ACL Cubs Team Photo by Rich Biesterfeld
The end of the baseball season always makes me a little sad as a fan. For the players, I know it becomes a grind because they have been in camp since March when Spring Training kicked off, then Extended Spring Training and finally the ACL season. While talking to one of the players early last week, he mentioned being tired, and he was excited to be headed back home. This is relatable on multiple levels, but factor in that this young man is only 18 and it’s his first time far from home, it makes sense that players would be mentally, as well as physically, tired by this point in the season.
The Cubs finished the season with an 18-37 record and lost their final 6 games. This was the first managerial assignment for Nick Lovullo and he had a strong staff of coaches supporting him and as a group, they had the team ready for each game. While the goal at every level is to win games, the focus in the minor leagues is on development and seeing improvement in players as the season progresses. Another challenge at the rookie level is that as players do improve, they often move up a level (which is what the organization desires). But it adds additional challenges for the team who often loses their highest level of talent to the next level, so they are in a constant state of adjustment. To provide some context, the Cubs used 35 position players and 40 pitchers for the season.
The Roster:
During the back half of the season, the team added some reinforcements to the position player group from the draft class. Alfonsin Rosario, Zyhir Hope, Yahil Melendez, Drew Bowser and Carter Trice played with the team through the completion of the season. Several of the pitchers made one appearance to get acclimated to pro ball and then were dispatched to a full season affiliate – Sam Armstrong, Landon Ginn, Grayson Moore and Luis Martinez-Gomez. It was nice to get a brief look at some of the other draft picks who passed through the ACL – Matt Shaw, Josh Rivera, Brett Bateman, Jonathan Long, Brian Kalmer and Michael Carico – before they headed off to South Bend and Myrtle Beach.
Because the Spring Training facility is a state-of-the-art operation, players rehabbing from injury are often recovering and doing their rehab in Arizona. Once they are ready to begin competing again, a frequent first step is to send them on a rehab assignment in the ACL. There were a lot of familiar faces who saw some time in the ACL this season, including: Alexander Canario, Kevin Alcantara, Brennen Davis, Ed Howard, Christian Franklin, Drew Gray, Scott Kobus, Brailyn Marquez, Luis Devers, Derek Casey, Max Bain and Yovanny Cruz.
Season Highlights:
- The team had a pair of walk-off wins during the season. There’s just something about seeing a team flood onto the field after a victory and the joy that ensues which reminds me that at the core, these are still kids playing a game.
- Alexis Hernandez was the most impressive player to me through the entire season. Entering the season, he was frequently referenced as ‘Cristian’s brother’ but he came out of that shadow with his production this season. He primarily played shortstop, but also saw action around the infield and looked good at all positions. He led the team with a .315 BA and a .922 OPS.
- Leonel Espinoza began the season as an infielder and then moved to the outfield. His first few games in the outfield were a bit of an adventure, but his routes and comfort level improved through his work with the coaches. He put up strong offensive numbers as he tied for the team lead in hits (41) and doubles (9) while batting .339 with an .867 OPS before being promoted to Myrtle Beach on August 15th.
- Pitcher Gabriel Agrazal was used in multiple roles throughout the season but was frequently called upon to close out games. He appeared in 19 games with 23.2 IP. His WHIP was 1.563 with a 2.3 BB/9 and 8.0 SO/9. One of the biggest challenges for the ACL Cubs staff as a whole was throwing strikes and Gabriel did well in this area.
Closing the Loop to the Preseason Preview:
In my preseason article, I identified 6 players I believed were players to watch: Carlos Garcia, Mason McGwire, Gleiber Morales, Chris Paciolla, Adán Sanchez and Jefferson Rojas. Jefferson Rojas played in the opening night game, and then was immediately promoted to Myrtle Beach and hasn’t looked back. The performance of the 3 pitchers (Garcia, McGwire and Morales) would best be described as inconsistent. There were nights for each of them when they appeared dominating and had all of their pitches working, but other times when they struggled to make it through a single inning. (That’s not unusual for pitchers in the ACL.) Early in the season Adán Sanchez appeared to be overmatched at the plate, but in the last weeks of the season, his AB’s and his contact were greatly improved. His defense behind the plate is going to require continued work and I suspect there will be a lot of time spent on that this winter. Chris Paciolla finished the season leading the team in both HR’s (4) and RBI’s (23) while playing steady defense all around the infield. It looks like the next step for Chris is for him to fill out more physically and if he can add some additional muscle, the power might grow quite a bit.
