Vogelbach rolls to four-hit night with Iowa

Dan Vogelbach has a theory for why he's been one of Triple-A Iowa's most consistent offensive performers this season.

"I think it's coming in every day with an attitude," he said. "An attitude to prove a point and an attitude to want to go to the big leagues."

The Cubs' No. 20 prospect went 4-for-5 with a solo homer and three singles and Monday, but Triple-A Iowa fell to Salt Lake, 12-7, at Principal Park.

Vogelbach lined a single to left field in the first inning, to center in the fifth and to short in the seventh off three different pitchers before crushing an elevated fastball from Lucas Luetge over the right-field fence in the ninth for his 16th homer of the year. The four hits marked a season high and his most in a game since April 24, 2014 with Class A Advanced Daytona.

After going 4-for-19 in a four-game series against Las Vegas, the Florida native said he welcomed the outburst.

"Last series, with it being the first series back from the All-Star Break, I kind of felt fast at the plate," Vogelbach said. "I was just trying to slow things down tonight. Facing lefties I think helped a lot, helping me to stay on the ball."

The homer moved Vogelbach into a tie for fourth in the Pacific Coast League in that category, one season after he hit a career-low seven for Double-A Tennessee. The 2011 second-round pick has shown consistency too, as his average hasn't dipped below .288 all season.

"Just continuing to work every day to slow things down and take what the pitchers give me," Vogelbach said. "Not try to do too much and take my hits and not try to force things. I think I've been able to do a pretty good job of that this year with just slowing it down. And when I speed up, being able to catch myself and go back to slowing things down and using the whole field."

Vogelbach's attitude and production have served to reinforce his belief that he's ready for "The Show." Monday marked the 23-year-old's 500th Minor League game. If he continues to produce at the same rate, Vogelbach said he knows he won't be far from earning that first callup.

"I feel like I can help a big league team win," he said. "I feel like I'm ready for the big leagues at the plate and that I'm continuing to prove that. I'm just going to keep doing what I'm doing and keep coming to the park every day with that attitude. We'll see what happens from there."

John Andreoli tripled and singled while driving in three runs for Iowa.

Miguel Mejia (1-1) gave up five runs on five hits and a walk over 3 1/3 frames in relief of rehabbing Cubs pitcher Trevor Cahill, who was touched for three runs on four hits with three walks and three strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings.

Salt Lake reliever Geoff Broussard (2-2) yielded a run on four hits over two innings to pick up the win.

Fifth-ranked Angels prospect Kaleb Cowart finished 3-for-5 with a triple and two RBIs, while Rafael Ortega tripled twice on a four-hit, two-RBI night for the Bees.