With the Double-A season officially beginning today, the Chicago Cubs made the beat writers (specifically me) sweat it out on who they’d be assigning to the Tennessee Smokies to open their 2017 campaign. Wednesday they finally let us in on who will actually pick up a bat and toss a ball for their minor league farm hands.
And now that we know the 25 men that will populate the Smokies for at least the first couple of weeks, I’ve got to tell you. There’s not a lot of excitement with this group. Maybe that’s why the Cubs took so long to unveil it.
Of Chicago’s Top 20 minor league prospects only two, pitchers Duane Underwood Jr. and Zach Hedges are on the Smokies’ roster. Underwood has been snake bit for the last couple of seasons, dealing with arm and elbow soreness that kept him out of the lineup for long stretches. If he’s put all that behind him then the fans in Kodak are in for a real show with what the 22-year-old right-hander can do.
#Cubs No. 16 prospect Duane Underwood Jr. with a scoreless first vs. @WhiteSox in 1st #SpringTraining start. Live 📺: https://t.co/ToJymecYIg pic.twitter.com/X00xkcTaN4
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) March 17, 2017
Hedges was solid for the Smokies last season, compiling a 3-3 record in 16 starts with a 2.47 ERA. The 24-year-old from Glendora, Calif. is the lead-off man in Tennessee’s rotation and got the opening day start tonight at the Pensacolo Blue Wahoos.
What Smokies fans will see are plenty of new faces in the positions. Only a handful of guys are returning from last year’s team and those that are, like center fielder Trey Martin, outfielder Jacob Hannemann and shorstop Carlos Penalver, have plenty of work to do at the plate before they get to graduate out of the Southern League.
The most exciting player at the plate on this roster will probably be in Tennessee the shortest time. Catcher Cael Brockermeyer played 12 games in Tennessee last season before heading on to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. While in Tennessee he batted .317 with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs. While his numbers dropped in the Pacific Coast League, he stayed there for 35 games. Presumably the Cubs will want to cycle him back there as soon as possible.
Starting tonight for…
Iowa – Eddie Butler
Tenn – Zach Hedges
Myrtle Beach – Adbert Alzolay
South Bend – already rained out.— Luke Blaize (@ltblaize) April 6, 2017
What makes me think that’s the plan? Because the Cubs have put three catchers on the Smokies’ roster and, when you see that, you know some guy is being moved quick for some roster-ish reason up the organization.
The two guys behind Brockermeyer are both Double-A rookies. Erick Castillo is from Araure, Venezuela and is just in his fifth full season of pro baseball at 24. He played in 43 games for the High-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans last season, but did absolutley zilch with his bat, hitting .185 with two doubles a homer and eight RBIs.
Ian Rice is 23 and in his second full season of pro ball after getting drafted in the 29th round of the 2015 MLB draft. He had a more successful offensive stint last season, but not by much with the Pelicans. He hit .238 with 13 doubles, six home runs and 31 RBIs. In 39 games with Low-A South Bend, Rice did hit .310 so there’s reason for hope he can help produce some offense. He’s probably also a guy Smokies skipper Mark Johnson will move around the line up at first base and the outfield like he did Vincent Caratini last season.
David Bote with an amazing grab! #ThatsCub pic.twitter.com/raP9Z60ZNp
— Cubs Nation (@CubsNationCHI) March 31, 2017
The real punch in the line up should come from second baseman David Bote. Bote was called into service for seven games last season in Tennessee, then spent 12 games up in Iowa. The bulk of his season was spent tearing through the Carolina League with Myrtle Beach where he batted .328 with 26 doubles, three triples, seven home runs and 45 RBIs. In Triple-A, Bote kept that going with a .364 average in 22 at-bats. Bote has a chance to be this year’s Chesny Young.
Other than Bote, the Cubs didn’t assign a single guy to the Smokies that hit .270 or better at any level last season. Johnson and hitting coach Jacob Cruz have their work cut out for them this year.
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