Winter League Report, January 7

I-CUBS WINTER LEAGUE UPDATE
January 7, 2013

Happy New Year! The Winter League report is back from a holiday break, so there is plenty to catch up on this week. In this week's report, we've got final regular season stats and early post-season results for all of the Caribbean Leagues and three weeks worth of transactions. The Winter League report returns to it's weekly updates from now until the start of spring training.

TRANSACTIONS:
The Chicago Cubs officially announced the signings of RH Edwin Jackson and OF Nate Schierholtz. Jackson will fill a spot in the starting rotation and Schierholtz is expected to see significant time, if not win the everyday spot outright, in right field. Jackson spent the 2012 season with the Washington Nationals and Schierholtz played in 114 games with the Philadelphia Phillies. The Cubs also outrighted LH Gerardo Concepcion off the 40-man roster and assigned him to the single-A roster for the Kane County Cougars. The Cubs signed Concepcion out of Cuba to a five-year Major League contract in March, 2012. He made his debut in the organization with 12 starts at single-A Peoria last year. LH Jeff Beliveau (2012 with Iowa) and RH Sandy Rosario were lost on waiver claims by the Texas Rangers and the San Francisco Giants respectively. Beliveau was 4-5 with a 3.89 ERA in 37 games with Iowa last season before getting called up for his major league debut with Chicago in August. On the minor league side, the Cubs re-signed RH Jaye Chapman and RH Zach Putnam to minor league contracts after non-tendering both players earlier in the off-season and brought in RH Cory Wade, LH Dontrelle Willis, and 1B Brad Nelson on minor league deals. Wade made 39 appearances with the New York Yankees last season and was 2-0 with a 2.27 ERA in 17 games at triple-A. He has 161 career big league appearances over four seasons with the Yankees (2011-12) and Los Angeles Dodgers (2008-09). Willis made four appearances (one start) with triple-A Norfolk in the Baltimore Orioles organization before retiring last year. He's decided to try again and, according to reports, the Cubs' deal does not include an invitation to spring training. The Cubs were the team that originally drafted Willis in the eighth round in 2000, but traded him to the Florida Marlins in March, 2002 as part of the deal to acquire Matt Clement and Antonio Alfonseca. Willis was 14-6 with a 3.30 ERA in 27 starts and won the National League Rookie of the Year with the Marlins in 2003. Nelson is a native of Algona, Iowa and now makes his off-season home near Cedar Rapids. He spent the last two seasons with Round Rock in the PCL and has lots of PCL experience with Nashville (2006-08) and Tacoma (2009-10) as well.

Several former I-Cubs were in the news the last few weeks. IF Casey McGehee (2006-08) signed a one-year deal to play for Rakuten in Japan, joining former I-Cubs Micah Hoffpauir (Nippon), Bryan LaHair (Softbank), and Matt Murton (Hanshin) in the Pacific Rim. McGehee finished last season with the Yankees. The Toronto Blue Jays signed RH Dave Bush (2011) and RH Ramon Ortiz (2011) to minor league deals. Bush pitched in Korea last season while Ortiz was at triple-A with the Yankees. The Minnesota Twins signed RH Rich Harden (2009) on a minor league deal with an invitation to spring training. Harden didn't pitch in 2012. The Orioles signed OF Adam Greenberg (2004, '06) to a minor league deal. Greenberg was a big story in September when the Marlins gave him an at-bat in the last game of the year. Greenberg had been hit in the head by a pitch in his only prior major league plate appearance with the Cubs in 2005. The Orioles also released LH Casey Lambert (2009). The Chicago White Sox signed RH Jeff Gray (2010) to a minor league deal. Gray was 6-1 with a 5.71 ERA in 49 appearances with the Minnesota Twins last season. The Detroit Tigers signed LH Luke Sommer (2010) to a minor league deal. Sommer pitched in the Netherlands last season and was on Germany's team in the World Baseball Classic qualifying tournament. The Colorado Rockies signed RH Justin Berg (2008-11) to a minor league deal. Berg made his return from "Tommy John" surgery late last season with three games in the Arizona Rookie League and 13 appearances with Peoria. The Los Angeles Dodgers signed IF Alfredo Amezaga (2012) to a minor league deal. Scroll down and read about Amezaga's big winter in Mexico. On the coaching front, Ryan O'Malley (2004-07) was named the pitching coach at single-A Hickory in the Rangers' organization. O'Malley served in the same capacity at short-season Spokane last year and enters his fifth season as a pitching coach in the Rangers' system.

