Chicago Cubs Minors Recap: Pelicans take home second straight title

The Chicago Cubs begin the fall season with a variety of reasons to celebrate. Capped off with a division title, the Cubs enjoyed some organizational success with a pair of league titles. We bask in the championship glory and hand out some more hardware on this week’s The Call-up.

Pelicans flying high in Carolina

If winning is contagious, then I would consider the next month to be filled with happy faces in Chicago. David Bote and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans charged through the Carolina League on their way to a second consecutive title.

Bote led the league in hitting during the second half of the year (.351/.425/.530) and carried it over to the postseason.

The Pelicans have dominated the Carolina League the past two years and secured their fourth championship since they began play 18 years ago.

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Furthermore, Myrtle Beach is the first team in the league to win back to back since the 1985-86 Winston-Salem Spirits. The Spirits were also part of the Cubs organization at that time.

Class-A Short Season affiliate Eugene Emeralds joined the Pelicans as champions in their respective league. Eugene went a collective 54-22 in league play and defeated the Everett AquaSox two games to one.

Congratulations to both teams for making the Chicago Cubs one of the most successful organizations in the league.

Cubs prospects enjoy some postseason awards

Myrtle Beach Pelicans right-hander Trevor Clifton was one of the anchors that led the birds to the Carolina League championship. In addition to the team success, Clifton has a bit more hardware to add to his list.

The Chicago Cubs named Clifton the team’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Clifton led the league in ERA (2.88), opponent’s batting average (.225), and finished third in strikeouts (129).

The Cubs also named outfielder Eloy Jimenez as their Minor League Player of the Year. Nothing more can be said about Jimenez, who completely dominated his competition all year long.

Jimenez split time between Low-A South Bend and Myrtle Beach. In 112 games at South Bend, Jimenez hit .329 with 14 home runs and 81 RBI. Jimenez contributed three hits and three walks during the Pelicans’ championship run.

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The Chicago Cubs will now turn the attention to the main event. The Pelicans and Emeralds provided the appetizer, as a result, Cubs fans hope that the big league club will provide the main course. Players and fans alike are counting down the days to playoff time in Chicago.