AAA

St. Paul 11, Iowa 1

Game Recap

Starter Mike Hauschild is still getting stretched out in the Iowa rotation and it appears he ran out of steam in the 4th last night, as St. Paul hammered him for six runs in the inning.

Trent Giambrone doubled twice, but Iowa couldn’t string together enough of their nine hits to ever mount a serious comeback attempt.

Top Performers

• Trent Giambrone: 2-4, 2 2B, BB (.233)
• Michael Hermosillo: 2-5, RBI (.344)
• Edwin Figuera: 1-3, R, BB (.263)
• Michael Rucker: 2.1 IP, 3 H, R, BB, 0 K (5.74)
• Ryan Meisinger: 2 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 3 K (5.95)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Dee Strange-Gordon has opted out of his Minor League deal with the Cubs. With Nico Hoerner returned to the lineup, Sergio Alcantara emerging as a viable fill-in, and David Bote expected to begin a rehab stint shortly, Strange-Gordon likely realized his opportunity to return to the bigs with the Cubs was closed.

The rehab assignment continued for Dillon Maples, and it did not go well. Two walks and three hits led to three runs in just one inning of work.

AA

Chattanooga 7, Tennessee 3

Game Recap

Brennen Davis doubled three times, factoring into all of the scoring the Smokies did on the day. It wasn’t enough to overcome a tepid performance from the rest of the offense and a seven-run deficit dug by starter Erich Uelmen.

.@BrennenDavis__ with a big night. I think he’d be the first to say he’d rather have the dub, but there is no bigger hype man for guys in the organization than Brennen. He’s all in. I’m gonna hype Brennen when I can. Keep eating my dude. 3 doubles tonight for Davis pic.twitter.com/EF2kgHbCgf

— Caleb Webb (@calebgwebb)

July 7, 2021

Top Performers

• Brennen Davis: 3-4, 3 2B, R, 2 RBI (.268)
• Nelson Maldonado: 1-3, 2B, R (.281)
• Brendon Little: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K (2.57)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

The Cubs top power hitting prospect has been on a recent power binge of late. Brennen Davis (.280/.389/.485 in 36 games between High-A and AA) has hits in 5 straight, including 4 straight with a double. He’s also blasted a pair of home runs. His last 8 hits have all gone for extra bases. It is okay to get excited. He’s legit. And we need something to cheer us up right now.

It took 21 year old top Cubs prospect Brennen Davis two weeks to get comfortable in Double-A.

The last three weeks? Very. Comfortable.

20-for-61 (.328 AVG)
7 BB in 68 PA (.397 OBP)
7 2B, 3 HR (.590 SLG)

He’s absolutely, positively ELITE, folks.

— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects)

July 7, 2021

High-A

South Bend 7, Beloit 6

Prospect Profile

profile

Game Recap

Any time you can come away with a win on a bullpen day it is a major success. South Bend used three relievers for 2-3 innings apiece to open the game. It didn’t go well, as each gave up at least a run, but it was just enough to keep the Cubs in the game. They did find themselves down 6-4 entering the 8th though. Eduarniel Nunez and Graham Lawson held Beloit in check the rest of the way.

The offense chipped away in the bottom of the 8th when Edmond Americaan singled home Nelson Velazquez. Then in the 9th, Josue Huma led off with a double, then scored the tying run on a sac fly by Yonathan Perlaza. The Snappers wanted no part of Velazquez with the winning run on 3rd, as he is red hot at the plate and had homered earlier, so they intentionally walked him. That gave Grayson Byrd the walk off opportunity and he delivered with a ground ball through the right side of the infield.

Top Performers

• Nelson Velazquez: 3-4, HR (11), 3 R, RBI, BB (.297)
• Grayson Byrd: 3-5, 2 RBI (.263)
• Delvin Zinn: 2-4, 2 R, , BB, SB (32), CS (5) (.215)
• Jake Slaughter: 2-4, RBI (.226)
• Josue Huma: 1-4, 2B, R (.205)
• Eduarniel Nunez: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K (6.97)
• Graham Lawson: IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K (W, 1-1, 2.30)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

It has been a streaky year at the plate for Nelson Velazquez (.297/.346/.552 with 11 HR and 34 RBI in 45 games) thus far. He started the season late, missing the first 10 days or so, but quickly caught fire. He finished the month with a .380 average and 15 RBI in 14 games. He did hit 5 home runs in June but his average for the month fell to just .215 with a .277 OBP and 38 Ks in 93 ABs. He’s caught fire once again in July though, hitting .455/.520/.909. He’s pretty much the only source of power in the South Bend lineup, so as he goes, so do the Cubs more often than not.

Low-A

Augusta 3, Myrtle Beach 1

Game Recap

Not much to write about for this one. The Pelicans recorded just four hits, two apiece by Luis Verdugo and Ed Howard. That combo hitting back-to-back at the bottom and top of the order led to the only run of the game. Both guys have started slowly this year, but are showing some signs of improvement. The two of them do form an impressive defensive duo on the left side of the infield regardless of their offensive contributions.

D.J. Herz took the loss. He wasn’t at his most dominant, giving up three runs in three innings, throwing 64 pitches. Relatively recent Indy ball signing Jarod Wright followed with four shutout innings. I haven’t had a chance to really watch him yet, and this was his by far his best statistical outing to date.

Top Performers

• Luis Verdugo: 2-3, R (.164)
• Ed Howard: 2-4, RBI (.213)
• Jarod Wright: 4 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 4 K (3.86)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

trends

ACL

Rockies 13, Cubs1 7

Top Performers

• Matt Burch: 3-4, 2 2B, R, 2 RBI (.500)
• Cam Balego: 2-2, 2 2B, R, RBI, BB (1.000)
• Reggie Preciado: 3-4, 2 R, RBI, BB (.440)
• Felix Stevens: 2-3, RBI, CS (1) (.409)
• Owen Caissie: 0-2, 3 BB (.313)
• Yeison Santana: 0-2, 2 BB< SB (1) (.000)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Cam Balego has been on the 60-day IL since an early season injury playing for South Bend. He began his rehab in Mesa with impressive numbers at the plate, hitting a pair of doubles and drawing a walk, but he also committed an error behind the plate. Balego is a natural infielder, now limited to CIF, who has been going through a conversion to catcher the last couple of years. The results have not been impressive to my eye prior to this year, but 2021 figured to be a big year in determining his future. The Cubs returned him to High-A this year despite having a pretty good year with the bat in AA during 2019. My assumption was the move was made to give Balego more opportunities for catcher reps (Miguel Amaya and Tyler Payne figured to be the main pair in Tennesssee). Balego’s early season injury put a damper on that plan.