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE:

The regular season is complete and it was a close race in the standings. Magallanes (36-27) hung on for the top spot. Zulia, Caribes, and Caracas tied for second at 35-28 and Lara was right behind at 34-29. All five teams qualified for post-season play and are currently 2-2 in the round robin that runs through January 21. RH Austin Bibens-Dirkx (2010-11) was one of the league's top pitchers in the regular season. He finished second in the league in ERA (2.35), tied for third in strikeouts (57), and fifth in WHIP (1.23). He also pitched six shutout innings for a win over Magallanes in his first playoff start. IF Luis Valbuena (2012) had a fine season for Lara. He finished eighth in the league in batting (.306), tied for third in walks (34), and fifth in on-base percentage (.414). He is batting .278 (5-for-18) with an RBI and three runs scored so far in the playoffs. Cuban-born RH Yoanner Negrin (2012) finished fourth in the league with a 2.61 ERA in the regular season, but hasn't made a post-season appearance yet for Caracas. LH Les Walrond (2006-08) has though. He pitched for La Guaira in the regular season, but moved to Caracas when his first team was eliminated. Walrond allowed seven runs (five earned) on seven hits in three innings for a loss in his first playoff start. OF Dave Sappelt (2012) had a 15-game hitting streak from Nov. 18 through Dec. 15 and homered in his last at-bat of the season for Margarita. The Bravos missed post-season play and Sappelt his back home in North Carolina getting ready for spring training. You can follow him on Twitter @SappySappelt6. RH Carlos Zambrano (2000-02, '10) won his last two regular season starts for Magallanes, but walked four and allowed five runs (four earned) in 3.2 innings in his first post-season game. RH Kevin Hart (2007-09) made a late cameo appearance in the regular season for Caracas and got roughed up in a couple of games. The best news was the competition for Hart, who has battled injuries and hasn't pitched in the regular season since 2010 with Indianapolis.

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	.176	20	51	6	9	0	1	0	5	7	16	1	0	.271	.216	.487
Andres Blanco	Magallanes	2008-09	.167	26	66	9	11	2	1	0	7	12	20	0	0	.305	.227	.532
Henry Blanco	Margarita	2007	.188	46	128	13	24	5	0	5	19	16	44	0	1	.275	.344	.619
J.C. Boscan	Caracas	Cubs Signee	.271	26	85	8	23	2	0	1	10	6	20	1	0	.326	.329	.655
Tony Campana	Caracas	2011-12	.231	16	52	7	12	1	1	0	3	6	12	8	2	.322	.288	.610
Ronny Cedeno	Aragua	2004-05, '07	.268	21	82	11	22	2	0	2	7	6	14	0	1	.318	.366	.684
Johermyn Chavez	Caribes	Cubs Signee	.212	33	85	12	18	0	1	3	13	10	27	1	1	.337	.341	.678
Robinson Chirinos	Magallanes	2010	.158	6	19	1	3	0	0	0	0	4	9	0	0	.304	.158	.462
Alberto Gonzalez	Margartia	Cubs Signee	.301	21	73	6	22	3	1	0	6	4	5	2	1	.342	.370	.712
Marwin Gonzalez	Caracas	2011	.180	18	61	8	11	3	0	0	3	7	8	3	1	.282	.230	.511
Jae-Hoon Ha	Aragua	Cubs Prospect	.218	27	78	7	17	3	0	1	6	8	26	6	0	.291	.295	.586
Josh Kroeger	Caracas	2007-08	.286	41	147	15	42	5	0	2	17	28	24	5	5	.404	.361	.765
Jackson Melian	Margarita	2003	.237	39	114	18	27	5	0	4	23	27	30	1	3	.404	.386	.790
Max Ramirez	Margarita	2011	.307	41	127	17	39	7	0	2	9	18	19	1	0	.409	.409	.819
Dave Sappelt	Margarita	2012	.336	30	116	23	39	5	1	5	15	8	17	5	2	.378	.526	.904
Luis Valbuena	Lara	2012	.306	51	183	32	56	15	1	6	39	34	33	3	0	.414	.497	.912
Josh Vitters	Caracas	2012	.000	2	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	.000	.000	.000
Ty Wright	Aragua	2010-12	.247	20	73	6	18	3	2	1	4	0	13	0	0	.257	.384	.640

