan Watkins, Justin Bour, and Matt Cerda all connected with Cerda hitting a two-run homer. Jae-Hoon Ha was the only other Smokies player to have a hit in the win.
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Thursday was not a good night for Iowa losing to Nashville 6-1. Yonner Negrin started and took the loss as he pitched five innings allowing three runs, two earned on six hits. Jaye Chapman struck out two in a scoreless inning of work, but Miguel Socolovich gave up three runs in his inning. Rafael Dolis pitched the final frame, not allowing a run and striking one out. Adrian Cardenas was responsible for the only Cubs run as he was 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Tony Campana also had one hit and he scored the Cubs lone run, he also stole his 18th base at Iowa. The Cubs had five more hits in the loss, as Thursday was not a very good night.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/29: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Our daily look at the Cubs minor leaguers. Tennessee was off and the AZL Cubs regular season has come to an end. They wound up winning the wild card.
Boise got the bats going once again beating Everett 9-5. Stephen Bruno was back at it going 2-for-3 with an RBI, he is now hitting .354. Dan Vogelbach was 1-for-3 with a home run, his 10th of the season. Rock Shoulders had a nice night going 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and two RBIs. Darien Martin and Marco Hernandez each had a hit and an RBI. Albert Almora was 2-for-4 with a double and two runs scored. Tayler Scott started, but did not factor in the decision pitching only four innings and allowing three runs, two earned. Michael Heesch did get the win pitching the next two innings not allowing a run. Nathan Dorris pitched two scoreless innings and Eduardo Orozco pitched the final frame, giving up two runs.
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Cedar Rapids jumped on Peoria early and held on to beat Peoria 9-5. Jorge Soler was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Chadd Krist and Jacob Rogers each had one hit and one RBI, with Krist having a triple. Zeke DeVoss and Dustin Geiger each had a hit and a hit and combined to score three runs. Yao-Lin Wang started and struggled, giving up nine runs, seven earned on eight hits in getting the loss. Bryce Shafer and Pete Levitt combined to pitch the last five scoreless innings.
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Christian Villanueva had a good first game as Daytona won 4-1. Villanueva was 2-for-3 with a home run, RBI, and two runs scored. Javier Baez was 1-for-3 with a triple, RBI, and run scored. Taylor Davis, Elieser Bonne, and John Andreoli all had a hit a piece in the win. PJ Francescon started and was really good pitching six innings allowing one run on three hits, while striking out three. AJ Morris got the call in the seventh and recorded his sixth save of the season.
It took extra innings in game two as Daytona ended up on the losing end of the second one 3-1. Frank Del Valle started and pitched five innings allowing one run and striking out six. Ryan Searle pitched a scoreless sixth, but Jeffrey Lorick struggled giving up two runs in the eighth inning as he took the loss. Rebel Ridling accounted for the only run for the Cubs as he hit a home run in the fourth inning. Javier Baez was 1-for-3 with a stolen base in game two. John Andreoli, Elieser Bonne, and Rafael Lopez all had a hit in the loss.
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Iowa got shut out on Wednesday losing 3-0 to Nashville. Ryan Rowland-Smith started and took the loss giving up one run, two earned in five innings. Jay Jackson threw one perfect inning in relief striking out one and Jeff Beliveau gave up one run in two innings of work. There was nothing too exciting on the offensive end. Diory Hernandez was 2-for-4 with two doubles. New Cub Anthony Recker was 1-for-3 with a double and Adrian Cardenas also had a double in the loss. Greg Rohan, Dave Sappelt, and Jeff Frazier all had one hit a piece in the shutout loss.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/28: Around the Cubs Minor League System
The Cubs minor league recap for Tuesday, August 28. Daytona was again cancelled because of rain.
The AZL Cubs tried to come back, but ended up losing to the Diamondbacks 6-4. Dillon Maples started and got the loss allowing two unearned runs in one inning. The Cubs used six more pitchers to get through the rest of the game. Some of the good pitching performances were Loiger Padron who struck out three and allowed one hit in two innings. Anthony York struggled giving up three runs in just 0.2 innings. Daniel Adrian, Jin-Young Kim, and Arturo Maltos-Garcia all combined to strike out eight in just three innings. Garrett Schlecht was really good night going 4-for-4 with a double, triple, and three runs scored. Yasiel Balaguert was 2-for-4 with a triple and a run scored. Trevor Gretzky and Carlos Penalver each had a hit and an RBI. Justin Marra had a double and Jeff Baez knocked in one run in the loss.
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Boise jumped on Everett early scoring seven runs in the first two innings and ended up winning 7-3. Stephen Bruno has been outstanding and Tuesday was no different going 3-for-5 with a run scored. Jeimer Candelario and Gioskar Amaya each hit a home run with Candelario driving in two and Amaya three. Wilson Contreras and Marco Hernandez had two hits a piece with Contreras having two RBIs. Carlos Escobar and Darien Martin each had a hit in the win. Although he didn’t have a hit it was nice to see Albert Almora get back in the lineup. Pierce Johnson got the start pitching two innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits while striking out three. Jose Arias pitched the next three innings allowing one run on one hit, while walking four and striking out three. Brian Smith pitched the next 2.2 innings and got the win not allowing a run and striking out three. Rafael Diplan notched his first save of the season, striking out two of the four outs he recorded.
