Two Players Make Pro Debut as AZL Cubs Bat Around to Victory in Tempe
Wladimir Galindo doubled, tripled, walked, and scored two runs, Jose Paniagua singled twice, drove-in a run, scored a run, and reached base on an HBP, and Joey Martarano bashed a two-run triple, helping the AZL Cubs defeat the AZL Angels 6-4 in AZL action Thursday night at Tempe Diablo Stadium.
The Cubs got off to a splendid start right off the bat (so to speak) in the top of the 1st inning, batting around and scoring three runs.
Roberto Caro led-off by lofting a triple into the left-centerfield gap, and then scored on a picture-perfect suicide-squeeze bunt hit laid down the third-base line by Carlos Sepulveda. Wladimir Galindo doubled off the top of the LF fence (just missed a home run), putting runners at 2nd & 3rd. Sepulveda scored and Galindo moved up to third base on a WP, and then Joey Martarano reached base when the Angel shortstop fielded a routine grounder but got distracted when Galindo got caugfht in "no man's land" between 3rd & home, eventually allowing Martarano to reach 1st base and Galindo to return to 3rd base safely (should have been scored a FC, not a hit... oh well). Jose Paniagua then grounded a single to center to score Galindo with the third run of the inning. The Cubs had the bases loaded with one out after Carlos Jimenez singled, but they didn't score any more runs in that inning.
The Cubs scored another run in the top of the 3rd on two singles, a FC, and a 1-3 GO, and Joey Martrano knocked-in the final Cub runs of the evening with a line-drive opposite-field stand-up two-run triple in the top of the 4th, as the Angel right-fielder tried to make a diving catch only to see the ball bound past him and go to the wall. (The CF alertly backed-up the play and was able to retrieve the ball and fire it into the infield before Martarano could circle the bases, forcing Martarano to stop at third, where he was left stranded).
20-year old 6'2 220+ RHP Pedro Silverio made his U. S. debut for the AZL Cubs, getting the start on the mound and working four innings (63 pitches - 38 strikes). He allowed two runs (both earned) on six hits (all six hits were singles) and a walk, plus a WP, with two strikeouts (both swinging), one GIDP, and a 4/4 GO/FO. Silverio was signed by the Cubs in 2012, and had been the ace of the DSL Cubs starting rotation prior to getting moved-up to the AZL Cubs last week.
Two Cubs 2015 draft picks made their pro debut in tonight's game.
1. 23-year old 5'9 switch-hitting middle INF Sutton Whiting (24th round pick - U. of Louisville) entered the game under somewhat adverse circumstances with one out in the top of the 9th. Wladimir Galindo had to leave the game after being hit on the right forearm with a pitch, but the home plate umpire ruled that Galindo had swung at the pitch (and AZL Cubs Manager Carmelo Martinez went ballistic when he found out that Galindo wasn't awarded 1st base), so Whiting inherited an 0-2 count as Galindo's pinch-hitter. Whiting was unphased, however, as he fisted a bloop single over the shortstop's head and into short left field on the first pitch he saw. (I could have said Whiting entered the game "cold," but it was 100+ degrees at the time). He then stole second base, although he was ultimately left stranded. (The speedy Whiting was 5th in stolen bases in NCAA D-1 in 2014). Whiting played 2nd base in the bottom of the 9th.
2. 21-year old OF Alex Bautista (22nd round pick - Lindsey Wilson College) entered the game as a defensive replacement in the bottom of the 9th inning, replacing starting LF Jose Paniagua who had to leave the game after being hit by a pitch on the left wrist in the top of the 9th (two batters after Galindo got hit). Bautista was an NAIA First-Team All-American in 2015, hitting 371/466/728 with 19 HR & 72 RBI, 13 doubles, and 27 SB (9 CS) in 60 games (251 PA) for the Blue Raiders. NOTE: You might notice that Bautista's name does not appear in the "official" box score at milb.com, but I can guarantee you that he was indeed in the game, playing LF in the bottom of the 9th. The official scorer probably was busy reciting the previous inning's play-by-play over the phone to the rep at milb.com HQ and didn't see the home plate umpire point to Bautista.
