Results tagged ‘ Peoria Chiefs ’
8/18 Soler power
Jorge Soler seems bigger than the 6-foot-3, 205 pounds he’s listed at. One other thing about the Cuban outfielder, who is playing for Class A Peoria: he isn’t overmatched in the Minors. In his sixth game for the Chiefs on Saturday night in Appleton, Wis., he went 4-for-5 with a solo home run, an RBI double, and two singles to beat Wisconsin, 9-2. He’s now batting .391. The home run was impressive as he hit an 0-2 pitch about 400 feet to center. I’ll have more on Soler on Sunday.
– Carrie Muskat
7/16 Baez named MWL player of week
Class A Peoria shortstop Javier Baez was named Midwest League Player of the Week for the week of July 9-15. He is the first Chiefs position player to win the honor since August 2009 and the second Peoria player honored by the Midwest League this year. Baez hit .478 (11-for-23) last week with three home runs, two doubles and two triples. He had six RBIs and scored five runs as well as stealing two bases. Baez was selected in the first round, ninth overall, in 2011, out of Arlington Country Day High School in Jacksonville, Fla.
The last Chiefs position player to win the MWL player of the Week Award was Rebel Ridling on Aug. 2, 2009. Kyler Burke was named MWL Pitcher of the Week June 11, the first Chiefs pitcher to win the award since Robert Hernandez did so in June 2007.
– Carrie Muskat
5/8 Peoria’s Hoilman ties mark
Paul Hoilman singled in the eighth inning Tuesday night to extend his hitting streak to 21 games and tie a Peoria Chiefs franchise record. Hoilman’s streak is the longest in pro baseball this year. He extended it in his final at-bat. Kerry Robinson set the mark in 1996 and it was matched by Jack Wilson in 1999.
– Carrie Muskat
8/4 Ricketts: “We want to be the best”
Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts made a stop in Peoria on Wednesday to see the Class A team and talked to reporters there.
“We want our Minor Leagues to be as productive as possible. We do want to separate ourselves in that we want to be better,” Ricketts said in a news conference at O’Brien Field. “We want to be known as a team that drafts and develops players better than the other teams.”
Ricketts said he visits the Minor League teams because the goal is to build the best organization in baseball, according to a story in the Peoria Journal Star. Ricketts was asked about any possible changes for next season.
“I don’t know just yet,” Ricketts said. “It’s something we’ll decide at the right time.”
So far, the new owners have concentrated on the business end.
“It’s hard to say we’ve had any type of big impact on the baseball side,” Ricketts said, “but that being said, a lot of the stuff we’re doing now should pay off in the long run.”
And that includes a commitment to scouting and player development, which includes building new facilities in Mesa, Ariz., and also the Dominican Republic.
“We’re out talking to our affiliates to make sure we’re doing everything we can with our minor league players and coaches,” Ricketts said. “Ultimately the performance on the field, if it’s going to be consistently winning, has to come from a great organization. We’re doing everything we can to make it the best organization in baseball.”
– Carrie Muskat
6/20 Ramirez update from Peoria
Aramis Ramirez, sidelined with a sprained left thumb, went 1-for-3 Sunday in his second rehab start with Class A Peoria. He finished the two-game stint, 1-for-6. On Sunday, Ramirez was the designated hitter and hit second. He walked on five pitches in the first inning and scored, hit a RBI single to left in the second, and was called out on strikes in the fourth. He lined out in the sixth.
On Saturday, Ramirez was 0-for-3. He grounded out in the first inning, was called out on strikes in the third, was intentionally walked in the fourth with two outs and runners at second and third, and then grounded out in the sixth. The Peoria Chiefs lost, 7-2, to Quad Cities.
He’s been on the DL since June 8. In 47 games with the Cubs, he was batting .168 with five homers and 22 RBIs.
– Carrie Muskat
6/20 Ramirez update & Smokies win
Aramis Ramirez went 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout on Saturday night in a rehab start with Class A Peoria. Ramirez batted second for the Chiefs in their game against Quad Cities. He grounded out to the shortstop in the first, was called out on strikes in the third and was intentionally walked in the fourth with two outs and runners at second and third. He grounded out in the sixth in his last at-bat. The Chiefs lost 7-2 to Quad Cities in front of 4,776 at O’Brien Field. He’ll start again Sunday.
* Double-A Tennessee clinched the Southern League North Division first-half title on Saturday. The Smokies won when West Tenn dropped the first game of a doubleheader. The Smokies have a 41-27 record under first-year manager Bill Dancy. Ty Wright had three hits and one RBIs, and now is batting .301 with 10 homers and 50 RBIs.
– Carrie Muskat
9/14 Burke, Coleman get top honors
Outfielder Kyler Burke and pitcher Casey Coleman were named the Cubs’ Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year, respectively. Burke, 21, batted .303 with 43 doubles, three triples, 15 homers and 89 RBIs for Class A Peoria. Coleman, 22, who will start Game 3 of the Southern League championship, was 14-6 with a 3.68 ERA in 27 starts for Double-A Tennessee. He finished with a 3.68 ERA, and tied for the league lead in wins.
– Carrie Muskat
9/10 Peoria playoff update
The Peoria Chiefs lost 6-4 in 10 innings to Cedar Rapids in Game 1 of the best of three Western Division semifinals on Wednesday. Game 2 will be played Thursday at 6:35 p.m. CT in Cedar Rapids.
The Chiefs did rally to score two runs with one out in the bottom of the ninth on Jovan Rosa’s homer to tie the game at 4. Junior Lake had three hits, including two doubles.
– Carrie Muskat
mlblogsmuskat1
Recent Comments