Welcome to edition number two of the Rookie League Recap! It’s not going to be that much different from the first edition (insert Kenny Rogers reference) that came out last Sunday.

Let’s get right to it!

Mesa Cubs

The Cubs again went 2-3 on the week which brings their record to 4-6. Good news though, the pitching is starting to come around! It’s always rough checking the box scores in Mesa and seeing lots of crooked numbers. This week went much better and the hitting side of things continues to do well. Here are a few key highlights from the week.

*Cristian Hernandez was pulled from the game on Friday night. Not sure why as of yet. He did not show up on Myrtle Beach’s roster and he did not play in Saturday’s game. Hopefully, it was just precautionary.
*Pedro Ramirez is doing well at the plate hitting .313 after two weeks. He has been playing mostly at second. 
*Christian More is still doing well hitting at .455 clip.
*Ronnier Quintero had a great day yesterday as he pushed his average to .571 with a 1.283 OPS.
*Rafael Morel continues to look improved as he is hitting .286 so far.
*Kenyi Perez looks like he is going to be a starter to watch this summer. He’s struck out 9 in six frames over 2 starts. The 20-year-old righty is in his second year of pro ball. 
*Reliever Jose Romero has struck out 8 in 4.2 innings
*My guy I picked to breakout this year, Oliver Roque, has not allowed a run in two appearances and has struck out 4 in 3.2 innings.
*As well, reliever Wilfri Feguero has 7 Ks but in just three innings without allowing a run.
*Yovanny Cruz, who is on a rehab assignment from South Bend, has 13 Ks in just 5 innings. I would not expect him to be in Mesa much longer.
*Alejandro Rivero continues to show power. He hit his second HR the other day.

*Dominic Hambley did well yesterday as he got into the 3rd inning yesterday. Looks like the Cubs are taking their time stretching these young guys out.

I would not be surprised to see a few Mesa names work their way up to Myrtle Beach over the next two weeks as the Cubs make some roster moves that will work their way down the system. Rivero, More, Reivaj Garcia, and Miguel Pabon would have to be at the top of that list. If you are aggressive, then maybe Pedro Ramirez gets a shot. It’s still a little too early with Hernandez.

DSL Red and Blue

The 2-3 theme continues to be a thing here. After playing six games the first week, the DSL schedule was down to five games this week. After both teams went 2-4 last week, they went 2-3 this week including splitting two games with each other. 

*Geuri Lubo continues to rake in his second spin in the DSL. Right now, he’s hitting with a wRC+ of 188. 
*SS Jefferson Rojas continues to impress as he at .367 with a .924 OPS
*After getting plunked in the elbow in the first game of the year after hitting a dinger, 1B Jose Herrera returned late this week. 
*Adan Sanchez seems to just hit and hit and hit. He now has an average of .310 with a wRC+ of 133. 
*Oferman Hernandez improved over last week and is now up to .375 with an OPS of 1.045
*Right-hander Gabriel Agrazal has got it going on as a starting pitcher. He has not allowed a run in two starts. He’s struck out 7 in 8 total innings and has only allowed three hits.
*18-year-old lefty Melvin Almador is also doing well with a 1.92 ERA and he has 6 Ks in 7 innings over two starts.
*17-year-old Freilyn Silverio has it working. He has a 0.00 ERA in two starts. However, he’s only thrown five innings in two starts. The Cubs are a little more cautious with younger pitchers.
*Alexis Hernandez finally got his first hits of the year on Friday despite his very good 24.1% BB rate…That’s quite unbelievable. It will click for him in time.

The pitching will come around eventually. I did not go over any relievers yet because most have only appeared in two games. With 35 man rosters and tropical heat, the Cubs use their pitchers on the roster judiciously. 

Next Sunday’s recap might be more story-like as all three teams will have 15 games in, which is 25% of their season. 60 games go by quickly in the rookie leagues.