Feature photo of Jared Young by Dylan Heuer/Iowa Cubs
Hitter of the Day
The I-Cubs continue to tear the cover off the ball, scoring another 11 runs on 14 hits against the Omaha Storm Chasers Tuesday night. Five different batters recorded multiple hits in this one, led by third baseman Jared Young. Manning the hot corner, Young started a nifty 5-4-3 double play as he showed off his versatility and even shifted over to second base for the end of the ballgame. At the dish, Young recorded three hits including a double and a homer. He also walked to put himself on base for the fourth time in the game and posted two RBI and three runs scored.
Starting Pitcher of the Day
I’m tempted to go with Ryan Jensen and his two perfect innings back from the development list, but even his new and improved arm action isn’t enough for him to meet my own personal and unwritten requirements that a starter needs to go more than 20 pitches to get this award.
Instead, the best starting performance was Cam Sanders in Iowa. He allowed no runs in his four innings of work, giving up a lone hit and walking four compared to three strikeouts. Even though he walked more guys than he struck out, he was still dotting the mid-90s heat on the black as he showed off his best K-strut skills that make him a perfect fit for Pitching Ninja once he makes it to the bigs. Sanders is squarely in the conversation for Top 30 prospect at this point.
Reliever of the Day
I’m gonna focus on some quantity in addition to quality in the relief department, too. Tyler Santana worked 5.1 innings in relief of the starter, Luke Little, on Tuesday night. Working in a low-scoring affair, the right-hander rocked some Jesse Chavez style facial hair and logged two punchouts and no walks while giving up no runs on six hits. Rocking an unfathomable 63% groundball rate this season, Santana continued that trend by forcing seven groundouts compared to just two flyouts.
