Chicago Cubs Minor League Recap: Keegan Thompson's struggles continue

Iowa Cubs (AAA)

The Iowa Cubs beat the Nashville Sounds 14-9

The Iowa bats had a little something extra today as they scored 14 total runs, but the most impressive thing was the extra base power. Six different players had an extra-base hit and our AAA batter of the week (which you can read about later) had two extra-base hits. Not a bad day at the office.

Nelson Velazquez (DH) went 2-5 with a double, three RBI, and a run scored

Darius Hill (OF) went 4-5 with a double, two RBI, and three runs scored. You can’t ask for much more from a leadoff man. 

Yonathan Perlaza (OF) went 3-4 with a double, a home run, a walk, two RBI, and three runs scored. Nelson Velazquez has been great this year and has major league experience, but for me, I wouldn’t mind seeing Perlaza get the next call to the majors if an outfield spot opens up. 

Nick Madrigal (2B) went 2-5 with a triple, two RBI, and two runs scored.

Brennen Davis (DH) took an 0-3 with two strikeouts, but he did walk twice and score twice as well. His batting average for the season is sitting at just .188.

Caleb Kilian (RHP) came back down to earth a little bit with another completely ordinary start. He went five innings, gave up three runs on seven hits and two walks while he struck out six. That’s not a bad start, but you want to see him string together a couple of dominant starts. 

Keegan Thompson (RHP) continued to look completely unusable. He went less than an inning and gave up four runs on four hits and a walk and struck out nobody. It was impressive when he had a 54.00 ERA after one game last week, and it’s even more impressive that he still has a 54.00 ERA after yesterday’s game. 

Daniel Palencia (RHP) is one of the Cubs' best pitching prospects and they’ve made the decision to convert him to relief, seemingly with the hope of him helping the major league squad later this season. In this one, he went an inning and gave up a run on two hits but didn’t walk anyone while adding a strikeout. 

Brendon Little (LHP) was one of only two pitchers today to not give up a run. He did give up a hit but also added a strikeout and didn’t walk anyone as he closed out the game for Iowa and lowered his AAA ERA to 3.22.

Tennessee Smokies (AA)

The Tennessee Smokies lost to the Birmingham Barons 9-5

Tennessee jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning yesterday but immediately gave it back as Birmingham would score four runs in the top of the second. The Smokies would score three in the bottom of the eighth but were unable to get it closer than that and fell to the Barons with Dolly Parton’s favorite score: 9-5.

Pete Crow-Armstrong (OF) had a rough performance in this one. He went 1-2 with a double, but he also had an error in the outfield and was caught trying to steal third.

BJ Murray (3B) went 1-3 with a single, a walk, an RBI and a run scored.

Chase Strumpf (2B) went 2-4 with a couple of singles but he was also caught stealing second base for the first time this season. 

Owen Caissie (OF) had his 10th home run of the season in this one as he went 1-4.

Walker Powell (RHP) went four innings and gave up four runs on six hits and struck out three.

Hunter Bigge (RHP) finished the game up strong for Tennessee as he went two hitless innings while only allowing two walks and striking out two.

South Bend Cubs (A+)

The South Bend Cubs lost to the Dayton Dragons 2-1

Today was rough for the bats in South Bend. They only managed to draw a single walk, no one got on base more than once, and only one player had an extra base hit. When you only have six total baserunners in a game you can’t give up any bad plays and the Cubs did just that when they had a runner thrown out while stealing second base. As poorly as the offense played, the pitching tried to keep them in it but ultimately the Cubs would fall 2-1. 

Scott McKeon (3B) went 1-3 with a single and had the Cubs’ lone RBI in this one. 

Christian Franklin (DH) was the only Cub with an extra base hit as he went 1-4 with a double.

Richard Gallardo (RHP) was great last week and was great again yesterday. He racked up 11 strikeouts through five innings in which he only allowed one run on three hits and no walks. 

Eduarniel Nunez (RHP) was also great yesterday. He went 1.2 scoreless innings and struck out five while only allowing one hit and one walk.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans (A)

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans beat the Fayetteville Woodpeckers 2-0 (Game one)

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans beat the Fayetteville Woodpeckers 3-1 (Game two)

Yesterday Myrtle Beach got to play two in order to make up for the rainout that had occurred on Saturday. The bats were pretty quiet as the Pelicans only managed to scratch across five runs total on the day, but lucky for them the pitching had their back only allowing one run in 14 innings of double-header baseball.

Cristian Hernández (SS) went a combined 2-5 with a walk and a run scored, although he was one of the three runners to get caught stealing in the first game. 

Jefferson Encarnacion (OF) only played in the first game but he went 1-2 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. 

Rafael Morel (CF) went a combined 1-7 with an RBI, four strikeouts and a stolen base in the first game but a caught stealing in the second game. He played CF in both games. 

Juan Mora (3B) went a combined 1-6 with a single, a walk, a run scored and a stolen base.

Moises Ballesteros (C) went a combined 2-6 with a double and a walk.

Felix Stevens (OF) went a combined 1-5 with a double, a walk and a run scored. 

Nick Hull (RHP) managed to work around some wildness as he held the Woodpeckers scoreless through his 3.2 innings. He only gave up a single hit but he did walk four and also struck out four. 

Jordan Holloway (RHP) was solid again. He went 1.1 hitless innings and struck out two while walking two batters as well. 

Saul Gonzalez (RHP) Is becoming one of my favorite players in the Cubs system. Is it because I can already imagine him as the closer for the Cubs and anytime we have a lead going into the top of the 9th inning we can play a clip from Better Call Saul? Sure. But it’s also because the 6’7 235-pound righty has a 2.01 ERA this season and only allowed a single hit with no walks or runs scored yesterday.

Brody McCullough (RHP) went five scoreless innings in the second game only allowing one hit and two walks while striking out eight and lowering his ERA with the Pelicans to 2.36.

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