FINAL REGULAR SEASON HITTING LEADERS:

Luis Valbuena: .306 AVG (8), .414 OBP (5), 34 BB (3)

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.
Mitch Atkins	Magallanes	2008-10	0	0	13.50	3	0	0	0	2.0	6	3	3	2	0	0	0	2	0	.500
Austin Bibens-Dirkx	Zulia	2010-11	2	2	2.35	12	10	1	1	53.2	51	14	14	2	2	15	0	57	1	.263
Robert Coello	La Guaira	2011	1	0	8.31	6	0	0	1	4.1	5	4	4	1	1	2	0	4	0	.313
Sean Gallagher	Caracas	2007-08	1	3	5.27	7	5	0	0	27.1	37	20	16	4	1	6	0	20	4	.319
Kevin Hart	Caracas	2007-09	0	1	27.00	2	2	0	0	2.1	10	10	7	3	0	4	0	0	0	.588
Yoanner Negrin	Caracas	2012	4	1	2.61	12	12	0	0	58.2	64	19	17	3	3	18	0	38	0	.281
Renyel Pinto	Caribes	2004-05	3	4	5.26	11	11	0	0	51.1	44	31	30	8	4	38	0	42	1	.237
Hector Rondon	Caracas	Cubs Rule 5	2	1	4.29	23	0	0	1	21.0	15	11	10	0	0	6	0	12	3	.208
Les Walrond	La Guaira	2006-08	1	4	3.62	11	10	0	0	49.2	62	25	20	2	3	23	0	31	0	.308
Carlos Zambrano	Magallanes	2000-02, '10	4	2	3.90	6	6	0	0	27.2	27	15	12	3	2	13	1	19	1	.265

FINAL REGULAR SEASON PITCHING LEADERS:

Austin Bibens-Dirkx: 2.35 ERA (2), 1.23 WHIP (5), 57 K (T3)
Yoanner Negrin: 2.61 ERA (4)
Renyel Pinto: 38 BB (1), .237 OPP AVG (3), 8 HRA (4)

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE:

Aguilas Cibaenas (32-18) won the top record in the regular season and are part of the post-season round robin that runs through January 17. Estrellas (30-20), Toros del Este (23-27), and Escogido (23-28) also claimed spots in the tournament. Escogido won their last four regular season games and Gigantes (22-29) lost their final three as the last spot was decided by just one game. Cubs' prospect SS Junior Lake tied for third in the league in batting (.312), tied for second in steals (11), and finished fifth in both OBP (.382) and slugging (.474) during the regular season. He's batting .281 (9-for-32) with a pair of doubles and two RBI in nine games for Estrellas in the post-season, but the team is at the bottom of the round robin standings at 2-7. Lake is tied for the post-season lead with four steals in nine games. OF Brad Snyder (2009-11) is hitting .111 (2-for-18) and OF Felix Pie (2006-08) is hitting .130 (3-for-23) in post-season play for Estrellas. RH Frankie De La Cruz (2012) is also struggling in the post-season. He is 0-1 with a 10.80 ERA in five relief appearances after finisheding the regular season with just one unearned run allowed in seven innings over his last four games. He did finished tied for second in the league in walks (17) during the regular season. RH Rafael Dolis (2012) and Ramon Ortiz are also pitching for Estrellas in the playoffs. Dolis has allowed one run in 2.2 innings in four games. Ortiz allowed five runs (one earned) in 3.2 innings and suffered a loss in his only start. Aguilas and Escogido are tied for the round robin lead at 6-3. RH Miguel Batista (1997) has no record and an 8.44 ERA (5ER/5.1IP) in his two starts for Aguilas. C Henry Blanco (rehab in 2007) spent the regular season in Venezuela, but is catching for Escogido in the Dominican playoffs and LH Randy Keisler (2008) has made one start for the team. Toros del Este are 4-5 in the tournament after losing four straight. IF Diory Hernandez (2012) is eighth in the league with a .286 (6-for-21) post-season average, including three doubles and five runs scored in seven games. RH Jairo Asencio (2012) led the league with 12 saves in the regular season and has allowed one hit, a solo homer, in three innings in the tournament. RH Alberto Cabrera (2011-12) is 1-1 with a 1.74 ERA (2ER/10.1IP) in two post-season starts for Toros del Este after working mostly in relief during the regular season. The Cubs have mentioned that they may look at Cabrera in a starting role again in 2013. LH Raul Valdes (2005-06) pitched seven shutout innings for a win in his first post-season 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
Arismendy Alcantara	Gigantes	Cubs Prospect	.333	23	12	9	4	1	0	1	1	4	2	0	0	.500	.667	1.167
Ryan Flaherty	Escogido	2011	.209	13	43	7	9	1	0	0	3	6	13	0	0	.306	.233	.539
Diory Hernandez	Toros del Este	2012	.260	45	154	19	40	3	0	1	18	19	19	8	2	.337	.299	.636
Junior Lake	Estrellas	Cubs Prospect	.312	44	154	23	48	8	1	5	24	15	46	11	3	.382	.474	.856
Felix Pie	Estrellas	2006-08	.253	42	150	24	38	4	0	3	19	25	31	9	2	.362	.340	.702
Brad Snyder	Estrellas	2009-11	.289	14	45	9	13	3	0	5	16	5	15	0	0	.365	.689	1.054
Nate Spears	Gigantes	2008-09	.063	6	16	2	1	0	0	0	1	3	5	0	0	.200	.063	.263

FINAL REGULAR SEASON BATTING LEADERS:

Junior Lake: .312 AVG (T3), 46 K (T1), 11 SB (T2), .382 OBP (5), .474 SLG (5)
Felix Pie: 25 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.
Jeff Antigua	Toros del Este	Cubs Prospect	4	1	5.09	25	0	0	2	23.0	22	13	13	4	0	5	0	18	1	.272
Jairo Asencio	Toros del Este	2012	0	2	2.67	26	0	12	12	27.0	28	9	8	0	1	13	2	21	2	.267
Miguel Batista	Aguilas	1997	2	2	4.08	10	9	0	0	39.2	48	22	18	5	2	12	0	20	7	.294
Michael Bowden	Aguilas	2012	3	3	3.62	7	7	0	0	32.1	33	15	13	3	0	12	0	17	1	.264
Alberto Cabrera	Toros del Este	2011-12	0	0	3.14	6	1	0	0	14.1	11	7	5	2	0	13	0	20	2	.269
Lendy Castillo	Escogido	Cubs Prospect	0	1	7.36	12	0	0	0	7.1	15	10	6	0	1	4	0	9	2	.417
Frankie De La Cruz	Estrellas	2012	3	2	2.01	11	2	0	1	22.1	17	9	5	1	0	17	0	10	5	.213
Rafael Dolis	Estrellas	2012	1	1	2.45	8	0	0	1	7.1	7	3	2	0	0	1	0	11	0	.250
Randy Keisler	Escogido	2008	0	2	3.86	5	5	0	0	21.0	18	9	9	2	2	7	0	9	1	.231
Adalberto Mendez	Toros del Este	2005-06	1	1	3.57	10	0	0	0	17.2	12	9	7	0	1	6	1	7	1	.182
Ramon Ortiz	Licey	2011	0	1	1.08	2	2	0	0	8.1	9	3	1	0	1	0	0	3	0	.281
Horacio Ramirez	Toros del Este	2012	0	2	3.18	10	7	0	0	28.1	33	16	10	2	2	10	0	21	1	.287
Polin Trinidad	Toros del Este	2011	0	0	*.**	1	0	0	0	0.0	1	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	1.000
Raul Valdes	Toros del Este	2005-06	1	2	3.09	8	8	0	0	32.0	25	16	11	2	0	10	0	26	3	.203

FINAL REGULAR SEASON PITCHING LEADERS:

Miguel Batista: 5 HRA (T2), 9 GS (4)
Jairo Asencio: 12 SV (1), 22 GF (2)
Frankie De La Cruz: 17 BB (T2)

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE:

Culiacan won both halves to earned the top spot in the post-season with a 43-23 overall record. They carried that over into the post-season with a four-game sweep of Hermosillo in the first round of the playoffs. Mazatlan is taking on Mexicali and Gusave battles Obregon in the other first-round matchups. Both of those series are tied 2-2. IF Alfredo Amezaga (2012) finished the regular season on an eight-game hitting streak and won the batting title with a .344 average for Obregon. He hit .486 (17-for-35) over those final eight games and finished tied for fifth with 78 hits. He is batting .278 (5-for-18) in the playoffs with a pair of stolen bases. OF Marlon Byrd (rehab in 2011) was just 3-for-20 over his last six games in the regular season, but had a very strong year overall. He finished eighth in the league in batting (.318) and fourth in slugging (.595). He hit .235 (4-for-17) in Culican's first-round sweep. RH Rodrigo Lopez (2012) didn't allow more than one earned run in any appearance in the regular season and allowed just one run in 6.1 innings in his first playoff start for Culiacan. RH Esmailin Caridad (2009-12) had five scoreless appearances to close the regular season for Obregon and hasn not allowed a run in 4.1 innings over four games in the post-season. He has a win and is tied for second in the league with seven post-season strikeouts. Caridad tied for third in the regular season with 37 appearances and was second with 12 holds. RH Marco Carrillo (2011-12) didn't allow a run in 11 innings combined between his last two regular season starts and finished second in the league with a 3.13 ERA. He also tied for second in the leaue in wins (6), was first in innings pitched (86.1), and ranked fifth in WHIP (1.38). RH Jay Jackson (2009-12) took some time off in December to get married, but returned to pitch eight shutout innings in his final regular season start on Dec. 29 vs. Hermosillo. He has struggled in two post-season appearances for Mazatlan though, allowing five runs in 2.2 innings for a 1-1 record with a 16.87 ERA. OF Chris Walker (2007) is batting .286 (4-for-14) with a run scored in four post-season games for Mazatlan.

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	.344	55	227	40	78	12	2	5	26	15	39	5	5	.384	.480	.864
Ben Broussard	Navojoa	2008	.297	18	64	11	19	4	0	4	10	5	15	0	0	.378	.547	.925
Marlon Byrd	Culiacan	2011	.318	57	220	44	70	13	0	16	46	26	57	3	1	.394	.595	.989
Greg Rohan	Mazatlan	2012	.205	11	39	4	8	0	0	0	2	2	9	0	1	.244	.205	.449
Christian Villanueva	Obregon	Cubs Prospect	.176	23	51	9	9	3	0	2	6	6	25	0	1	.283	.353	.636
Chris Walker	Mazatlan	2007	.289	36	142	22	41	4	0	4	22	17	29	9	6	.369	.401	.770

FINAL REGULAR SEASON BATTING LEADERS:

Marlon Byrd: .318 AVG (8), .595 SLG (4)
Alfredo Amezaga: .344 AVG (1), 78 H (T5)

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	2009-12	1	3	2.57	37	1	1	2	42.0	39	16	12	2	1	12	0	49	5	.250
Marco Carrillo	Obregon	2010-11	6	5	3.13	14	14	0	0	86.1	83	30	30	5	1	36	1	54	5	.263
Jay Jackson	Mazatlan	2009-12	3	2	3.86	10	10	0	0	49.0	48	21	21	2	1	13	0	34	1	.255
Rodrigo Lopez	Culiacan	2012	5	1	0.94	7	6	0	0	38.1	18	5	4	2	0	5	0	17	0	.142
Sergio Mitre	Mexicali	2004-05	1	1	1.59	7	3	0	0	11.1	8	4	2	2	3	5	0	7	1	.200

FINAL REGULAR SEASON PITCHING LEADERS:

Marco Carrillo: 3.13 ERA (2), 6 wins (T2), 86.1 IP (1), 36 BB (2), 1.38 WHIP (5), .263 OPP AVG. (5)
Esmailin Caridad: 12 Holds (2), 37 G (T3)

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE:

Caguas (24-16) finished with the best record in the regular season and is joined in the post-season round robin tournament by Mayaguez (23-17), Santurce (21-18), and Carolina (19-21). Caguas and Mayaguez ad 3-1 in round robin play while Carolina and Santurce are 1-3. RH Ty'Relle Harris (2011-12) had a strong showing in the regular season, including nine strikeouts and one run allowed over six innings in his final game at Santurce on Dec. 29. In his first playoff start, he allowed two runs (one earned) in seven innings, but didn't get a decision for Carolina. Cubs' prospect Justin Bour split time between first base and left field in the regular season and is batting .333 (5-for-15) with two doubles and three RBI in four games in the playoffs for Carolina. 39-year-old Pedro Valdes (1996-98) led the league in walks (30) and OBP (.435) for Carolina in the regular season and is batting .333 (4-for-12) with four walks in the post-season. IF Luis Figueroa (2008) was just 2-for-30 over his final eight games of the regular season, but finished fourth in the leage in at-bats (151). RH Mike Parisi (2010) had a late arrival to the season, joining Mayaguez on Dec. 22 and appeared in three games as he looks to return from injury.

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
Justin Bour	Carolina	Cubs Prospect	.231	16	52	6	12	6	0	1	6	8	13	0	0	.333	.404	.737
Luis Figueroa	Santurce	2008	.252	38	151	12	38	4	0	2	14	4	14	4	2	.268	.318	.585
Edwin Maysonet	Manati	Cubs Signee	.220	27	91	11	20	5	0	1	8	6	13	0	0	.287	.308	.595
Lou Montanez	Caguas	2006, '11	.214	16	56	4	12	1	1	1	5	8	8	1	0	.323	.321	.645
Pedro Valdes	Carolina	1996-98	.267	37	116	11	31	7	0	2	16	30	16	0	0	.435	.379	.814

FINAL REGULAR SEASON BATTING LEADERS:

Luis Figueroa: 151 AB (4)
Pedro Valdez: 30 BB (T1), .435 OBP (1)

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.
Ty'Relle Harris	Carolina	2011-12	0	0	0.71	5	2	0	0	12.2	10	3	1	0	1	4	1	17	1	.213
Mike Parisi	Mayaguez	2010	0	1	10.38	3	1	0	0	4.1	9	5	5	1	0	2	0	2	0	.450

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE:

The Peoria Javelinas beat the Salt River Rafters 4-3 on Nov. 17 to win the AFL title. The Javelinas' roster was made up of prospects from the Cincinnati Reds, Minnesota Twins, Philadilphia Phillies, San Diego Padres, and Seattle Mariners. The Rafters pulled players from the Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, and Washington Nationals. Cubs' prospects played for the Mesa Solar Sox who finished 10-20. IF Javier Baez was impressing scouts with his power and offensive tools, but missed the last two weeks with a broken thumb. IF Logan Watkins replaced Baez and finished 1-for-13 in his final four games. Watkins was the Cubs' Minor League Player of the Year his past season after hitting .281 with 20 doubles, 11 triples, nine home runs, and 52 RBI in 133 games at double-A Tennessee. OF Matt Szczur gained valuable experience by batting leadoff in 23 of the 24 games he appeared in. OF Rubi Silva went 3-for-6 in his final two games to push his AFL batting average above the Mendoza Line (.200). RH Tony Zych finished tied for third in the league with 13 appearances, but allowed three runs in two innings over his final two appearances to finish with an ERA of 3.86. RH Nick Struck (2011) allowed six runs (five earned) in 4.1 innings over his final three games. Struck was the Cubs' Minor League Pitcher of the Year at double-A Tennessee during the regular season. Dae-Eun Rhee and Kevin Rhoderick didn't pitch in the final week of the AFL. Both pitchers should compete in spring training for a shot at making Iowa's Opening Day roster and their Triple-A debuts.

