Cubs Minor Leagues

Down to their last out, the AZL Angels rallied for three runs in the top of the 9th to defeat the AZL Cubs 6-4 in Arizona League Opening Day action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa this evening.

After eight weeks of Extended Spring Training and another couple of weeks of mini-camp work-outs, the AZL Cubs begin league play tonight, as they face the AZL Angels at HoHoKam Park in Mesa.  

6/15 UPDATE: BOISE OPENING DAY ROSTER HAS BEEN RELEASED (see COMMENT #11 below)

Arismendy Alcantara singled, doubled, and tripled, stole a base, drove-in three runs, and scored two more, Richard Jones and Wes Darvill had three hits a piece, and Alvaro Ramirez clubbed a two-run HR, but it wasn’t enough, as Kyung-Min Na had three hits, stole two bases, and scored twice, and Xavier Batista had three RBI, leading the upstart AZL Cubs (Mesa Cubs) to a 9-7 victory over the Boise Hawks at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this morning. The game was a pre-planned eleven-inning contest.

This was the final tune-up for the Hawks, who will fly from Phoenix to Boise tomorrow morning. Their first game will be Friday night at Yakima.

Ted Lilly threw 5.2 IP (66 pitches – 46 strikes) for the Iowa Cubs this morning against the Angels AAA squad (Salt Lake) at Fitch Park Field #3, allowing one run on three hits, no walks, with four strikeouts.

Lilly was supposed to throw four innings/60 pitches, but he was so efficient with his pitches he ended-up working into the 6th inning before he hit 60 pitches, and even then he ended up going slightly over his pre-arranged pitch limit.

Lilly retired the first nine men he faced, and he generally threw strikes (he didn’t walk anyone, and he went to a three-ball count on only two of the 20 men he faced). While he had outstanding command of his fast ball and had a really good change-up today (same as last time), he had some difficulty commanding his curve, bouncing three in the dirt.

Here is Lilly’s INNING-BY INNING LOG:

The Sacramento River Cats (A’s AAA squad) defeated the Iowa Cubs 6-1 at Fitch Park Field #3 this afternoon in Mesa.

Here are the Cubs minor league rosters at Fitch Park as they were this morning (3/31).

Ted Lilly tossed three scoreless innings and then Thomas Diamond followed with five more shutout frames, as the Iowa Cubs blanked the Fresno Grizzlies (Giants AAA squad) 3-0 at Fitch Park Field #3 this afternoon in Mesa.

Here is Ted Lilly’s inning-by-inning recap:

Aramis Ramirez crushed a towering home run over the left-centerfield fence onto 8th Street and Randy Wells threw six innings (85 pitches) of shutout ball, as the AAA Iowa Cubs defeated the Sacramento River Cats (Oakland A's AAA squad) 2-1 in ten innings at cool & breezy Fitch Park Field #3 this afternoon in Mesa.

GM Jim Hendry, Player Personnel & Player Development Director Oneri Fleita, all of the Cubs minor league hitting & outfield coaches, and any Cubs scout anywhere near Mesa, Arizona, were at Fitch Park today, personally scouting & evaluating OF Wagner Mateo, who stopped by for some pre-game BP, and then stuck around and played RF for AA Tennessee in a Minor League Spring Training game played on Field #2.

Some of you may remember Mateo as the 16-year old Dominican left-handed hitting (and throwing) right-fielder who got a $3.1M bonus from the St. Louis Cardinals during the International Signing Period in 2009, only to have the contract voided a couple of months later when Cardinals team doctors discovered what they believed was a career-limiting vision problem during a routine physical.

Well, based upon what I saw today, Mateo can see just fine. He hit ropes all over the place in BP, and then went 1-5 in the game, including a line-drive single to left and two hard-hit line-drive outs to LF, one requiring a spectactular diving catch by the Angels LF. The one big negative was a throw from RF that missed the cut-off man by a mile, but otherwise he looked pretty good for a 16-year old. I got the impression the Cubs are VERY interested in signing Mateo, although other clubs probably are as well (like maybe the Angels for instance, who got a good look at him today, too).

Today was an off day for most of the Cubs, but not for Carlos Zambrano and Jeff Samardzija, as Big “Z” and the Shark traveled a half-mile south down Center Street to Fitch Park to get in some additional work.

The Cubs cut nine players this morning, optioning RHP Mitch Atkins to AAA Iowa and RHP David Patton to AA Tennessee, while sending pitchers Jeff Kennard and Vince Perkins, catchers Steve Clevenger and Blake Lalli, IF-OF Matt Camp, 3B Josh Vitters, and OF Brett Jackson to the Minor League Camp at Fitch Park.

So the Cubs Spring Training roster now stands at 51, including 14 Non-Roster Invitees (NRI). But there are also 150 players at Minor League Camp.

As a result of today's transactions, several players now assigned to Iowa and Tennessee will get moved to a minor league roster at a lower classification. Some might get released. (Usually about a dozen minor leaguers are released by the Cubs during the course of Minor League Camp). And as the Cubs option or send additional players to minor league camp, more minor league players will be released or will be moved downward.

Here are the Cubs minor league rosters at Fitch Park as they were this morning. All players listed were physically present. However, there will be downward movement with the arrival of the nine players cut by the Cubs this morning. For example, I did see pitchers Jeffry Antigua, Robert Hernandez, Josh Lansford, and Mike Perconte leave Field #3 (Tennessee squad) in the middle of PFP, so they probably got moved downward when Atkins, Patton, Kennard, and Perkins arrived. I don’t know who (if anyone) was cut from Iowa or Daytona, and I’m not even sure that Antigua, Hernandez, Lansford, and Perconte necessarily were demoted.

Here are the Cubs Minor League Camp rosters.

Minor League Camp opened this week, as pitchers & catchers reported to Fitch Park after the Cubs moved up Center Streert to HoHoKam Park. Other minor league players will report on Tuesday.

Here are the projected Cubs Minor League Camp rosters (142 players), the DSL Cubs Reserve Lists (two teams combined - 66 players), plus some other stuff.

We already knew about Ryne Sandberg's assignment to manage the Triple A Iowa Cubs, and today the Cubs filled in the gaps.

The minor league coordinators are: Dave Bialas (Minor League Field Coordinator), Mark Riggins (Pitching Coordinator), Dave Keller (Hitting Coordinator), Carmelo Martinez (Latin American Field Coordinator), Franklin Font (Roving Infield & Bunting Instructor), Bob Dernier (Roving Outfield & Baserunning Instructor), and Marty Pevey (Roving Catching Instructor). 

News like this is why December is the most magical time of the year.

- Chone Figgins loves his Orange County Angels.

"...when you find a home, you want to stay here. I love what this
organization is all about -- winning, playing hard. I love being here."