Winter League Report for February 3

By Randy Wehofer

February 3, 2014

I-CUBS WINTER LEAGUE UPDATE
February 3, 2014

No matter what your thermometer says, spring is almost here! The Super Bow is over, the Caribbean Series field is set and the tournament is underway in Venezuela, and there are just 10 more days until the Chicago Cubs pitchers and catchers report to spring training. Get caught up on the latest news and notes in this week's report.

TRANSACTIONS:
The Chicago Cubs avoided arbitration with OF Justin Ruggiano and signed him to a one-year deal. That leaves just Darwin Barney and Jeff Samardzija as the unsigned arbitration eligible players. Reports surfaced late last week that the Cubs signed RH Jason Hammel on a one-year contract and RH James McDonald on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. The Cubs haven't confirmed either of the signings yet.

McDonald faced Iowa in game one of a double-header on July 6, 2010 at Principal Park and retired the first 14 batters he faced before Ty Wright broke up the perfect game bid with a single. McDonald came out of that game with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning leading 6-1, but was charged with three more runs when Brad Snyder delivered a pinch-hit double off reliever Kiko Calero that cleared the bases. The final line for McDonald in that game (6.2IP, 4H, 4R, 2BB, 5K) doesn't truly reflect how dominant he was most of that day.

The Cubs re-signed RH Chang-Yong Lim to a minor league deal. The club had non-tendered Lim in the fall. He pitched 11 games with Iowa at the end of last season and allowed one run on five hits in 11.1 innings while working his way back from his second career "Tommy John" surgery.

In other signings, the Los Angeles Angels signed 3B/1B Chad Tracy (2010 with Iowa) to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Tracy spent the last two seasons coming off the bench for Washington. The Miami Marlins signed OF Reed Johnson (rehab in 2011) to a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. The Boston Red Sox signed LH Rich Hill (2005-06, 08) and the Colorado Rockies signed RH Manny Corpas (2012) to minor league deals respectively. Hill returns to the Red Sox organization, where he pitched from 2010-12. He made 63 appearances with Cleveland last year. Corpas returns to the Rockies after making 31 big league appearances for them last season and pitching 21 games at triple-A Colorado Springs.

CARIBBEAN SERIES:

The Caribbean Series is underway in Venezuela and Mexico is off to a hot start at 2-0 in round robin play. Venezuela is 1-0, Puerto Rico, 1-1, the Dominican Republic 0-1, and Cuba - by special invitation to the tournament - is 0-2. 1B Daryle Ward is playing for Mexico and is 0-for-3. C Robinson Chirinos is 0-for-1 with Venezuela. 2B Luis Figueroa has played in both games for Puerto Rico and is 3-for-7 (.429) with two RBI and a run scored. OF Lou Montanez is 0-for-1 with an RBI. RH Carlos Marmol struck out one in a scoreless inning of relief for the Dominican Republic.

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE:

Caribes won the regular season with a 39-24 record, five games better than a tie for second between Zulia and Caracas at 34-29. Magallanes (11-5) and Caribes (10-6) claimed the top two spots in the round robin to advance to the championship series and Magallanes won the best-of-seven series 4-1 to advance to the Caribbean Series.

SS Ronny Cedeno played for Aragua in the regular season, but joined Magallanes for the post-season. It was a good pick-up. Cedeno finished fifth in the league in post-season batting (.375), tied for fourth in hits (27), and tied for fifth in RBI (17) in 21 games. He also had four doubles, four homers, and scored 10 runs. C Robinson Chirinos hit four home runs in the championship series and tied for third in the league with six post-season homers overall. He hit .314 (11-for-35) with 11 runs scored and 12 RBI in 12 playoff games. RH Carlos Zambrano made five starts and was 1-1 with a 5.33 ERA (15ER/25.1IP). He led the league in post-season walks (14) and home runs allowed (1) and was fourth in innings pitched (25.1).

OF Jackson Melian batted .412 (7-for-17) with two homers and seven RBI in five playoff games for Caribes, but didn't play in the championship series.

RH Yoanner Negrin made four post-season starts for Caracas and was 2-2 with a 3.86 ERA (7ER/16.1IP). He tied for second in the league in playoff wins and ranked fifth in the post-season with a 3.86 ERA. RH Jose Ascanio made six playoff appearances and posted a 2.16 ERA (2ER/8.1IP). RH Miguel Socolovich was 1-0 with an 8.10 ERA (6ER/6.2IP) in eight post-season games. He walked seven and struck out seven. RH Henry Rodriguez allowed eight walks and fanned eight while allowing six runs in five innings for 10.80 ERA in four appearances. C Henry Blanco finished 4-for-24 (.167) with two doubles and three RBI in nine playoff games.

