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The sell off has begun. In a bit of a surprise, Joc Pederson ends up being the first to go, as he heads to Atlanta in a one-for-one swap for mammoth first base prospect Bryce Ball. I have to say, that return isn’t too bad. Ball was an overslot 24th round pick in the 2019 MLB Draft by the Braves (signed for just shy of $200K).

A sleeper prospect who carries immense power potential. He went undrafted out of a small Iowa high school and then played two years at a local community college, where he annihilated the competition and first began to draw some draft interest. But after going unselected in 2018, he transferred to Dallas Baptist for his junior season in order to face higher quality pitching. Ball didn’t stop mashing.

After leading the Missouri Valley Conference in home runs, RBI and walks there was some belief Ball would get picked on Day 2 of the draft. He ended up slipping into Day 3, most likely over concerns with his defensive abilities. At 6’6″ and 245 pounds, Ball is a good athlete for his size, but his size still limits him. There is only so much agility you can wring out of that body, and it is unlikely to improve as he ages.

Still, the Braves took the chance on him, and it paid immediate dividends, as Ball went first to the Appy League post-draft, where he slashed .324/.410/.676 and smashed 13 homers in just 41 games to earn league MVP honors. He also received a late season call up to Low-A Rome. He continued to rake there to the tune of .337/.367/.547.

That performance earned him a non-roster invite to the Braves camp last fall, something none of their other draftees from the previous year earned outside of their 1st rounder. He impressed everyone with not just his power potential, but his feel to hit and approach at the plate. Obviously, the 2020 season was wiped out, which killed the momentum he was building.

Coming out of the layoff this season, he’s struggled a bit in High-A, hitting .206/.350/.394 with 6 homers and 59 Ks in 54 games, but he’s begun to pick up the pace a bit in July after suffering through a rough June. Hopefully this means he’s making the necessary adjustments.

It is a bat first profile for Ball given he’s adequate at best at 1B, so he needs to hit, a lot, if hehopes to make it as a full time big leaguer. Even if the DH comes to the NL in the future he’ll still have to hit a ton to earn a full time role, as many teams prefer to rotate their starting position players through that spot in an effort to keep them fresh throughout the season.

Ball was ranked in the teens among Braves prospects and likely falls into a similar range with the Cubs, perhaps a bit further down. He does give the Cubs their only 70 raw power in the system, and the hope is given the patience and flashes of all fields approach he shown, that Ball can develop into an all around force at the plate and not just a home run hitter with contact issues.

AAA

Iowa 6, Toledo 0

Top Performers

• Joe Biagini: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K (5.34)
• Michael Rucker: 2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (W, 2-0, 5.24)
• Nick Martini: 3-4, R, HBP, SB (1) (.229)
• Alfonso Rivas: 2-4, R, RBI, BB (.284)
• Ian Miller: 1-3, R, RBI, BB, HBP, SB (7) (.276)
• Tyler Ladendorf: 1-5, HR (3), R, RBI (.227)
• Abiatal Avelino: 2-5, 2 RBI (.273)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Matt Duffy went 1-for-4 while playing the majority of the game at 3B as he begins getting his rehab into full swing.

AA

Tennessee 10, Mississippi 2

Top Performers

• Jared Young: 4-5, 2 R, 3 RBI (.417)
• Brennen Davis: 2-3, HR, 3 R, 2 BB (.284)
• Chase Strumpf: 1-4, HR (4), R, 3 RBI, BB (.169)
• Zach Davis: 2-5, HR (1), R, RBI (.279)
• Edwin Figuera: 2-4, BB (.455)
• Nelson Maldonado: 2-5, RBI (.294)
• Peyton Remy: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 HBP, 6 K (5.76)
• Bryan Hudson: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (W, 3-2, 3.58)
• Wyatt Short: 2 IP, H, 0 R, BB, 0 K (5.18)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Nelson Maldonado is hitting .361 in July thanks to 5 multi-hit games.