Wrapping it up:
Thanks for hanging with me and reading these recaps of the ACL season this summer. When Todd Johnson asked if I wanted to take over this assignment for North Side Bound, I wasn’t sure what I would write about each week. But the players, staff, and games inspired me to share stories and summarize each week’s activity. I’m not sure what my next article will be, but there will still be Fall Instructs and the Arizona Fall League happening, so you may see me pop up with something over the next few months. Until next time…
Thanks, Rich! I enjoy your approach to the Rk levels. I thought Freilyn Silverio would do more this year but healthy with a new career high in IP (including ExST) isn’t the worst spot going into the offseason. The 2023 bats did well and I’m interested in Trice moving to catcher
Thanks Jeff! I always have a tough time evaluating minor league pitching because I’m not privy to what they may be working on. For instance, I talked to a player after one of his outings and found out he was throwing his change-up 90% of the time because that’s what the coaches wanted him to work on. The results probably would have been better if he were throwing his fastball more, but that wasn’t the pitch he needed to work on. The way the schedule worked out, I saw Freilyn pitch several times early in the season, but not much in the latter part, so I don’t have much of an observation on how he looked later. But I agree with you, building up innings and staying healthy is also a good accomplishment coming out of the ACL. I did speak to Carter Trice at the end of the season and saw he was wearing catcher’s gear, so I expect to see more of him at that position (or at least working with the catchers) during Fall Instructs. Hoping he might follow in the footsteps of another Old Dominion alum, Bryce Windham.
Rich, any thoughts on Jose Escobar? I think I saw he had a pretty good year!
Thanks for the question Kevin! Jose Escobar was on my list of players that impressed this year, but just got edged out at the end. He got injured in the first or second game after he came up from the DSL, so he missed almost all of Extended Spring Training which led to a little bit of a slow start in the ACL but then played well. He’s listed as a shortstop but the Cubs seem to give all of their infielders time at 2B, SS and 3B and he looked comfortable across the diamond. His playing time declined a bit during the last few weeks of the season – not due to him not playing well, but there were just a number of the recent draftees who are infielders which meant more guys to distribute playing time amongst. Jose has good bat to ball skills and I was impressed with his speed. I would suspect he will be in Myrtle Beach next season, assuming there’s a roster slot available for him.
Thanks for the response! Maybe a couple more questions if I can sneak them in…Any first impressions on the athleticism and tools on Hope, Rosario, Paciolla, and Bowser? Any impressions of Mat Peters? 2022 guy who said he wanted to be one of the hardest throwers ever
Oh and duh…Ethan Hearn is fast! One of my favorites in the org
Haha….yeah, Ethan Hearn is one of my favorites too! The energy he brings on the defensive side of the game and the way he works with the pitching staff is fun to watch!
My personal observations on Zyhir Hope, Alfonsin Rosario and Ben Bowser are somewhat limited since a lot of the games they played occurred while I was traveling to Myrtle Beach and South Bend. I love the speed that Hope and Rosario bring to the team. Rosario stole 3 bases and could have had a 4th if there hadn’t been a passed ball charged to the catcher in one of the games I watched. All 3 of the recent draftees seemed comfortable at the plate and drove some balls well in my limited views of them. Bowser played all over the infield but I thought he appeared most comfortable at 3rd.
I was able to watch Chris Paciolla all season and liked the progress I saw him making offensively as he began to drive the ball more. On defense, he’s smooth and never seems to be in a hurry while making the plays. Physically he’s still very lean and as he fills out more, I think the power bat will become something he can tap into more.
Matt Peters is still a work in progress. He can throw hard and blow the ball past people at times, but his biggest challenge is throwing strikes consistently. I’ve talked to Matt quite a bit this summer and he’s a great guy, has an excellent work ethic and is easy to root for. I’m hoping they can unlock some things with him during Instructs and/or during the offseason.