Results tagged ‘ Daytona Cubs ’
Daytona’s Soler named FSL player of the week
(Photo by Stephen Green)
Jorge Soler might have gotten off to a rocky start this season, but the Cubs outfield prospect has been on a tear of late. On Tuesday, he was named the Florida State League player of the week for the week ending May 12.
In four games from May 6-12, the 21-year-old went 7-for-15 with a pair of homers, three doubles, a triple, four RBI and five runs scored. In addition, the organization’s No. 3 prospect (according to MLB.com) has reached base in 10 straight games. For the season, Soler is hitting .281/.369/542 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with five homers, eight doubles and 14 driven in.
The native of Cuba was suspended five games earlier in the year for an on-field altercation.
Cubs minor league recap: 4/9/13
Zach Putnam pitched well for Triple-A Iowa Tuesday. (Photo by Stephen Green)
The Kane County Cougars captured a walk-off win Tuesday, while Daytona had its three-game win streak snapped and Iowa continued to struggle. Tennessee was off and will host Chattanooga Wednesday. Here are the highlights from Tuesday’s games:
IOWA CUBS (0-6)
Iowa suffered its sixth-straight loss to open the season, dropping a 4-2 decision at Round Rock. The 0-6 mark is the worst start in franchise history.
- LF Darnell McDonald (.313) went 1-for-3 with his first home run of the season, a solo shot in the second inning He’s hit safely in all five games he’s appeared in.
- RF Brett Jackson (.280) recorded his second-consecutive, multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with a triple and a run scored.
- DH Ty Wright (.222) went 2-for-4 to snap a four-game hitless skid.
- RHP Zach Putnam (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 SO) and RHP Rafael Dolis (1.0 IP, 1 H) each worked a scoreless inning of relief.
DAYTONA CUBS (3-2)
Daytona had its three-game winning streak snapped, as the D-Cubs committed four errors in a 5-4 setback against visiting Clearwater.
- DH Zeke DeVoss (.300) went 1-for-5 with a solo home run.
- RF Jorge Soler (.450) extended his hitting streak to five games, including three straight, multi-hit affairs, going 2-for-4 with a walk and a RBI.
- LF-CF John Andreoli (.471) reached base three times, going 1-for-2 with two walks and a stolen base. He owns a five-game hitting streak and back-to-back multi-walk efforts.
- LHP Sheldon McDonald (0-1, 3.38) worked 2.2-scoreless innings of relief, surrendering two hits while walking two and fanning one.
KANE COUNTY COUGARS (2-4)
Cougars third baseman Jeimer Candelario smacked a game-winning single to left field in the bottom of the ninth inning for a 6-5 walk-off win against visiting Clinton.
- SS Jeimer Candelario (.241) finished 2-for-5 with the game-winning RBI.
- DH Rock Shoulders (.480) extended his hitting streak to six games, going 2-for-3 with a walk, two runs scored, a home run and one RBI. He has recorded two or more hits in four-straight games.
- 1B Daniel Vogelbach (.310) recorded his second three-hit game of the campaign, going 3-for-5.
- RF Bijan Rademacher (.294), SS Marco Hernandez (.136) and 2B Gioskar Amaya (.269) collected two hits apiece.
- RHP Eduardo Orozco (1-1, 6.00) picked up his first win of the season despite allowing two unearned runs in the top of the ninth inning.
Daytona’s offense packs a punch
Javier Baez will be Daytona’s shortstop to start the 2013 season. (Photo by Stephen Green)
If there’s any Cubs minor league affiliate that’s going to attract attention at the start of 2013, it’s the organization’s High-A Daytona squad. Daytona season ticket holders will likely see an increase in occupied seats, thanks to the heart of the Cubs’ order.
Sitting third and fourth in the lineup are Javier Baez and Jorge Soler, two of Baseball America‘s top 34 prospects in baseball heading into the year. The talented shortstop Baez crushed Single-A pitching in 2012, hitting .333/.383/.553 (AVG/OBP/SLG) with 12 home runs and 33 RBI in 235 plate appearances. He did struggle in 23 games at Daytona to end the season, but after a strong Arizona Fall League and an even better Spring Training—spent mainly with the big league club—his late-summer slide seems like a distant memory.
Likely batting right behind Baez will be hulking Cuban expat Jorge Soler. The 6-foot-4, 215-pound right fielder signed a nine-year, $30 million free agent deal in early July. Though he played just 20 games for Single-A Peoria last year, he hit .338 with three homers and 15 RBI. A member of the 40-man roster, Soler was invited to big league Spring Training, where he hit .222 in 36 at-bats, but also flashed some impressive leather and showed Cubs management he’s more than just a big bat.
Other notable offensive weapons include John Andreoli, Stephen Bruno, Zeke DeVoss, Dustin Geiger and Tim Saunders. Former Florida State wide receiver Taiwan Easterling could also be an exciting player to watch. After hitting .307 in 2011, the 23-year-old’s average slipped to .243 last year in Peoria.
