2016 Iowa Cubs Season Review

THE ROAD TO WRIGLEY: Iowa and Chicago have the second longest partnership in the Pacific Coast League with their 36 seasons of pairing. In 2016, 26 players suited up in both Iowa and Chicago including 10 major league rehabbers. The group included: pitchers Jake Buchanan, Trevor Cahill (MLR), Gerardo Concepcion, Carl Edwards Jr., Justin Grimm, Brian Matusz, Joe Nathan (MLR), Spencer Patton, Felix Pena, Joel Peralta, Joe Smith (MLR), Adam Warren and Rob Zastryzny, catchers Willson Contreras, Tim Federowicz and Miguel Montero (MLR) and position players Javy Baez (MLR), Jeimer Candelario, Munenori Kawasaki, Tommy La Stella, Albert Almora Jr., Chris Coghlan (MLR), Dexter Fowler (MLR), Ryan Kalish and Jorge Soler (MLR). Six of the group moved through Des Moines on their way to major league debuts with Chicago including: Contreras, Almora Jr., Candelario, Zastryzny, Pena and Concepcion. All six players had also debuted at the Triple-A level in 2016. 

TIP OF THE CAP: The I-Cubs took a roller coaster ride through the 2016 season, experiencing the highs of winning stretches and the lows of losing droughts. Iowa was swept by Round Rock in the opening series and fell to 4-9 over its first 13 games. The I-Cubs peppered in wins with the losses but hit a major skid with a eight-game losing streak in mid-May which dropped them eight games under .500 (18-24) just five weeks into the season. After losing 10 of 11, Iowa responded with a season-best nine-game winning streak May 27-June 5, tied for the league's longest winning streak of 2016 and tied for the second-longest win streak in franchise history. Iowa traded wins and losses and progressively dipped further below the Mendoza line as the team failed to post back-to-back wins from June 30 through August 5. Iowa still managed to go out with a bang, winning 20 of its last 31 games - including a four-game series sweep of Colorado Springs in the final series - to secure third place in the American North Division and end with a 67-76 record. 

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS: Iowa Cubs pitchers collected 1,197 strikeouts this season to take over second place on the Iowa all-time list, falling short of the 2002 squad who still claims the record with 1,228. On August 13 at Fresno, Iowa whiffed 18 batters to mark the eighth time in franchise history Iowa has matched or surpassed that mark and only the fourth time in a nine-inning game. The club record is 21 strikeouts in a game set on June 1, 2013 (13 inn.) against New Orleans.

TROPHY CASE: The Pacific Coast League recognized three Iowa players throughout the season for their individual performances on the field. Dan Vogelbach earned Player of the Week honors for the week of May 9-15. The first baseman went 8-for-24 during the week with three homers - including a pair on May 9 - and eight RBI. Jake Buchanan captured the second nod, collecting the Pitcher of the Week award for the week of May 30-June 5 after throwing 11.0 scoreless innings with no walks and nine strikeouts over two starts. Lefty Rob Zastryzny rounded out the group, earning Pitcher of the Week for August 1-7 after also spinning 11.0 shutout frames with 13 Ks in two starts. 

SPEED DEMON: John Andreoli finished the season with a league-leading 43 stolen bases thanks, in part, to nine swiped bags over his last eight games. He became the first I-Cub to lead the PCL in steals since Andres Torres in 2008 (29) and the sixth in franchise history. Andreoli also became the first PCL player to swipe 40-plus bags in a season since Dee Gordan in 2013 (49). The outfielder boosted his career minor league total to 202 and has 76 stolen bases in an Iowa uniform, good enough for third on the all-time list. 

TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER: Marty Pevey completed his fourth season as the manager of the Iowa Cubs becoming the first manager to lead the I-Cubs in four consecutive seasons since Mike Quade (2003-06). Pevey is 287-288 all-time at the helm of the I-Cubs. With the 67 added wins in 2016, the Georgia native moved into second all-time on Iowa's managerial win list, trailing only Joe Sparks (355; 1973-75, 77-79).

HOME SWEET HOME: Iowa fell just shy of a winning record at home with a 35-36 mark at Principal Park. It was just the sixth time in Principal Park's 25 seasons that the club has posted a losing record at home and just the second time in the last 16 years. The I-Cubs still managed a better winning percentage in Des Moines than in enemy territory with a .486 mark at home and a .444 clip on the road (32-40).

HEY NOW, YOU'RE AN ALL STAR: Iowa was represented at the PCL All-Star game by first baseman Dan Vogelbach and right-hander Armando Rivero. At the break, Vogelbach was hitting .312 (89-for-285) with 18 doubles, two triples, 15 homers and 60 RBI and added 55 walks for a league-leading .426 on-base percentage. Vogelbach's 15 first-half homers were the most for an I-Cub since Brad Nelson equaled that mark in 2013. Rivero entered the break with a 2.59 ERA (12ER/41.2IP), 22 walks and 57 strikeouts and had not allowed an earned run in 12.0 innings. In the 2016 All-Star game in Charlotte, NC, Vogelbach started at first base and went 0-2 with a strikeout. Rivero got the ball in the eighth and gave up a home run and struck out one in 0.1 innings. 

TRIPLE DIP: Arismendy Alcantara legged out five triples for Iowa prior to a June 9 trade that sent him to Oakland. Number three was the most significant as the second baseman captured the Iowa franchise record for career triples, surpassing Billy Hatcher and Chico Walker with 23 each. Alcantara ended his Iowa career with 26 triples collected from 2014 through 2016. 

CAN'T TOUCH THIS: After getting off to a 19-26 start in 2016, Iowa went on a tear late in May, winning nine in a row. The team propelled itself to 28-26, two games over .500 for the first time of the season. The nine-game streak, spanning May 27-June 17, was the team's longest in the PCL era and tied for the second-best ever. It also matched Round Rock and Nashville for the longest PCL winning streak of 2016. 

