Minor League Radio Recaps

I recently discovered a great Cubs website called 312sports.com. Every Thursday their show features the Cubs' minor league system, so be sure to check it out tomorrow morning.

Last week "B-Squared" were joined by pitcher Chris Archer:

• Archer has started three games this year in Daytona. He is adjusting to the Florida State League after pitching in Peoria last year.
• There are better hitters in the FSL, but his team is batter as well.
• All in all, his third start was probably his best.
• Archer has very good stuff, but he has been working on his command.
• It's been a slow but steady process to where he is now.
• His offspeed stuff has good command but he needs to control his fastball.
• Chris understands that "sometimes in pro ball you're just going to have to do what you're told." He thinks it's a good thing that the Cubs are protecting young arms.
• At this point it's all about development.
• The organization wants younger guys to throw less pitches. Once you've been in the organization for a few years, you can build your pitch count up.
• Archer came over from Cleveland in the DeRosa trade. He says that the Indians organization preaches how to attack guys.
• The Cubs worry less about the mental side of the game and more about mechanics. Chris likes looking at the physical aspect.
• The Florida State League hitters don't swing at as many bad pitches as Midwest League hitters.
• Archer is enjoying the weather and beaches in Florida.
• The Daytona Cubs get along on and off the field. They enjoy spending time together.

The guys quizzed Archer with a trivia challenge. I cannot believe he missed some of these:

1. When was the last time the Cubs won the World Series?

Archer: 1929

Correct Answer: 1908

2. Who is Mr. Cub?

Archer: Ryne Sandberg

Correct Answer: Ernie Banks

3. Who is the owner of the Chicago Cubs?

Archer: Jim Ricketts

Correct Answer: Tom Ricketts

After that Chris settled in and got a few, but it still is honestly disappointing that there is someone playing in the Cubs system that got both of these first two questions wrong!

That's it for now, but I'll keep you posted!

Cubs in Winter Ball Update

Dominican Winter League
Jake Fox, whom the Cubs traded to Oakland on Thursday, has been played for Licey in the DWL. So far he's hitting .296 in 7 games with 1 HR and 7 RBIs. Fox just joined Licey for the second half of their season.

Starlin Castro, the Cubs top prospect in the organization, has been struggling since joining the DWL. He started his winter playing for Mesa of the Arizona Fall league, but now he's joined Escogido in the Dominican now. So far in 8 games he's hitting .182 with 2 RBIs. In the AFL, he tore it up hitting .376 in 26 games.

Nelson Perez, a Class A Cub prospect has been playing with Toros all winter. Perez played with Peoria of the Midwest League during the regular season and hit .251 in 120 games. The outfielder has played in 26 DWL games so far, and has a batting average of .293 with 2 homers and 6 runs batted in. Perez is a left handed batter.

Here are the current Domician League standings:
1. Escogido: 23-15
2. Licey: 22-16, 1 GB
3. Toros: 21-17, 2 GB
4. Aguilas: 18-20, 5 GB
4. Gigantes: 18-20, 5 GB
6. Estrellas: 13-25, 10 GB

Mexican Pacific League
Many Cubs have played for Mexicali all season long. Jeff Samardzija started 5 games to get some work in before returning to Indiana. He had a 2.25 ERA and a record of 2-0.

Jeff Stevens recently joined the Mexicali bullpen. During the 2009 regular season, Stevens pitched in 11 games for the Chicago Cubs along with 42 at AAA, all in relief. He had a record of 1-3 with a 2.03 ERA at AAA Iowa and was 1-0 with a 7.11 ERA with the big league club. So far this winter, his ERA is high once again currently at 5.40 in his 7 games with Mexicali. He is 0-2 and has recorded 2 saves. Stevens came to the Cubs organization last offseason in the trade that sent Mark DeRosa to Cleveland.

Brian Schlitter has pitched in 18 games out of the Mexicali pen. He has a ERA of 3.79 in 18 games. During the regular season, he pitched with Tennessee posting a 4.38 ERA in 59 games. Schlitter came to the Cubs organization in 2008 in the deal that sent Scott Eyre to the Phillies.

Outfielder Matt Camp has been hitting well for Mexicali. He has a batting average of .337 in 47 games with 1 homer and 24 RBIs. During the regular season he hit .283 in 99 games at AAA Iowa and .298 in 14 games at AA. The Cubs are at-risk of losing Camp in the Rule 5 Draft because they chose not to protect him.

Brad Snyder also played for Mexicali. He may not return the Cubs next season because he is a minor league free agent.

Thomas Diamond, a pitcher that the Cubs recently picked up from Texas, is 2-0 with a microscopic ERA of 0.64 in 3 starts for Mexicali since joining their rotation when Samardzija departed.