Catchers Marcus Mastrobuoni (25th round pick - Cal State Stanislaus), Ian Rice (29th round pick - U. of Houston), and Tyler Payne (30th round pick - West Virginia State) were in uniform but did not play in the game.
To make room for the five draft picks added to the AZL Cubs Active List, 1B Roney Alcala (2011 IFA - Venezuela), OF Jenner Emeterio (2012 IFA - Dominican Republic), OF Calvin Graves (2014 27th round draft pick - Franklin Pierce University), IF-OF Danny Gutierrez (2012 IFA - Venezuela), and C-1B Miguel Rico (2012 IFA - Venezuela) have been released.
Here is the abridged "unofficial" box score from tonight's game (Cubs players only):
CUBS LINEUP:
1. Roberto Caro, CF: 1-5 (3B, 5-3, 3-1, K, K, R)
2. Carlos Sepulveda, 2B-SS: 1-4 (1B, 6-3, BB, K, K, 2 R, RBI)
3a. Wladimir Galindo, 3B: 2-3 (2B, 3B, BB, 5-3, 2 R)
3b. Sutton Whiting, PH-2B: 1-1 (1B, SB)
4. Joey Martarano, 1B: 2-5 (1B, F-8, 3B, 5-3, K, 2 RBI)
5a. Jose Paniagua, LF: 2-4 (1B, 1B, 4-3, K, HBP, R, RBI)
5b. Alex Bautista, LF: NO AB
6. Jhonny Pereda, C: 1-5 (K, 1B, 5-3, 3-U, K)
7. Carlos Jimenez, SS-3B: 2-4 (1B, 4-U FC, K, 1B)
8. Robert Garcia, RF: 0-3 (F-8, 1-3, F-8, 5-3 SH, RBI)
9. Andruw Monasterio, DH: 0-4 (4-6 FC, P-2, L-8, K)
CUBS PITCHERS:
1. Pedro Silverio: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 1 GIDP, 4/4 GO/FO, 63 pitches (38 strikes)
2. John Michael Knighton: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 2 K, 1 BALK, 3/1 GO/FO, 28 pitches (24 strikes)
3. Francisco Carrillo: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 2/2 GO/FO, 27 pitches (16 strikes)
4. Mark Malave: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 GIDP, 1/0 GO/Fo, 14 pitches (9 strikes)
CUBS ERRORS: 3
1. 3B Wladimir Galindo: E-5 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely)
2. 1B Joey Martarano: E-3 (missed catch on pick-off attempt allowed baserunner to advance to 2nd)
3. P John Michael Knighton: E-1 (errant throw on pick-off attempt at 1st base allowed runner to advance to 2nd)
CUBS CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Jhonny Pereda: 0-1 CS
Recent comments
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crunch 8 min 51 sec ago (view)
i know some are willing to fight me on this one, but i still can't believe the cubs gave up gleyber torres for a slew of innings of a.chapman. yes, he was -the- best available, but it's not like the other guys (like mark melancon) were crap or the cubs were in some close chase to win the division.
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Charlie 43 min 36 sec ago (view)
Trading away some good prospects during the win-now phase is a confounding factor, since some of those guys *could* have gone on inside the organization to bolster the reputation. But one can hardly blame those trades for the lack of pitching development.
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Arizona Phil 45 min 34 sec ago (view)
K-DUB: Eury Ramos FB was 97-99.
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Dolorous Jon Lester 6 hours 39 min ago (view)
20s sounds about right. Considering they have gotten pretty much nothing out of pitching development in the last decade and only number one picks and Bote on the hitter side in the same time frame, that's pretty telling. I guess Contreras falls into that too but he had been around quite a while before Theo and Jed
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Dolorous Jon Lester 6 hours 41 min ago (view)
I was thinking that too, Phil. EJM failing so badly was another spectacular miss. Guess they should have let sleeping dogs lie when his first deal fell through (Dodgers or Giants, I think?)
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tim815 7 hours 33 min ago (view)
MLB.com rated the Cubs 22 out of 30.
This season figures to tell quite a bit. No teams are terrible at player development anymore, and no teams look at the draft as a hopeless puzzle.