C Juan Apodaca is 3-for-10 with an RBI in four games for Zulia. SS Marwin Gonzalez is 2-for-11 with a pair of walks. RH Austin Bibens-Dirkx allowed four runs on three hits in 4.2 innings in his only start.

FINAL REGULAR SEASON STATS:

Player	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Juan Apodaca	Zulia	2012	.203	25	74	7	15	1	1	1	6	11	15	0	0	.330	.284	.613
Andres Blanco	Magallanes	2008-09	.214	10	14	2	3	1	0	0	0	1	3	0	0	.313	.286	.598
Henry Blanco	Margarita	2007	.049	20	41	7	2	2	0	0	3	9	11	0	0	.220	.098	.318
J.C. Boscan	Caracas	2013	.154	9	13	1	2	0	0	0	2	5	2	0	0	.389	.154	.543
Ronny Cedeno	Aragua	2004-05, '07	.301	39	136	18	41	5	1	1	14	16	20	3	0	.399	.375	.774
Robinson Chirinos	Magallanes	2010	.272	30	103	14	28	11	0	0	18	11	24	0	0	.367	.379	.745
Alberto Gonzalez	Margartia	2013	.225	53	178	19	40	3	0	3	10	17	22	1	2	.296	.292	.589
Marwin Gonzalez	Zulia	2011	.297	23	74	5	22	0	0	0	9	13	9	1	1	.404	.297	.702
Jackson Melian	Caribes	2003	.238	18	42	6	10	3	0	1	4	1	12	0	0	.273	.381	.654
Max Ramirez	Margarita	2011	.274	36	124	18	34	11	0	5	13	12	29	0	0	.353	.484	.883
Dave Sappelt	Margarita	2012-13	.143	2	7	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	2	0	0	.250	.143	.393
Luis Valbuena	Lara	2012	.311	34	122	30	38	7	0	4	16	25	23	1	1	.440	.467	.907
Casper Wells	Caracas	Cubs Signee	.178	19	45	5	8	1	0	1	6	9	12	0	1	.339	.267	.606

Pitcher	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	IBB	SO	WP	OPP AVG.
Jose Ascanio	Caracas	2008-09	0	1	5.27	16	0	4	5	13.2	15	8	8	1	1	8	0	12	0	.278
Austin Bibens-Dirkx	Zulia	2010-11	1	0	2.38	3	2	0	0	11.1	12	3	3	1	0	3	0	4	0	.308
Manny Corpas	Margarita	2012	1	3	9.26	12	0	1	1	11.2	15	14	12	2	0	8	2	7	0	.313
Frank Del Valle	Margarita	Cubs Prospect	0	0	2.17	9	6	0	0	29.0	18	7	7	1	2	23	0	24	0	.191
Paolo Espino	Caribes	Cubs Signee	5	3	5.15	10	10	0	0	43.2	47	31	25	9	3	11	0	45	2	.270
Ty'Relle Harris	Aragua	2011-12	0	2	59.40	2	2	0	0	1.2	7	11	11	3	2	4	0	3	2	.583
Randy Keisler	Magallanes	2008	0	0	36.00	2	1	0	0	1.0	4	4	4	0	0	3	0	0	1	.571
Ted Lilly	Magallanes	2010	0	0	8.10	1	1	0	0	3.1	3	3	3	0	0	4	0	1	1	.231
Guillermo Moscoso	Caracas	2013	3	3	3.96	9	7	0	0	38.2	41	18	17	2	0	7	0	27	1	.275
Yoanner Negrin	Caracas	2012-13	4	3	4.06	13	13	0	0	62.0	58	30	28	5	4	22	0	38	0	.228
Renyel Pinto	La Guaira	2004-05	1	3	5.18	9	9	0	0	41.2	40	26	24	4	4	30	3	31	7	.261
Henry Rodriguez	Caracas	2013	0	0	1.93	4	0	0	0	4.2	4	2	1	0	0	5	0	4	0	.250
Hector Rondon	Caracas	Chicago Cubs	2	0	3.65	13	0	0	0	12.1	16	7	5	0	3	4	2	10	2	.327
Eduardo Sanchez	Aragua	2013	2	1	9.72	11	0	1	1	8.1	9	9	9	1	1	5	0	10	2	.281
Miguel Socolovich	Caracas	2012	2	0	1.80	13	0	1	3	15.0	12	4	3	0	0	5	0	11	1	.207
Larry Suarez	Magallanes	2013	0	0	20.25	1	1	0	0	1.1	4	4	3	0	0	2	0	1	0	.500
Polin Trinidad	Margarita	2012	0	3	6.91	4	3	0	0	14.1	21	12	11	1	0	2	0	7	0	.328
Carlos Zambrano	Magallanes	2000-02, '10	1	2	4.93	9	9	0	0	42.0	54	30	23	5	3	23	0	25	2	.312