After hitting just .232/.351/.354 in June, Brennen Davis has discovered a new level of comfort in AA this month. He’s showing good patience to wait for pitches to drive and then isn’t missing them often when the opportunity presents itself. He is locked in right now, not only hitting two bombs to earn the Future’s Game MVP award, but batting .412/.524/.794 with Tennessee in July.

No one is as red hot at the plate as Jared Young (.444/.479/.733) though. He’s failed to get a hit in just 2 of his 13 starts this season. He has reached base multiple times in 9 of them. The 26 year old had lost momentum over the past two years but is hitting his way back into the picture so far this year.

He’s doing a better job of using the middle of the field and looking to drive the ball into the gaps rather than pull the ball (which led to him rolling over and hitting a lot of grounders to the right side). His current pace is unsustainable, but if he can maintain this approach and show he can be a viable option at 1B/LF/RF defensively then it is possible Young could earn a bench role down the road, or at least offer the team some depth on the AAA/MLB shuttle.

High-A

South Bend 2, Cedar Rapids 1 (10 Innings)

Top Performers

• Ryan Jensen: 6 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 8 K (4.99)
• Hunter Bigge: 2 IP, H, 0 R, 0BB, K (3.38)
• Bradford Deppermann: 2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K (W, 1-2, 4.45)
• Tyler Durna: 1-4, 2B, RBI (.240)
• Edmond Americaan: 2-4 (.210)
• D.J. Artis: 0-2, R, BB, HBP, SB (7) (.130)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

A terrific July for Ryan Jensen continued with perhaps his finest pro performance last night. He worked the edges of the zone more consistently and set a career high with 8 Ks. A couple more good starts and he could get a promotion to Tennessee. His 3 July starts:

6 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K

5 IP, H, R, BB, 6 K

6 IP, 2 H, R, BB, 8 K

I don’t have time to do a full breakdown of his recent performances right now, but I know Bryan Smith over at Bleacher Nation intends to do a write up on him today, so keep an eye out for that.

New acquisition Bryce Ball has been assigned to South Bend. I wonder if this could trigger a promotion for Tyler Durna to Tennessee and Jared Young to Iowa.

Low-A

Myrtle Beach 5, Columbia 0

Top Performers

• Luis Verdugo: 2-3, 2B, HR (3), R, 3 RBI, BB,SB (2) (.169)
• Jordan Nwogu: 1-3, HR (5), R, RBI, BB (.182)
• Kevin Made: 2-3, R, BB (.200)
• Yohendrick Pinango: 1-3, BB (.264)
• Ezequiel Pagan: 1-4, 2B, R, BB (.293)
• Matt Mervis: 0-2, R, 2 BB (.216)
• Jose Miguel Gonzalez: 4.2 IP, H, 0 R, 5 BB, 6 K (4.25)
• Jose Almonte: 2.2 IP, H, 0 R, 2 BB, K (W, 1-1, 0.79)
• Gabriel Jaramillo: 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (1.80)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Luis Verdugo is beginning to break out of his awful early season slump. It started with working better counts in June, but now over his last 9 games in July he is batting .273/.294/.424

ACL

Cubs 1, White Sox 0

Top Performers

• Tyler Schlaffer: 5 IP, 4 H, 0 R, BB, 7 K (W, 2-1, 4.40)
• Wilfri Figuereo: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, K (0.00)
• Johzan Oquendo: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 2 K (S, 1, 0.00)
• Owen Caissie: 1-2, HR (2), R, RBI, BB (.348)
• Yeison Santana: 1-2, BB (.200)
• Ismael Mena: 1-3 (.205)

DSL

Cubs Blue 9, Rays2 4

Cubs Red 11, Phillies White 9

Two big IFA catcher signings, Brayan Altuve and Moises Ballestreros, had big days. Altuve who has been seeing time at the corner infield spots, had just one hit in five trips, but it was a grand slam. Ballesteros reached four times, twice on doubles, and twice on walks.