The Cubs version of Fluffy will no longer exist as the Cubs have traded "catcher" Welington Castillo to the Seattle Mariners for relief pitcher Yoervis Medina. Before I dig into the new guy, let's eulogize Beefy for a bit.
Junior Lake collected five hits (four singles and a double), stole two bases, and scored two runs, Welington Castillo reached base four times on three walks and a single, and Dustin Geiger singled twice, doubled, and drove-in four runs, in Cactus League Minor League action this afternoon at the Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park in Mesa, AZ.
The Tennessee Smokies (Cubs AA affliate) hammered the Chattanooga Lookouts (Dodgers AA affiliate) 10-4 on Field #3, while the Albuquerque Isotopes (LAD AAA affiliate) edged the Iowa Cubs 4-3 on Field #6.
Lake and Castillo moved back & forth between the two fields, each working as an extra DH and taking an AB whenever the opportunity arose. Lake managed eight Plate Appearances between the two games, and Castillo had six.
Cubs #1 pitching prospect RHP C. J. Edwards got the start for Tennessee on Field #3, and he allowed one run on three hits (two singles and a double) and a walk, with five strikeouts and a 6/0 GO/FO in 3.2 IP (67 pitches).
Recently returned from the Arizona Diamondbacks (who had selected him the Major League Phase of the December 2013 Rule 5 Draft), RHRP Marcos Mateo threw a dominating 9th inning on Field #3 (two strikeouts and a broken bat 5-3 GO) to seal the victory for the Smokies.
LHP Eric Jokisch got the start for the I-Cubs, and allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits (a single and a double) and four walks in 5.2 IP (78 pitches). He also struck out seven and induced two DP grounders along the way, using his quality off-speed stuff to keep Isoptope hitters off-balance. Albuquerque plated their two runs off Jokisch on a bases-loaded walk and a two-out RBI double.
Carlos Pimentel "piggy-backed" with Jokisch and worked 3.1 IP, allowing two runs (both earned) on four hits (three singles and a triple) and two walks. He struck out four, with a 2/4 GO/FO.
Kris Bryant went 0-3 for Tennessee, striking out (swinging) his first two times up, and then popping out to the first-baseman in foul territory in his final AB.
Arismendy Alcantara played SS and batted 3rd for Iowa, and he struck out all three times up, first two times swinging, and last time looking.
Though assigned to the Tennessee squad, Dan Vogelbach was the Iowa DH, and he went 0-3 in the game, grounding into a 4-6-3 DP and then striking out twice (both times swinging).
Here are the abridged box scores from the two games (Cubs players only):
Welington Castillo homered, doubled, and singled, Jesse Hodges doubled twice and walked, and Duane Underwood tossed four innings of no run/no hit ball, as the Kane County Cougars rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 9th to edge the Burlingtom Bees (Los Angeles Angels Lo-A affiliate) 7-6 on Field #3, while the Inland Empire 66ers (the LAA Hi-A affiliate) drubbed the Daytona Cubs 12-3 on Field #6, in Cactus League Minor League Camp action this afternoon at the Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park in Mesa, AZ.
Justin Ruggiano, Welington Castillo, and Christian Villanueva blasted solo home runs, and Kyle Hendricks threw 2.2 IP of no-run/no-hit ball, as the Cubs "White" team defeated the Cubs "Blue" team 5-3 in a six-inning Cactus League Intrasquad game played this afternoon in what was the first Cubs game played at Cubs Park in Mesa.
Per Paul Sullivan and Enrique Rojas of ESPN Desportes, who tipped it late last night on Twitter, the Cubs are expected to disable Steve Clevenger--yes, 11-for-22 and 1249 OPS-hitting Steve Clevenger--because of "tightness in his side." Sullivan says Clevenger felt the discomfort during batting practice before Friday night's unmerciful thrashing of Roy Halladay.
Welington Castillo, hitting .320 with 2 HR and 8 RBI at Iowa, will get the call-up.
Matt Garza threw four innings of shutout ball, allowing two hits and no walks with six strikeouts, Adrian Cardenas slugged a 420+ foot three-run HR over the CF fence, Welington Castillo drove-in three runs with a two-run double and a sacrifice fly, and Blake Lalli had four hits, leading the Iowa Cubs to an 8-1 victory over the Salt Lake Bees (Los Angeles Angels AAA affiliate) on Field #3, and Casey Coleman threw four innings of one-run ball, but knuckleballer Joe Zeller was tagged for four runs, as the Arkansas Travelers (Angels AA affiliate) defeated the Tennessee Smokies 5-1 on Field #2, in Cactus League minor league game action this morning at Fitch Park in Mesa, AZ
Brandon Allen drove-in seven runs with a grand slam home run, a two-run double, and an RBI ground out, leading the Oakland A’s to a hard-fought 12-10 victory over the Cubs in Opening Day Cactus League action at Dwight Patterson Field at HoHoKam Park in sunny Mesa, AZ, this afternoon.
Welington Castillo reached base five times on three walks, a single, and a double, but the AZL Angels rallied to score three runs in the 9th and one in the 10th to edge the AZLCubs 8-7 in Arizona League action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this morning.
After Neftali Rosario was walked intentionally to load the bases and set-up a potential game-ending double play, Taylor Davis drilled a one-out two-run game-winning walk-off single on a 2-2 pitch past a a diving 3rd baseman into LF to score Marco Hernandez from 3rd base with the tying run and Gioskar Amaya from 2nd base with the winning run, as the AZL Cubs rallied for two runs in the bottom of the 9th to edge the AZL Rangers 7-6 in Arizona League action at Fitch Park Field #3 in Mesa this morning.
Here are my “2011 Cubs Top 15 Prospects.”