REGULAR SEASON PITCHING LEADERS:

Yoanner Negrin: 4.06 ERA (8), 13GS (T2), 62.0 IP (T3), 42 K (T5), 1.29 WHIP (3), .254 AVG (3)
Paolo Espino: 5 Wins (T4), 45 K (4), 9 HRA (T1)
Jose Ascanio: 4 SV (T5)
Renyel Pinto: 30 BB (1)

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE:

Escogido and Aguilas tied for the regular season title at 31-19, two games better than third-place Licey. Escogido (11-7) and Licey (10-9) finished with the top two records in round robin play to advance to the championship series. Licey won the best-of-nine series 5-3 to claim the title and advance to the Caribbean Series.

RH Mitch Atkins earned a win in the first game of the championship series and was 1-1 with a 4.76 ERA (12ER/22.2IP) in five post-season starts overall. RH Juan Cruz earned four saves in the championship series and tied for the league lead with eight saves overall in the post-season. Cruz was 1-0 with a 1.10 ERA (2ER/16.1IP) in 15 post-season appearances and recorded 17 strikeouts against just four walks. RH Jairo Asencio earned a win in the championship series and was 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA (1ER/3.0IP) and two saves in three post-season appearances. RH Carlos Marmol mad 12 post-season appearances and had no record and a 1.69 ERA (2ER/10.2IP). He struck out 15 and walked just five. RH Ramon Ortiz was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA (6ER/12.0IP) in four games (three starts) in the playoffs.

RH Jon Leicester (2004-05) made three post-season starts for Escogido and was 1-0 and a 0.00 ERA. He didn't allow a run in 12.0 innings of work and gave up just four hits and five walks while striking out 10. RH Roberto Novoa walked the only man he has faced in the championship series, but was 1-0 wtih a 0.96 ERA (1ER/9.1IP) and one save in 10 post-season appearances. RH Carlos Pimentel made one post-season appearance in game five of the championship series for Escogido and pitched a scoreless inning. LH Raul Valdes made two post-season starts and was 1-0 with a 1.17 ERA (1ER/7.2IP), but did not appear in the championship series.

RH Marcos Mateo was solid in the playoffs for Aguilas. He was 5-for-5 in save opportunities and allowed just one run in 5.1 innings in his six appearances. He ranks tied for third in the league in saves for the post-season. RH Frank Batista was 1-1 witha 3.00 ERA (2ER/6.0IP) in seven playoff appearances.

RH Miguel Batista made six post-seaosn appearances for Gigantes and was 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA (2ER/3.2IP).

FINAL REGULAR SEASON STATS:

Player	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Jim Adduci	Toros del Este	2010, '12	.264	20	72	11	19	4	0	2	7	8	17	0	2	.346	.403	.748
Arismendy Alcantara	Licey	Cubs Prospect	.200	17	50	5	10	1	0	1	4	2	13	2	1	.231	.280	.511
Julio Borbon	Licey	2013	.182	25	44	9	8	1	2	0	2	7	4	1	0	.308	.295	.603
Jeimer Candelario	Aguilas	Cubs Prospect	.000	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Diory Hernandez	Toros del Este	2012	.333	1	3	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	.500	.333	.833
Junior Lake	Estrellas	2013	.343	27	105	11	36	4	1	2	13	7	29	6	3	.386	.457	.843
Mario Mercedes	Estrellas	2011	.231	8	13	0	3	0	0	0	1	1	3	0	0	.267	.231	.497
Felix Pie	Estrellas	2006-08	.294	15	51	6	15	4	1	1	7	7	10	2	2	.383	.471	.854
Brad Snyder	Estrellas	2009-11	.000	8	22	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	10	0	0	.043	.000	.043
Jeudy Valdez	Estrellas	Cubs Signee	.235	8	17	3	4	2	0	0	0	1	2	1	0	.278	.353	.631

Pitcher	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	IBB	SO	WP	OPP AVG.
Jeffry Antigua	Toros del Este	2013	0	0	4.76	7	0	0	0	5.2	6	4	3	1	0	2	0	6	0	.261
Jairo Asencio	Licey	2012	2	1	1.54	24	0	17	19	23.1	21	6	4	3	1	5	1	31	0	.228
Mitch Atkins	Licey	2008-10	1	0	1.32	3	2	0	0	13.2	8	3	2	0	0	2	0	6	0	.170
Frank Batista	Aguilas	2012	1	0	0.00	9	0	1	3	10.0	4	0	0	0	1	4	2	7	0	.114
Miguel Batista	Gigantes	1997	1	1	7.36	8	2	0	0	7.1	6	6	6	0	0	8	0	4	1	.214
Alberto Cabrera	Toros del Este	2011-12	0	0	9.00	7	0	0	1	6.0	9	6	6	1	2	2	0	4	1	.333
Frankie De La Cruz	Estrellas	2012	0	3	6.08	7	2	0	0	13.1	19	14	9	0	0	9	0	10	3	.333
Carlos Marmol	Licey	2006-07, '12	0	0	3.38	3	0	0	1	2.2	3	2	1	0	0	2	0	3	0	.300
Marcos Mateo	Estrellas	2010-11, '13	3	1	1.71	19	0	9	13	21.0	15	6	4	0	0	9	1	24	3	.195
Adalberto Mendez	Toros del Este	2005-06	0	2	10.13	6	1	0	0	5.1	10	6	6	0	0	3	0	7	1	.400
Roberto Novoa	Escogido	2005-06	1	1	2.22	21	0	1	2	24.1	12	6	6	0	2	2	0	20	0	.146
Ramon Ortiz	Licey	2011	0	0	2.57	8	4	0	0	21.0	19	10	6	1	1	4	0	7	0	.241
Carlos Pimentel	Escogido	Cubs Signee	5	0	1.67	11	7	0	0	37.2	27	10	7	2	1	14	0	32	3	.201
Raul Valdes	Toros del Este	2005-06	2	2	3.09	8	8	0	0	43.2,	44	17	15	5	0	5	0	34	1	.259
Chris Volstad	Licey	2012	2	2	5.40	5	5	0	0	21.2	23	14	13	0	0	5	0	11	2	.274

REGULAR SEASON PITCHING LEADERS:

Jairo Asencio: 17 SV (1), 24 G (T3), 23 GF (2)
Raul Valdes: 3.09 ERA (8), 5 HRA (3)
Carlos Pimentel: 5 Wins (1), 14 BB (T2),
Marcos Mateo: 3 9 SV (T3), 12 GF (T4)

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE:

Hermosillo won both halves of the regular season, finishing 42-25 overall. In the first round of the playoffs (all best-of-seven series), Mexicali swept Culiacan, Hermosillo beat Guasave 4-2, and Navojoa beat Mochis 4-2. In the second round (best-of-seven series) Navojoa beat Mexicali 4-1 and Hermosillo edged Mocis 4-3 in seven games. In the championship series, Hermosillo earned a trip to the Caribbean Series by beating Navojoa 4-3.

1B/DH Daryle Ward was the only former I-Cub in the championship series and played for Hermosillo. Ward connected on a grand slam in the eighth-inning of game three that keyed a dramatic come-from-behind victory. He batted .278 (20-for-72) with three doubles, four home runs, 11 RBI, and 12 runs scored in 20 post-season games.

OF Brad Snyder had a very productive post-season for Mexicali. He batted .250 (9-for-36) with six home runs, 13 RBI, and nine runs scored. He still ranks second in the league in homers (6) and slugging (.778) and tied for second in RBI (13) during the playoffs.

1B/DH Jake Fox batted .226 (12-for-53) with two doubles, two home runs, and seven RBI in the playoffs for Mochis.

FINAL REGULAR SEASON STATS:

Player	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Alfredo Amezaga	Obregon	2012	.230	47	165	18	38	9	0	1	12	13	31	1	2	.294	.303	.597
Jake Fox	Mochis	2007-09	.257	66	253	33	65	9	0	11	49	21	52	0	1	.319	.423	.742
Darnell McDonald	Obregon	2013	.102	14	49	5	5	0	0	0	3	6	14	2	1	.211	.102	.313
Brad Snyder	Mexicali	2009-11	.333	17	57	13	19	4	0	4	10	17	22	1	0	.486	.614	1.101
Christian Villanueva	Obregon	Cubs Prospect	.227	32	97	12	22	6	0	3	8	12	26	1	1	.312	.381	.693
Daryle Ward	Hermosillo	2007-08	.284	18	67	8	19	4	0	4	12	9	11	0	0	.368	.522	.891

REGULAR SEASON BATTING LEADERS:

Jake Fox: 49 RBI (1), 107 TB (5)

Pitcher	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	IBB	SO	WP	OPP AVG.
Esmailin Caridad	Obregon	2009-13	0	1	36.00	3	0	0	1	1.0	5	4	4	0	0	2	0	2	0	.714
Marco Carrillo	Obregon	2010-11	3	8	4.83	13	13	0	0	69.0	86	41	37	9	3	23	0	37	2	.307
Jesse Estrada	Hermosillo	2008-09	0	0	3.72	6	1	0	0	9.2	8	4	4	1	0	3	0	6	1	.222
Marus Hatley	Culiacan	2012-13	1	3	3.94	17	0	6	8	16.0	16	12	7	4	2	9	2	19	0	.246
Jay Jackson	Mazatlan	2009-12	2	0	0.00	17	0	10	10	20.1	13	1	0	0	0	5	1	19	0	.186
Rodrigo Lopez	Culiacan	2012	3	6	4.95	12	12	0	0	56.1	72	33	31	9	2	15	0	29	2	.306
Horacio Ramirez	Mazatlan	2012	1	8	4.43	13	11	0	0	61.0	70	33	30	2	2	15	1	34	2	.292
Michael Wuertz	Mazatlan	2002-04, 06, 08	0	0	1.74	9	0	0	0	10.1	9	3	2	0	0	11	1	7	0	.250

REGULAR SEASON PITCHING LEADERS:

Jay Jackson: 10 SV (T5)
Marco Carrillo and Horacio Ramirez: 8 Losses (T1)

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE:

Mayaguez earned the first spot in the Caribbean Series, beating Caguas 4-2 in the championship series. Caguas, Mayaguez, and Ponce all tied for the regular season title at 21-19. Carolina finished two games back at 19-21, holding off Santurce (18-22) for the final playoff spot. Mayaguez (8-4) won the round robin and Caguas (7-5) came in second to clinch berths in the championship.

Three former Cubs played for Mayaguez in the title series. OF Lou Montanez batted .261 (6-for-23) with a double, an RBI, and a run scored in the series. He batted .305 (18-for-59) with five runs scored, six doubles, and three RBI in 18 overall post-season games. He tied for the post-season league lead in doubles (6), tied for second in extra-base hits (6), third in average, and tied for fourth in hits. IF Luis Figueroa was just 2-for-24 with two walks and a run scored in the championship series. He batted .224 (15-for-67) with three doubles, a home run, five RBI, and four runs scored in 17 overall playoff games. LH Scott Maine appeared in three games and faced a total of five batters. He allowed one hit, hit a batter, and struck out one. Maine made six post-season appearances and didn't allow a run in 2.2 innings. He walked two and struck out four.

IF Jonathan Mota batted .237 (9-for-36) with four doubles and five RBI in 11 playoff games for Ponce. RH Frankie De La Cruz was 0-1 with a 7.36 ERA (6ER/7.1IP) in six post-season appearances for Carolina. He allowed 10 hits, walked seven, threw three wild pitches, and struck out just one.

REGULAR SEASON STATS:

Player	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Luis Figueroa	Mayaguez	2008	.246	37	134	12	33	10	0	2	16	10	16	1	2	.299	.366	.664
Edwin Maysonet	Santurce	2013	.239	33	113	10	27	4	0	1	6	6	19	0	0	.277	.301	.578
Lou Montanez	Mayaguez	2006, '11	.202	27	89	10	18	3	0	1	10	5	21	2	0	.258	.270	.527
Jonathan Mota	Ponce	2010-12	.262	37	130	13	34	7	1	3	13	16	30	0	3	.349	.400	.749
Greg Rohan	Ponce	2012-13	.143	10	35	1	5	1	0	0	1	2	10	0	0	.231	.171	.402
Rubi Silva	Ponce	Cubs Prospect	.242	24	91	8	22	4	0	0	6	3	27	0	0	.266	.286	.552

Edwin Maysonet: .313 AVG (8)
Luis Figueroa: 7 DBL (2)
Jonathan Mota: 14 BB (4)

Pitcher	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	IBB	SO	WP	OPP AVG.
Daniel Bard	Caguas	Chicago Cubs	0	0	189.00	3	0	0	0	0.1	0	8	7	0	3	9	0	0	4	.000
Frankie De La Cruz	Carolina	2012	0	0	4.50	1	0	0	0	2.0	2	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	.286
Ty'Relle Harris	Carolina	2011-12	1	3	12.79	4	2	0	0	6.1	11	11	9	0	0	7	1	5	2	.379
Scott Maine	Mayaguez	2010-12	0	0	5.30	14	3	0	0	18.2	26	12	11	0	1	12	3	15	1	.342

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE:

Mesa won the East Division with a 19-11 record, but lost 2-0 to Surprise in the AFL Championship game. 3B Kris Bryant was named the league MVP after leading the league in homers (6) and slugging (.727). He also tied for the league lead in extra-base hits (15), runs (22), and total bases (56). OF Alberto Almora continues to impress. He was one of the two youngest players in the AFL and he finished above .300 with his batting average. OF Jorge Soler finished the regular season on a five-game hitting streak. RH Dallas Beeler started the championship game and allowed just one run on two hits in five innings, but lost. He finished second in the regular season with four wins.

REGULAR SEASON STATS:

Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Albert Almora	.307	21	75	8	23	6	2	1	12	4	9	0	3	.342	.480	.822
Kris Bryant	.364	20	77	22	28	8	1	6	17	14	23	3	0	.457	.727	1.184
Wes Darvill	.171	11	35	4	6	1	0	1	5	3	5	0	1	.237	.286	.523
Jorge Soler	.271	20	85	11	23	6	0	1	14	5	21	0	0	.311	.376	.688

BATTING LEADERS:

Kris Bryant: .364 AVG (5), 6 HR (1), 28 H (T4), 8 DBL (T2), .457 OBP (4), .727 SLG (1), 15 XBH (T1), 22 R (T1), 56 TB (T1)

Pitcher	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	SO
Dallas Beeler	4	1	2.49	6	6	0	0	21.2	24	13	6	1	0	5	9
Lendy Castillo	0	0	1.74	11	0	1	1	10.1	9	6	2	0	0	12	7
Matt Loosen	2	1	3.29	8	1	0	1	13.2	15	7	5	1	1	6	14
Armando Rivero	0	1	4.91	11	0	0	0	11.0	14	7	6	0	0	5	9

PITCHING LEADERS:

Dallas Beeler: 4 Wins (2)

JAPANESE PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL:

3B Casey McGehee (2006-08 with Iowa) had an outstanding first season in Japan and earned a ring as the Rakuten Golden Eagles topped the Yomiuri Giants in seven games to win the Nippon Series. McGehee has publicly expressed an interest to return to the United States in 2014. OF Matt Murton (2005, '07-08) topped the .300 mark for the third time in four seasons with Hanshin and has a career .312 average with 54 home runs and 274 RBI in 550 games with the Tigers. Murton is a free agent heading into the 2014 campaignm but there was a report this week that he is likely headed back to Hanshin. 1B Bryan LaHair (2010-11) had a solid season in his first foray into Japanese baseball. He signed a two-year deal and will return to the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks again next year. 1B Micah Hoffpauir (2004-10) completed his third, and most likely last, season with the Fighters. He did hit grand slams in consecutive days in early May to tie a Japanese record. Former I-Cub, Tuffy Rhodes, is one of the six other players to accomplish that feat in Japan. RHP Miguel Socolovich (2012) made just a couple of appearances last in the season with Iowa in 2012 after getting claimed off waivers by the Cubs from the Baltimore Orioles. This was his first season in Japan.

Player	Team	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Micah Hoffpauir	Nippon-Ham Fighters	.186	69	145	13	27	3	0	5	15	16	53	0	0	.276	.310	.586
Matt Murton	Hanshin Tigers	.314	143	566	55	178	37	1	19	85	42	81	6	1	.361	.484	.845
Casey McGehee	Rakuten Golden Eagles	.292	144	513	78	150	30	0	28	93	70	119	2	3	.376	.515	.891
Bryan LaHair	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	.230	111	348	38	80	19	1	16	57	39	121	2	1	.306	.428	.734

Pitcher	Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	SO
Miguel Socolovich	Hiroshima Carp	0	2	0.79	11	0	0	0	11.1	6	3	1	0	0	4	6

*Stats are courtesy of Major League Baseball Advanced Media and baseball-reference.com (Japanese stats).

MLB.com provides daily updates on winter league action here.

Be sure to check back every week through the Caribbean Series for more updates. If you know of any players that we should be following in this report that aren't included, please email Media Relations Director Randy Wehofer at [email protected].