I-Cubs place Baez on disabled list

Just when Javier Baez appeared to be finding his groove in the Pacific Coast League, he was placed on the disabled list Sunday by the Iowa Cubs.

The Cubs' top prospect sprained his left ankle while fielding ground balls during batting practice on Friday in Memphis and sat out back-to-back wins over the weekend.

Baez went 0-for-9 in his first three games at the Triple-A level, was ejected on April 5 for arguing a checked swing third strike call and reportedly had a dugout altercation with teammate Eli Whiteside.

"I think it was a great development and experience for him," Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein told MLB.com. "He started out not feeling real comfortable at the plate and he let it frustrate him, and he showed it on the field. His teammates, they know how good he can be and how good a teammate he can be and they called him out on it."

The 21-year-old shortstop was not in the I-Cubs' lineup the following day, but came off the bench and slugged his first PCL home run off Memphis' Jorge Rondon.

"He responded just the right way and took it to heart and came back the next day with a pinch-hit home run," Epstein told MLB.com. "He's taking the responsibility of being a good teammate and taking it to heart. Experiences like that will just help him get where he needs to be."

After an 0-for-7 stretch, MLB.com's No. 7 overall prospect went 2-for-4 and scored twice on April 9, then slugged a two-run homer the following day to get his batting average up to .154.

Baez enjoyed a breakout season in 2013, combining for 37 homers and 111 RBIs in 130 games between Class A Advanced Daytona and Double-A Tennessee. He hit five homers and batted .264 in 18 Cactus League games this spring before he was assigned to Minor League camp, with the Cubs urging Baez to work on his defense.

"I talked to them about that and I just have to try to make my throws to first base from short," he told MLB.com. "A lot of times, my hand is sweating and I'm like kind of scared to throw over. This year, I've been doing pretty good."