The pitching staff doesn’t have as many headline names, but getting right-hander Starlin Peralta back, after initially losing him to Arizona in the Rule 5 draft, helps. Austin Kirk returns after going 7-3 last year with a 3.13 ERA in 21 starts. Eduardo Figueroa was the club’s go-to reliever last season, appearing in 37 games and posting a 2.90 ERA.
Here are the players manager Dave Keller will have on his roster as Daytona opens its season Thursday:
PITCHERS
Yeiper Castillo, RHP
Zach Cates, RHP
Frank Del Valle, LHP
Eduardo Figueroa, RHP
P.J. Francescon, RHP
Austin Kirk, LHP
Luis Liria, RHP
Sheldon McDonald, LHP
Starlin Peralta, RHP
Austin Reed, RHP
Ryan Searle, RHP
Yao-Lin Wang, RHP
Ben Wells, RHPCATCHERS
Taylor Davis
Micah Gibbs
Chad NobleINFIELDERS
Javier Baez
Stephen Bruno
Ben Carhart
Zeke DeVoss
Dustin Geiger
Tim SaundersOUTFIELDERS
John Andreoli
Taiwan Easterling
Jorge Soler
Farm Report Wrap-Up: Daytona featured key prospects on left side
Outfielder Matt Szczur stole 38 bases for Daytona in 2012. (Photo by Rodger Wood)
Today we continue our tour around the Cubs farm system, taking a level-by-level look at performances the organization hopes to build on in 2013. The high Class-A Daytona Cubs are next in the spotlight.
They may have dropped from Florida State League champions to last place, but the Daytona Cubs featured several intriguing position prospects worth keeping an eye on. And it’s the continued development of that talent that’s going to be vital for the Chicago Cubs in the coming years.
Chief among them is Javier Baez, who spent the last month of the season in Daytona Beach. He’s become the organization’s quickest climber since being drafted out of high school in 2011. Since his mid-August signing last summer, Baez has played in four different leagues—at the Rookie and three Class-A levels. (He spent the season’s first two months in extended Spring Training before resuming his rapid ascent.) Though Baez batted just .188 in 86 plate appearances for Daytona, he ended the year with two home runs in the finale to bring his season total to 16 (12 with Peoria) in 80 games. That evidence of his plus bat speed, as well as his overall athleticism and competitiveness, puts him as baseball’s 23rd-best prospect and fourth-best shortstop in Jonathan Mayo’s end-of-season rankings at MLB.com.
To Baez’s right, third baseman Christian Villanueva was an important midseason addition via the Ryan Dempster deal with Texas. He’s considered to have very natural actions at third base, along with a strong arm and good hands. On the offensive side, he has plus bat speed and good pop, though he’s still refining his approach. Considering that third base is wide-open at the major league level, Villanueva could be one to watch.
Both Baez and Villanueva will be getting extra at-bats this fall—Baez in the Arizona Fall League and Villanueva in the Mexican Winter League (for Obregon). And both have considerable upside in how high they can climb.
Final Records:
First Half / 30-38, fifth place, 12.5 GB
Second Half / 29-36, sixth place, 7.5 GB
Storylines: Hope you had your stopwatches ready—new Manager Mark Johnson loved to send his runners around the bases. The Cubs’ 201 steals was 34 better than the No. 2 team in the league. Daytona also led the league in triples. Outfielder John Andreoli stole 55 bases in 75 tries to pace the team. Outfielder and top prospect Matt Szczur, promoted to Tennessee in July, had 38 steals in 50 attempts, while shortstop Arismendy Alcantara was 25-for-29. (more…)
Farm Report: Cubs are hot in Daytona
The Daytona Cubs, the Chicago Cubs’ high Class-A affiliate, haven’t just started well this season—they’re pacing all of baseball in several categories through two months. With 34 wins in 46 games, the team has baseball’s best record and just played to its second consecutive four-game sweep.
First baseman Justin Bour, who turns 23 on Saturday, leads the team with 39 RBIs, 12 home runs and 60 hits. The 6-foot-4, 260-pound Bour has slugged .626 and shown a good approach at the plate.
Junior Lake, the athletic 21-year-old shortstop from the Dominican Republic, has paced the Florida State League with 18 stolen bases and is currently on a ten-game hitting streak. He’s hitting well—boasting a .314 AVG/.337 OBP/.481 SLG line—but is walking less and striking out more in his second go-around with Daytona.
Here’s what our Minor League Prospectus, issued in Vine Line every February, had to say about Lake:
“Lake continues improving in the minors. His physical talent is a given, but refining his baseball skills remains paramount. He made huge strides at the plate, cutting down on his strikeouts from 138 in 2009 to 99 in 2010 and increasing his walks from 18 to 35. He possesses the strongest infield arm in the organization and, with added power, might eventually fit best at third base instead of shortstop.”
