One night after hitting a grand slam, Russell belted a two-run shot… I know, underwhelming. The kid can hit, and I love watching him play shortstop, enjoy his dead center blast from last night.
A line drive, that went over 400 feet.
Category: Tennessee Smokies (AA) 2014
Addison Russell Goes Deep Again (VIDEO)
I don’t know about you, but I could watch Addison Russell hit all day. Russell went deep again yesterday, his 8th home run for the Smokies, and is not showing any signs of slowing down. Russell started slow after the trade from Oakland, but is hitting .364 in his last ten with five home runs. Tasty.
Addison Russell Hits a Monster Shot (VIDEO)
Addison Russell has been swinging a hot bat as of late, and last night he blasted his seventh home run of the season. He got all of that one, just another exciting prospect doing exciting things on a nightly basis.
Riding the Bus; Cubs Minor League Reports (7/28/2014)
It’s back! Hopefully for good, technology can be a real…. you know what..
A huge night for the Smokies hitters in this one, as eight of the nine starters had at least one hit, and seven of the nine starters had at least one RBI.
At the Plate:
- Albert Almora finally had his break out game for the Smokies. Almora was 4-for-6 with a double, two RBI’s, and three runs scored.
- Addison Russell continued his torrid pace of late, he went 4-for-6 as well, with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.
- Lars Anderson showed off his power in this one, he was 1-for-3 with a home run, two RBI’s, two walks, and two runs scored.
- Dustin Geiger had himself a game, he was 2-for-2 with a double, three RBI’s, three walks (CUBS WAY!), two runs scored, and a stolen base.
On the Mound:
- Eduardo Figueroa did just enough to walk away with the win, he worked six innings, giving up five runs on four hits, while walking three, and striking out four.
- Zach Cates also had to battle while not having his best stuff, he worked 1.2 innings, giving up two runs, on three hits, while walking one, and striking out two.
- Frank Batista shut the door on this one, picking up his eighth save, he worked 1.1 innings, giving up one run on three hits, while striking out one.
It was the Juan Paniagua show in Daytona last night, as the recently promoted right hander twirled a gem as he picked up his first High A victory.
At the Plate:
- Jacob Hannemann has really performed well since being promoted to Daytona, he was 1-for-3 with a double, two walks, a stolen base, and two runs scored in the win.
- Willson Contreras had a big night, he was 3-for-5 with a double, and two RBI’s.
- Billy McKinney just hits, that is all he has done since being acquired in the Hammel/Samardzija trade with Oakland. He was 2-for-5 with a double, and two RBI’s, he’s now hitting .312 on the season.
- Gioskar Amaya had another solid night out of the nine hole, he was 2-for-3 with a walk, and a run scored.
On the Mound:
- Juan Paniagua was dominant in this one, he worked six scoreless innings, giving up two hits, while walking two, and striking out six.
- Tyler Bremer was brilliant out of the pen, he worked two scoreless innings, while striking out two.
- Austin Kirk mopped things up in the ninth, he worked a scoreless frame, while giving up one hit, and striking out one.
The Cougars lost…… at…..home….. I know, it totally doesn’t feel natural, like the Universe is out of tilt, I think we’ll survive. The two best teams in the Midwest League went toe-to-toe, and the Whitecaps came out on top.
At the Plate:
- Shawon Dunston is heating up, he went 2-for-5 with two doubles (12 on the year), and an RBI.
- Will Remillard was one of the few Cougars to get on base multiple times, he went 1-for-3 with a walk.
On the Mound:
- Duary Torrez did everything he could to keep his team in the game, he finished his night with a no decision. Torrez worked six innings, giving up one run on five hits, while walking one, and striking out four.
- Michael Heesch struggled with his command in this one, he worked three innings, giving up one run on two hits, while walking three (see?), and striking out three.
The Boise Hawks just couldn’t get the bats going in this one, as they could only manage one run on five hits in a 6-1 loss to the Hops.
At the Plate:
- Danny Canela was one of the few Hawks to find some success, he was 1-for-4 with a double, he’s now hitting .281 on the season.
- Danny Lockhart, David Bote, Jesse Hodges, and Bryant Flete all had one hit in the loss, all singles.
On the Mound:
- Trevor Clifton got the start for the Hawks, and struggled throughout as he suffered his second loss of the season. Clifton worked 3.2 innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on six hits, while walking four, and striking out three.
- Yomar Morel didn’t have much luck either out of the pen, he worked 1.1 innings, giving up one run on two hits, while walking one, and striking out one.
- Tommy Thorpe was brilliant, he worked three perfect innings, registering two strikeouts.
Plenty of offense for the Cubs in this one, unfortunately the pitching was lacking. The D-backs pounded out twelve hits en route to a 12-6 victory over the Cubs Arizona League squad.
At the Plate:
- Kevonte Mitchell can swing it, he was 3-for-5 with a stolen base, an RBI, and two runs scored, he’s now hitting .317 on the season.
- Gleyber Torres is someone you will be hearing a lot about moving forward, he was 3-for-4 with a triple (2nd of the season), a walk, two RBI’s, and a run scored.
- Roney Alcala had a solid game near the bottom of the order, he was 2-for-4 with a double, and a run scored in the loss.
On the Mound:
- C.J. Edwards was back on the mound as he continues his rehab, and he was pretty good. Edwards worked 3.2 innings, giving up one run on one hit, while walking three, and striking out six.
- Adbert Alzolay struggled out of the pen, he worked one inning, giving up four runs on three hits, while walking one, and striking out two.
- Alberto Diaz couldn’t find the plate, and he paid for it. Diaz worked only a third of an inning, giving up three runs, two earned, on one hit, while walking four (see?), and striking out one.
- Tanner Griggs was also beat up, he worked 2.1 innings, giving up four runs, three earned, on six hits, while walking two.
- Andin Diaz was solid, he worked 1.2 scoreless innings, giving up one hit, and striking out two.
Promotion City! Soler to Iowa; Almora to Tennessee
Things are getting very interesting… The Cubs have announced that Jorge Soler is being promoted to Iowa, and Albert Almora is being promoted to Tennessee.
The Cubs prospects are getting closer and closer to the Majors, and I’m not even talking about Kris Bryant, or Javier Baez, or Addison Russell… the light at the end of the tunnel is the brightest it has been since the building started.
Bryant, Soler, Baez…. all in the same lineup at Iowa.
Almora joins Russell in Tennesse… exciting days ahead!
Prospect-Palooza!! Home Runs From Last Night (VIDEO)
Last night was just about perfect. With no major league games on the schedule, the baseball World had its full attention on the Minor Leagues, and the Cubs’ kids put on quite the show.
Of course Javier Baez was involved, he hit an absolute monster shot.
Kris Bryant went deep earlier in the same game, pure power.
Jorge Soler, who has assaulted Southern League pitching also went deep last night, I’m pretty sure that’s why the game wasn’t televised, MILB didn’t want kids watching that massacre. Addison Russell also smacked a home run, are you sensing a theme here? Christian Villanueva went deep for the Smokies as well, everybody freak out!
Not to be undone, down in Daytona, Dan Vogelbach also crushed a home run. So if you have lost count, let’s recap!
Baez HR
Bryant HR
Soler HR
Russell HR
Villanueva HR
Vogelbach HR
I’m sure there will be continued exciting nights at the minor league level, and soon enough this kind of excitement will be at the major league level. I can’t wait.
Jorge Soler Reminding People that He’s a Beast (VIDEO)
Jorge Soler has been battling injury issues for the better part of a calendar year, those kind of issues makes it easy to forget what kind of talent he is. Well, Soler is doing his best to remind everyone that he will crush anything in his way, especially a baseball.
On Sunday afternoon Soler blasted two home runs, you know, just a typical day for Soler. In just fourteen games with Tennessee, Soler is hitting .426 with nine doubles, five home runs, and seventeen RBI’s. Yeah, those are video game numbers, like really good video game numbers. If Soler can stay healthy, and that’s a big if, he might be ticketed for Chicago come September. The contract that was given to Soler gives the Cubs control for the better part of the next decade, so he can come up as soon as he earns it.
Video’s from today —
Jorge Soler Hit an Absolute Bomb Last Night (VIDEO)
This is the kind of power that Jorge Soler has, and it’s scary. Look how far this one goes, just, wow. Soler seems like he is back to 100%, and he is mashing the ball right now, hopefully that continues.
Jorge Soler Destroys First AA Homer (VIDEO)
Welcome back, Jorge Soler! Soler was back in the Smokies lineup for the first time in a while because of injuries, and he made his presence felt as he belted his first AA home run.
Kris Bryant Promoted to Iowa!
The hype machine is now in full effect as Kris Bryant himself announced on twitter that he is headed to Iowa. The kid has been crushing it at Double-A, just won the HR derby at the all-star game, and has basically embarrassed every pitcher he has faced. Time for the next challenge, interested to see how he adjusts to Triple-A pitching.
Born on Third 