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Peoria gave up three runs in the ninth and lost to Wisconsin 4-1. In some really good new Ben Wells got the start in his first game with Peoria since coming back from injury. He pitched two innings allowing no runs on two hits, with one walk. Willengton Cruz did a very nice job in relief pitching five innings allowing one run on three hits, while striking out four. Justin Berg took the loss giving up three runs in the ninth inning. The Chiefs only had four hits on Tuesday. Pin-Chieh Chen and Dustin Geiger each had hits as did Timothy Saunders and Jacob Rogers. Jorge Soler did not have a hit, but walked twice and scored the Chiefs lone run.
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Tennessee gave up one run in the ninth to tie the game, but walked-off in the 10th beating Mobile 6-5. Logan Watkins was the hero hitting the walk off home run in the 10th, he ended the night 2-for-4 with a double and a home run. Michael Brenly had quite a nice night as well going 3-for-4 with a home run, one RBI and two runs scored. Matt Cerda was 2-for-4 with a run scored and Michael Burgess had a pinch hit RBI single. Junior Lake and Rubi Silva each had a hit in the Smokies win. Austin Kirk got the start going seven strong innings. He gave up three runs, two earned on seven hits, while walking one and striking out one. Kevin Rhoderick gave up a run in one inning, but got the ball to Frank Batista with the lead. Batista blew the save, but got the win. Tennessee is playing good ball lately and they are now 33-32, but it appears to be too late as they are five out and are one game away from being eliminated.
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Iowa lost to Nashville 7-3. Horacio Ramirez wasn’t good giving up seven runs on nine hits in 4.2 innings. Miguel Socolovich, Rafael Dolis, and Jairo Asencio combined to pitch 3.1 innings not allowing a run. Alfredo Amezaga was 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Tony Campana and Matt Tolbert each had two hits, with Tolbert scoring a run. Greg Rohan, Dave Sappelt, and James Adduci each had a hit in the Cubs loss.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
8/27: Around the Cubs Minor League System
Here is the start of the last week of the regular season in the minor leagues. The Boise Hawks were off and Daytona was postponed.
The Cubs scored three in the second and that was enough as they beat the Giants 3-1. Ryan McNeil was outstanding pitching four scoreless, hitless innings. he did however walk three and struck out two, his ERA now sits at 1.35. Corbin Hoffner was equally as impressive striking out five in two scoreless innings. After Chad Marin gave up a run, Alvido Jimenez came in and struck out two, pitching 1.1 perfect innings and getting the win. Steve Perakslis pitched the ninth and notched his second save of the season. Yasiel Balaguert was all the offense the Cubs needed hitting a three-run home run in the second. Carlos Penalver, David Bote, and Dan Lockhart all had a hits a piece in the Cub win.
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Peoria beat Wisconsin again on Monday, beating them 7-3. Starling Peralta was good on Monday starting and getting his fifth win of the year. He pitched six innings allowing two runs on three hits, while walking two and striking out eight. Luis Liria struck out two in two innings and Bryce Shafer pitched the final frame giving up a run and striking one out. Jacob Rogers had another nice night at plate going 2-for-3 with a home run and three RBIs. Bijan Rademacher had two hits of his own knocking in two on the night and Chadd Krist had a hit and an RBI as well. Timothy Saunders and Dustin Geiger each had a hit and scored a run, with Saunders stealing his seventh base of the season. Jorge Soler had a double and scored two runs in the win.
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Tennessee scored five in the first two innings and held on to beat Mobile 5-3. Dae-Eun Rhee started and got the win going five innings, allowing two runs, one earned on eight hits. Zach Rosscup, Casey Weathers, and Tony Zych combined to pitch the next three innings and got the ball to Brian Schlitter who notched his fifth save of the season pitching a perfect ninth. Jae-Hoon Ha had nice night at the plate going 2-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs. Junior Lake and Logan Watkins each had two hits, with Watkins scoring a run and Lake having a double. Matt Szczur and Rubi Silva each had a hit in the Smokies win.
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Iowa scored two in the ninth, but it wasn’t enough losing to Nashville 4-3. Seth McClung started and took the loss allowing four runs on eight hits in five innings. Esmailin Caridad, Jaye Chapman, and Marcus Hatley all pitched a hitless and scoreless inning each of baseball. Greg Rohan ended the night 2-for-4 with a home run, his fourth since moving to Iowa. Dave Sappelt hit his seventh homer of the season, a two run shot in the ninth. James Adduci, Tony Campana, and Alfredo Amezaga all had a hit in the Cubs loss on Monday night.
Thanks for Reading,
-Mark
Born on Third 