Tyler Colvin

The Cubs have sent RHP Casey Weathers outright to AAA Iowa.

Alfonso Soriano homered twice and Brett Jackson whacked a three-run home run, leading the Cubs to an 11-4 victory over the Colorado Rockies in Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in warm, sunny, and windy (sometimes VERY windy) Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.

The Cubs have optioned Tyler Colvin and Marcus Mateo to Triple A and called up lefty Scott Maine and speedster Tony Campana.

Maine was sporting a 2.84 ERA in Iowa, striking out 21 in 19 IP, while walking just 8. Hard to imagine he'll be any worse than what he is replacing.

Campana was sporting a good luck line of 342/383/442 in Iowa earning his promotion. I wish him well, but he'll be hard pressed to find enogh playing time and such good luck in the majors(.423 BABIP in Iowa this season). He does bring speed with him, being successful in 8 of 9 stolen base attempts this year and 144/186 for his minor league career (77.2%). Of course, Yadier Molina wasn't playing in those leagues during the same time, so he probably won't see that success translate either.

Colvin did need to start getting some regular at-bats, although it's hard to figure out why he can't get them over Fukudome, Byrd or Soriano. For a team that already hits plenty of singles without walking much and in desperate need of some power, Colvin seemed closer to a cure than Campana, but neither will be effective without regular use.

It's also of note, as mentioned in the comments, that the Cubs are about to begin interleague play at American League parks starting off at Boston this Friday. Barring injury, Colvin cannot be recalled now for 10 days, leaving the Cubs DH options Reed Johnson, Castillo, DeWitt, Campana and Baker or more likely one of those play the field while the likes of Ramirez, Soriano and so forth get a defensive rest day. It's foresight like that keeps a century-plus losing streak alive.

Anyway, the appropriate deck chairs have been moved on this Titanic. May the disaster continue...

It's your first start of the season, chance to impress the manager and the fans...Cubs need a pick-me up. Tommy Hanson, ace-in-training on the mound just struck out the side in the first. He unleashes a 95 mph fastball down the middle of the plate, might be the best pitch you see the entire at-bat. You calmly let it go for strike one. Bravo. Make him think you know something. Next pitch is another fastball but Hanson misses well inside. 1-1 now, and Hanson mixes it up with a slider but it's outside. A hitter's count and you know the fastball is probably coming. The catcher sets up away and Hanson rears back and fires. He misses his target...badly, ball is right in the lefty sweet spot down and low. You bring the hands in, uncoil the swing and *crack*, you know you hit it good. You're a rookie though, put your head down and start running. A muffled cheer and the ump twirls his finger, time to break out the home run trot but don't show up anybody or you'll get one in the ear next time.

Jesus Heyward ain't got nothing on you Tyler Colvin...well other than probably having a much better major league career. As for rookie theatrics, you're neck and neck.

Ryan Theriot had three hits, and Marlon Byrd, Mike Fontenot, and Jeff Baker mashed home runs, leading the Cubs to an 8-1 victory over Dusty Baker's Cincinnati Reds at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park under mostly cloudy skies in warm Mesa, AZ.

Tyler Colvin went 4-5 with two singles, an RBI triple, and a solo home run, but it wasn't enough, as the Cubs and the San Diego Padres played to a 2-2 tie in front of a Cactus League record crowd of 13,462 at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park this afternoon in sunny Mesa, AZ.

Derrek Lee crushed a two-run double, Aramis Ramirez and Tyler Colvin had two hits a piece (and Colvin also stole a base and scored two runs), and Ryan Dempster threw five innings of shutout ball before tiring in the 6th, as the Cubs and Royals played to a 5-5 tie in Cactus League action at Surprise Stadium this afternoon.

Bryan Lahair cranked a three-run homer to tie the game and then later doubled and scored, leading the Cubs to an 11-4 victory over the Cincinnati Reds in Cactus League action at sunnny and warm Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa this afternoon, in what was the first-ever appearance by the Reds at HoHoKam Park. (The Reds relocated their Spring Training camp from Sarasota, FL to Goodyear, AZ this year).

Brad Snyder crushed a game-winning two-run double off the CF Batter's Eye in the bottom of the 9th, scoring Bobby Scales from second base with the tying run and Sam Fuld from first with the winning run, as the Cubs edged the Arizona Diamondbacks 8-7 in Cactus League action in front of 11,775 fans under sunny skies (65 degrees) at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in Mesa this afternoon.

Tyler Colvin went 3-3 with two doubles and a solo HR, Derrek Lee and Marlon Byrd singled and homered, Sam Fuld blasted a two-run home run, Brad Snyder ripped a 450+ foot solo HR, Kosuke Fukudome doubled and singled, Starlin Castro tripled, and five Cubs pitchers combined to throw a three-hitter, as the Cubs drubbed the Oakland A's 9-3 in front of 7,496 fans at the 2010 Cubs Cactus League Opener at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny & breezy Mesa this afternoon.

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Here are my “2010 Cubs Top 15 Prospects.”

If there's anything good about this Milton Bradley suspension other than not having to read about the last idiotic thing Milton said, is that the Cubs are calling up Tyler Colvin. Well it would be good if Lou Piniella wasn't managing, because then he would just play Sam Fuld, Jake Fox or Micah Hoffpauir and Tyler Colvin the rest of the season with a few at-bats for Kosuke Fukudome sprinkled in, but instead I imagine it'll be more Scales, Fuld and Fukudome than anything else and that makes me want to throw a brick at the TV screen. And let's say I wouldn't be all to upset if that brick magically traveled through that TV screen and knocked some sense back into Lou.

For those that might have missed the former #1 picks career arc, he was a suprise first round pick at #13 in 2006. There were reports later that some teams were thinking about taking him later in the first round, so there's no way he would have lasted to the Cubs next pick in the 5th round and then the Cubs picked up a first round talent in Jeff Samardzija who slipped because of his football committment at the time. Then the Cubs ruined it all by giving Samardzija a major league contract but that's for another time.

Colvin then had some decent seasons in Boise and Daytona in 2006 and 2007 but struggled badly in 2008 in Double A. Ended up that he had a bum elbow and went under the knife for Tommy John Surgery at the end of last year after trying to play in the Arizona Fall League. He was ready by the start of this year, but just in DH capacity and started the year off in Daytona. Once the Cubs felt he was healed up, they brought him back to Tennessee for his second tour and in half a season he put up a .859 OPS in what is normally considered a pitcher's league with 35 XBH's and earned Southern League player of the week twice in August. He still strikes out at a Mark Reynolds rate with no walks or patience to offset that, so let's just say I'm not on the edge of my seat, but I'd like to see the kid get plenty of opportunties to play the rest of the way.

You may have come across the news that Tyler Colvin had left the Arizona Fall League due to an elbow injury. Supposedly it was something that was troubling him for much of the 2008 season and according to our pals at Inside the Ivy, Colvin did undergo Tommy John Surgery on Sunday. The procedure has become rather common place these days and Colvin should be back for a good portion of the 2009 season although it's likely he'll start out in extended spring training in Arizona before being assigned to a minor league affiliate.

That does take him off as a potential trading chip this offseason, although his .736 OPS in AA probably already took care of that.

Tentative rosters for the 2008 Arizona Fall League (AFL) were announced yesterday (they are incomplete and also subject to change), and six of the seven Cubs prospects who will be playing for the Mesa Solar Sox this fall have been named: