Now five weeks in, let's have a look at what the Cubs affiliates have been up to for the last week.
Firstly, there have been quite a few changes as many players of players have gotten promotions:
-Cory Abbott was promoted to the show. He pitched two innings in his debut, giving up a couple baserunners but no runs. Welcome to the big leagues kid!
-Tennessee Smokies got a handful of players from South Bend: OF Brennen Davis, IF Chase Strumpf, SP Peyton Remy, RP Brandon Hughes, and RP Matteo Bocchi.
-Myrtle Beach in turn sent these players to South Bend to help replenish: OF Edmond Americaan, RP Scott Kobos, RP Jose Albertos, and RP Eduarniel Nunez.
Iowa Cubs
The Iowa Cubs had another rough week, going 1-5 against Omaha. Overall, they are now at 10-18. Their roster has been picked over pretty sharply, but I still feel bad for them. As for individual players of note:
• Alec Mills had a nice start: 6 shutout innings with 1 walk and 2 hits.
• Andrew Romine had 6 hits in 17 at bats in the past week. Maybe he'll be the next callup if injuries continue to ravage the big league roster.
Tennessee Smokies
The AA Smokies went 1-4 in Birmingham, falling to 10-18 on the season. For individual players:
• Cam Sanders had a tough start, striking out 8 but giving up four earned runs.
• After his promotion, Brennen Davis had a team leading .840 OPS for the last week.
• Peyton Remy took a tough loss despite giving up just one unearned run in 6 innings. He struck out 7.
Myrtle Beach Pelicans
The low A Pelicans are now 15-14, after a rain soaked 2-3 series vs Columbia. How rain soaked? Thursdays game got suspended because of rain. They tried to have a double header on Friday and finished off the suspended game before the next one got washed out. On Saturday they played a double header and got caught up. Then Sunday got rained out, and will be made up at a later date. As for some of the player highlights:
• Darius Hill was named the organizational position player of the month, deserved as he's currently hitting .375
• DJ Herz was named pitcher of the month. He started 5 games, only pitched 16 innings, but has a .56 ERA and .63 WHIP. He had a start and 4 shutout innings this week.
South Bend Cubs
The South Bend Cubs A+ are now 14-15, after they split their series in Lansing. As for some of the player highlights:
• Ryan Jensen had 5 shutout innings in his start.
• Delvin Zinn is now up to 20 steals, 0 times caught.
Play of the week:
Cam Sanders is having a very nice year. This was a nice strikeout and a nice walk.