James Adduci, an outfield prospect, is the lone Cub who has played in the Mexican Pacific League for for a team other than Mexicali. James has appeared in 13 games for Hermosillo. He's hitting .244 with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs. Adduci had a great regular season, hitting .300 in 131 games for Tennessee. Adduci came to the Cubs in a trade with the Marlins for Zach McCormick in September of 2006. He was a Southern League All Star this season.

MPL Current Standings:
1. Hermosillo: 9-4
2. Culiacan: 8-5, 1 GB
2. Navajoa: 8-5, 1 GB
4. Mochis: 7-6, 2 GB
5. Obregon: 6-7, 3 GB
6. Guasave: 5-8, 4 GB
6. Mexicali: 5-8, 4 GB
8. *Mazatlan: 4-9
*first half winner

Venezuelan Winter League
Cub short stop Andres Blanco has been playing infield for Magallanes of the Venezuelan Winter League for most of the winter. He has an average of .294 with 2 homers and 25 RBIs. In addition, Blanco has 14 steals. In 2009, he played 53 games with the Chicago Cubs and hit .252 with 12 RBI. Blanco will be in the infield mix in Spring Training, vying for a spot on the Opening Day roster.

Robinson Chirinos has been a teammate of Blanco's for Magallanes this winter. He is hitting .333 in 37 games. Chirinos, a catcher, spent most of 2009 in the Florida State League, He hit .300 for Daytona in 69 games.

J.R. Mathes pitched with Caracas earlier this off season. The AAA prospect went 1-2 with an ERA of 5.08 in 6 starts.

First baseman Blake Lalli has joined Caribes for the second half of their season. He is hitting .292 in 7 games so far with a home run and 4 RBIs. Lalli spent all of this past season with the Smokies of AA hitting .314 with 52 RBIs in 118 games. He is a left handed batter who was signed by the cubs as a non-drafted free agent in 2006.

Current VWL standings:
1. Magallanes: 31-16
2. Caracas: 30-16, 0.5 GB
3. Zulia: 26-22, 5.5 GB
4. Margarita: 25-23, 6.5 GB
5. LaGuaira: 23-25, 8.5 GB
6. Lara: 20-28, 11.5 GB
7. Aragua: 19-28, 12 GB
8. Caribes: 16-32, 15.5 GB

Don't forget to visit my Cubs Farm Updates Twitter for the latest from the Cubs in Winter Ball!
That's it for this week's winter ball reports, I'll have some rumors and more later!

Cubs Down On the Farm Report

Lot's of minor league news, notes, and stats to get to, so let's get started...

40 Man Roster Adds
Today the Cubs protected John Gaub, Blake Parker, Rafael Dolis, Welington Castillo, and James Adduci. Today was the deadline to add players to the 40-man and protect them. Matt Camp, Steve Clevenger, Alex Maestri, Thomas Diamond, J.R. Mathes, and Greg Rheinhard were not put on the roster, and they all are up for grabs in the Rule V Draft next month.

Top Prospect List
Baseball America came out with their new list of the Top 10 Cub Prospects for this year.
1. Starlin Castro
2. Brett Jackson
3. Josh Vitters
4. Andrew Cashner
5. Jay Jackson
6. Hak-Ju Lee
7. Logan Watkins
8. Chris Carpenter
9. Ryan Flaherty
10. DJ LeMeieu

Cubs Minor League FA
The Cubs minor league free agent list is now official:
P- Casey Fossum, Vince Perkins, and Jose Pina
C- Mark Johnson
IF- Matt Craig, Luis Rivas, Bobby Scales, and Nate Speares
OF- Doug Deeds, John-Ford Griffin, and Brad Snyder

AFL Ends
The Arizona Fall League is over for the Mesa Solar Sox. They finished 13-18, 5.5 GB of first place Phoenix in the AFL East. Phoenix will meet Peo Javelinas in the AFL championship game tomorrow on the MLB Network.
Let's take a look at the final stats of the Cubs playing in the AFL:

Michael Brenly: 8 games, .240 AVG, 1 HR, 3 RBI
Welington Castillo: 8 Games, .357 AVG, 2 HR, 4 RBI
Starlin Castro: 26 Games, .376 AVG, HR, 10 RBIs
Josh Vitters: 16 Games, .353 AVG, HR, 8 RBI
John Gaub: 1-1, 9.31 ERA, 10 Games
Scott Maine(Scottsdale): 16.20 ERA in 2 Games
Blake Parker: 2-1, 4.50 ERA in 11 Games
James Russell: 0-1, 1.26 ERA in 11 Games
Andrew Cashner: 2-3, 4.58 ERA, 6 Games (all starts)

Posted a little late this week, but in 2 weeks we'll be back with more winter ball reports!