AIN'T IT GRAND: Iowa mashed three grand slams off the bats of Juan Perez, Willson Contreras and Daniel Vogelbach this season. The team had been in a grand slam drought, with its last coming from Mike Olt on August 5, 2014. That season, the I-Cubs hit six grannies with the group of sluggers including Javy Baez and Kris Bryant.

YOU CAN COUNT ON ME: Drew Rucinski was a workhorse for Iowa, left standing as the only I-Cub pitcher to make every start of the season. He led the team in starts (28), innings pitched (155.0) and strikeouts (116). The heavy workload solidified several spots in the Iowa record book for the righty. Rucinski placed second in single-season losses with 15 and third with 102 earned runs allowed. He also led the PCL in losses and tied for the league lead in starts. Rucinski's innings pitched were the second-most in the PCL and his 622 total batters faced topped the leader board. 

OUR ALL-STAR: Armando Rivero was brilliant in his second full season with Iowa. The Cuban native signed a minor league deal as a free agent in 2013 and has played 114 of his 160 professional games in an I-Cubs uniform. In 2016, the righty posted a career-best 2.13 ERA and amassed a 5-3 record. The 2016 PCL All-Star whiffed 105 batters in 67.1 innings to pace the league in strikeouts-per-nine-innings ratio (13.97) and also led the PCL with a .169 opponent batting average. He is the first I-Cubs reliever to lead the league in either category. The righty set career bests in ERA, innings pitched, wins and Ks. 

AGE IS BUT A NUMBER: Jose Gonzalez was the youngest player to suit up for Iowa this season, joining the team on August 4 at 20 years old. Joe Nathan held down the other end of the spectrum at 41 when he was assigned to Iowa as a part of a rehab assignment. Nathan became the oldest pitcher in franchise history to don an Iowa uniform, surpassing Joel Peralta (40, 2016) and Tony Fassas (40, 1998).

FLASHING LEATHER: Iowa set another franchise mark with an all-time low 96 errors in 2016. This clip narrowly edges the team's previous low of 97 matched in 2010 and 2011. No single player recorded more than 10 errors this season as Kristopher Negrón and Logan Watkins each matched that mark. Munenori Kawasaki was a highlight reel at shortstop and led the league with a .982 fielding percentage (7E/380TC) at that position. Albert Almora Jr. also dazzled in the field, posting a .977 fielding percentage (4E/171TC) while collecting six outfield assists. 

REVOLVING DOOR: Iowa used 41 pitchers (including one position player), seven catchers, 12 infielders and 14 outfielders over the course of 2016, totaling a franchise-record 73 players used. The club surpassed the previous record of 67 set in 2004. The I-Cubs also made 198 player transactions, the second highest mark in history, trailing only the 2015 squad with 218. 

WHEELS-A-TURNIN: Iowa was a terror on the base paths in 2016, swiping 176 as a team. The charge was led by John Andreoli with 43. Three more I-Cubs tallied 20-plus stolen base seasons including Kristopher Negrón (23), Munenori Kawasaki (20) and Arismendy Alcantara (21, prior to his trade to Oakland). This is the most stolen bases for Iowa since the 1986 I-Cubs' squad stole 205. In the Iowa Cubs era, only four teams have stolen more bases: 1986, 1985 (179), 1984 (195), and 1983 (179). 

DOUBLE DOWN: The rains followed the I-Cubs in April and May, forcing seven mid-summer double-headers. Four of these were played from June 23 through July 6 (including the continuation of a suspended contest) as the I-Cubs totaled 17 games in 14 days. The team went 5-9 in twin bills to equal a .357 winning percentage, the fifth-worst clip in the PCL. 

THE I-CUBS ARE MY CUBS: Iowa welcomed 504,160 fans to Principal Park this season, reaching half a million in attendance for the second year running. The I-Cubs ended their season ranked fifth in the league with an average of 7,414 fans at each home game.

ONE DOWN: For the first time since 2012, Iowa failed to play its full 144-game schedule as its May 1 game against Colorado Springs was canceled due to wet grounds and was unable to be made up. In 2012, Iowa finished the season four games short of the regulation schedule as a late-season series at New Orleans was cancelled due to Hurricane Isaac.

START ME UP: Iowa had a tumultuous year with its starting rotation. The five original starters made it just once through the rotation before injuries forced the I-Cubs to find additional pieces of the puzzle. Drew Rucinski led the squad with 28 starts and was the only I-Cub to make every start of the season. In total, 21 pitchers made at least one start for Iowa with 11 of those players starting five or fewer times. Only four hit double-digits in starts: Rucinski, Jake Buchanan (22), Rob Zastryzny (14) and Pierce Johnson (11).

ROOKIE ROUND UP: Iowa saw a slew of rookies in 2016 as 23 players reached Triple-A for the first time. Iowa's Opening Day roster featured rookies Albert Almora Jr., Willson Contreras and Dan Vogelbach - who would all go on to make their major league debuts later in the season. The trio handled the transition well as after the first month of the season, all were hitting well over .300 and placed in the PCL top-20 in batting. Contreras and Almora Jr. were each contributors in Chicago this season, while Daniel Vogelbach recieved his first big league stint with Seattle in Septemberafter a mid-season trade. 

NONE FOR YOU: Iowa was consistent with their bats to begin the season, getting out to a 7-0 start in shutout games. Through June, they were the only team in the PCL that hadn't been on the losing end of a shutout. The second half of the season was unkind to the I-Cubs in that category as the team proceeded to lose six of their next seven shutout contests. Iowa finished the season 8-6 in shutouts, tied for the sixth-best mark in the league.