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KingKongvsGodzilla 10 hours 47 min ago (view)
Are these guys out of the org now?
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K Dub 15 hours 24 min ago (view)
PHIL: Any velo readings on Ramos? Earlier reports also had him sitting 98-99. Thanks!
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George Altman 21 hours 25 min ago (view)
Phil, serious question: How good is the Cubs Player Development Department? Scale of 1 to 30 with 1 being best. I mean, I can think of 5 teams right now who don't have near the Cubs resources but do better year after.
I mean there are organizations across sports who seem to coach the crap out of their draft picks and signees. They just got 4 teenagers for Darvish, but do they have the coaches to get any of them to the show?
My pessimistic grade would be about 24.
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Arizona Phil 21 hours 39 min ago (view)
DJL: How about Eddy Julio Martinez as a spectacular miss? A $3M signing bonus out of Cuba and he never made it out of AA.
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Dolorous Jon Lester 21 hours 46 min ago (view)
Wow, that's a pretty spectacular miss. He was so highly thought of when he signed.
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Arizona Phil 22 hours 18 min ago (view)
TIM: Richard Gallardo doesn't seem to be progressing as a SP, so he has apparently been moved to the bullpen. He has a tendency to labor through innings and nibble too much and throw a lot of pitches.
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tim815 22 hours 32 min ago (view)
Anything on Gallardo, of interest, from today?
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Arizona Phil 22 hours 34 min ago (view)
The Cubs have released LHP Ryan Kellogg, RHP Alex Moore, 3B Fidel Mejia, OF Jose Gutierrez, OF Eddy Julio Martinez, and OF Zac Taylor from Minor League Camp.
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Arizona Phil 22 hours 40 min ago (view)
And despite what you might read elsewhere, It was - NOT - a "hot" gun.
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Arizona Phil 23 hours 6 min ago (view)
He certainly could have forced the Cubs to release him with full salary as termination pay, so he must like it with the Cubs.
Comments
Az Phil, has javier baez
HAGSAG: Javy Baez is at the
HAGSAG: Javy Baez is at the Training Center (Under Arrmour Performance Center), but I have not seen him take BP or infield practice or anything specifically "baseball related." Same goes for Tommy LaStella.
Bruce Levine article on
"The top three starters are
Is his shoulder healthy? Is
If the lineup is so much
i still think lester can be a
Theo said they want a
Getting to the wild card game
They have 2 of 3 odds (almost
The luck factor for a single
Clearly Fowler is the weak
...and they know how to
Way to add to the
I think I should be the
Ok O/B. I'll back you 100%
Has there been any update on
Has there been any update on Rafael Soriano? Has he even gotten a visa yet to come to the states? Hopefully he won't need too many rehab outtings to get ready once he gets over here.
he's still in the dominican
CRUNCH: I was told by one of
CRUNCH: I was told by one of the coaches that Rafael Soriano is at the Cubs Dominican Academy throwing "sim" games every couple of days, so he will not need much time to get ready once he arrives in the U. S.
Phillies Manager Ryne
Phillies Manager Ryne Sandberg has resigned.
at least philly fans wont
Maddon must be nervous
No Wada Wacha tomorrow. Donn
Q-MAN: Tommy LaStella was
Q-MAN: Tommy LaStella was placed on the 15-day DL in April retroactive to 4/9, and time spent on the 15-day DL counts toward the time required to be spent on the 60-day DL if a player is transferred to the 60 from the 15, so LaStella could be transferred to the 60-day DL today and reinstated tomorrow (if he were ready to play, which he'is not).
But the point is, yes, transferring LaStella from the 15-day DL to the 60-day DL is a no-brainer. It's simple & easy, and doesn't require exposing anybody on the Cubs MLB 40-man roster to Outright Assignment Waivers (at least until LaStella, Olt, or Turner are ready to be reinstated).
AZ Phil: Can you comment on
CUBSTER: Tyler Alamo is a bit
CUBSTER: Tyler Alamo is a bit stiff behind the plate, his receiving skills are raw and need work, and he has (at best) an average arm. However, he is a team leader, he has a high baseball IQ, and the pitchers like to throw to him, even though he isn't that great of a defensive catcher.