AAA

St. Paul 4, Iowa 0

Game Recap

You know how I said yesterday morning how Iowa was going to struggle to score given the number of injuries and promotions to Chicago they are facing?

Yeah, they got one hit last night.

But Alec Mills did look sharper in his second rehab stint. His secondaries looked more crisp and his control was much improved. The bullpen also had a nice rebound game even though Ryan Meisinger did give up a pair of runs in the 8th. He combined with Dakota Mekkes to punch out nine guys over the final five innings.

The Cubs and I-Cubs came into the season with deeper rosters than they have in a long time. The way almost every call-up to Chicago has provided a boost in at least one game shows that. But the lineup in Iowa has been gutted and the pitching staff thinned. After opening the year 9-5, the I-Cubs have now dropped 6 straight games, being outscored by a combined 43-17. They’ve scored 3 or less in 4 of 6 and surrendered more than 4 runs in all 6.

Top Performers

• Alec Mills: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 R, BB, 5 K (L, 0-2, 11.12)
• Dakota Mekkes: 3 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (2.61)
• Vance Vizcaino: 1-3, 2B, SB (1) (.455)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

No new injuries! If only the rest of the system was so lucky…

AA

Tennessee 5, Chattanooga 4

Game Recap

Andy Weber and D.J. Wilson both contributed early extra base hits to help spark run scoring innings, but each would end up exiting with injuries before the end of the night. The Smokies emptied their bench of healthy players (Levi Jordan remained, but he hasn’t played in a while) as they scrambled to fill important defensive holes at SS and CF.

Wilson’s triple in the 4th drive in a run. He’d score on a Miguel Amaya single. With runners on 1st and 2nd in the 7th, Wilson attempted a sac bunt. A throwing error by the third baseman went wild. Both runners scored. Unfortunately, Wilson appeared to pull his hammy trying to beat out the play at 1st.

Cam Sanders and the Smokies pen made it stand up. Although he didn’t rack up the same kind of strikeout numbers he has so far, Sanders held the Lookouts to three runs (two earned) over the first five. Ethan Roberts followed with two strong shutout innings. Cayne Ueckert kept his 0.00 ERA intact with a scoreless 9th for his first save in Tennessee.

Top Performers

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Boy, Cayne Ueckert keeps on dealing. His fastball has been impossible for guys to hit so far this year (looks like he is throwing mostly two-seamers, but maybe his four seamer has natural arm side run), and the slider is pretty good too. He touched 98 last night as he extended his streak to 5 no-hit appearances in a row. Season line: 11.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 18 K

Weber appeared to injure himself on a swing while striking out to end the 3rd. Chris Morel (seven position versatility!) slid over from 2B to SS. Grayson Byrd continues to prove his worth by moving to 2B from 3B. Backup catcher Erick Castillo (who started at 1B, was forced across the diamond to 3B).

The hole in CF created by Wilson’s exit is easier to cover for the Smokies. All of their outfielders on the current roster are natural center fielders. It will be interesting to see how the Smokies fill out their lineup if Weber, Jordan and Wilson remain out today. The 9 position players who finished the game are the only 9 they have, and 3 of them are catchers.

High-A

Fort Wayne 6, South Bend 0

Game Recap

They stayed healthy. That’s the best I can say about the Cubs last night.

That’s not true. Eury Ramos and his upper-90s heater continues to impress out of the South Bend pen. He punched out three over 2.1 perfect innings.

Top Performers

• Eury Ramos: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (1.74)
• Samuel Reyes: 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K (5.84)
• Cole Roederer: 1-3, BB, SB (4) (.229)
• Tyler Durna: 1-3, BB (.188)
• Bradlee Beesley: 1-3 (.333)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

I’m not sure South Bend can send any injury replacement help up to Tennessee. South Bend has 4 infielders (Cam Balego, Luis Vazquez, Aramis Ademan, Scott McKeon) on the IL. And another IF capable player (Yonathan Perlaza) is suspended for his part in the bench clearing brawl the other day.

UDFA from 2020, Bradlee Beesley recorded a hit in his first professional at bat. Beesley is an undersized, but athletic centerfielder who was rated among the top players unchosen in the abbreviated 5 round draft last year.

The Cubs have already seen great returns on several hard throwing UDFA relievers from last year (Ben Leeper, Scott Kobos, Graham Lawson, Bailey Reid), but their position player signings (Beesley, McKeon, Matt Mervis, Jacob Wetzel) have yet to contribute much yet.

Low-A

Myrtle Beach 10, Salem 9

Game Recap

It ended up closer than it ever should have been, but Myrtle Beach held out in the end to return to the .500 mark on the year.

Down 3-2, Myrtle Beach exploded for seven runs as they batted around in the top of the 6th. The red-hot Pablo Aliendo started it off with a leadoff single, and then capped off the scoring when he drove in a pair with a double. In between the Pelicans scored via single, walk, sacrifice fly, groundout and on fielder’s choice (with an error). They used just about every method to score besides power.

With a 9-3 lead heading into the bottom of the 9th they should have walked away with an easy win. But after opening the year without allowing an earned run in his first 4 appearances, Jake Reindl has struggled with his control of late. Even coming off giving up 4 runs over 3.1 innings in his last appearance, Myrtle Beach had to feel secure giving him a 6 run cushion.

Reindl got the leadoff man to pop out, but then it fell apart. A walk, followed by three singles, and finally another walk was enough for Manager Buddy Bailey. Reindl was replaced by Tyler Sullentrop, who entered with the bases loaded, one out and four run lead. Sullentrop struggled even more than Reindle though. He walked three straight batters (with a lengthy stadium power delay thrown in the mix) to force in three runs. He finally delivered a huge K to record the second out, and then induced the final batter to ground out to preserve the victory.

Top Performers

• Pablo Aliendo: 3-4, 2B, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB (.292)
• Kevin Made: 2-4, 2B, R, BB (.250)
• Edmond Americaan: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, BB (.244)
• Jonathan Sierra: 1-3, 2 R, 2 BB (.220)
• Jacob Wetzel: 1-2, R, RBI (.182)
• Reivaj Garcia: 1-4, R, BB (.212)
• Ethan Hearn: 1-4, 2 RBI, SF (.113)
• Jose Miguel Gonzalez: 3.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K (W, 2-0, 2.19)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Edmond Americaan (.244/.311/.439) extended his hitting streak to 7 games. He’s recorded 11 hits and 4 walks during this stretch, with a double and two triples, and is 3-for-4 in stolen base attempts.

Americaan has been great of late, maybe the second hottest hitter in the Cubs entire org (Patrick Wisdom has an argument despite inconsistent playing time since being summoned to Chicago). Americaan isn’t even the hottest hitter on his team though. That honor goes to catcher Pablo Aliendo (.292/.382/.354). His hitting streak stands at a more modest 4 games, but all 4 have been of the multi-hit variety, going 10-for-16 with a walk thrown in.