FINAL REGULAR SEASON STATS:

Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Javier Baez	.211	14	57	9	12	2	0	4	16	2	14	3	0	.250	.456	.706
Rubi Silva	.206	20	68	8	14	0	2	0	3	5	21	3	1	.260	.265	.525
Matt Szczur	.264	24	91	13	24	2	2	1	13	14	10	9	3	.368	.363	.731
Logan Watkins	.219	9	32	8	7	1	0	1	3	8	3	0	0	.375	.344	.719

FINAL REGULAR SEASON BATTING LEADERS:

Javier Baez: 16 RBI (5)
Matt Szczur: 83 AB (T4), 22 G (T4)

Pitcher	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	SO
Dae-Eun Rhee	0	2	6.27	6	6	0	0	18.2	26	16	13	1	3	8	12
Kevin Rhoderick	0	1	4.82	9	0	0	2	9.1	7	5	5	2	0	2	14
Nick Struck	1	0	5.51	12	0	0	1	16.1	12	11	10	3	1	12	11
Tony Zych	1	0	3.86	13	0	1	1	14.0	18	6	6	0	1	2	4

FINAL REGULAR SEASON PITCHING LEADERS:

Tony Zych: 7GF (T5)

JAPANESE PROFESSIONAL BASEBALL:

1B Micah Hoffpauir (2004-10) and the Nippon-Ham Fighters won the Pacific League title, but fell 4-2 in the best-of-seven Japan Series against the Yomiuri Giants. Hoffpauir finished 1-for-10 with an RBI and a run scored during the series. The Fighters did announce that a contract extension for Hoffpauir through the 2013 season. Hoffpauir had this quote in the Fighters' official release: "I am happy that I will be able to return as a member of the Fighters in 2013 and fight to win with my teammates and the fans. While we were able to win the pennant, we unfortunately failed to win a Nippon Series. Next season, I will prepared to use all my abilities to in order to win a Nippon Series. I look forward to the continued support." During the regular season, Hoffpauir was second on the team in home runs (14) and helped the Fighters to a 73-58 record. IF/OF Edgar Gonzalez (2012) left Iowa after two weeks in April to join the Yomiuri Giants in Japan this year. He hit .236 with four homers and 19 RBI in 57 games during the regular season. He made one start at DH and entered one game as a pinch-hitter in the Japan Series. He was 2-for-5 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored against the Fighters. IF Bobby Scales (2008-11) started the season with the New York Mets' organization at Triple-A Buffalo and was leading the International League in hitting in April before going back to Japan. He played for the Orix Buffaloes and hit .262 in 85 games. OF Matt Murton (2005, '07-08) continued his three-year run in Japan and hit .260 with five homers and 38 RBI in 121 games for the Hanshin Tigers. LH Renyel Pinto (2004-05) made the move to Japan this year, but lasted just two starts with the Hawks. He was one of the top pitchers in Venezuela last winter.

Player	Team	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Micah Hoffpauir	Nippon-Ham Fighters	.234	109	296	28	73	13	0	14	37	25	81	1	1	.311	.432	.743
Matt Murton	Hanshin Tigers	.260	121	453	39	118	18	2	5	38	18	56	2	4	.290	.342	.632
Bobby Scales	Orix Buffaloes	.262	85	305	42	80	16	3	5	23	47	103	4	1	.373	.384	.757
Edgar Gonzalez	Yomiuri Giants	.236	57	174	13	41	12	0	4	19	0	2	13	46	.291	.374	.665

 

Pitcher	Team	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	SO
Renyel Pinto	Fukuoka Softbank Hawks	1	1	7.36	2	2	0	0	7.1	9	8	6	1	1	7	6

WOLRD BASEBALL CLASSIC QUALIFIERS:

The World Baseball Classic will be played again in March and the first round of qualifying tournaments are complete. Brazil upset host Panama 1-0 to win their pool that also included Colombia and Nicaragua. RH Manny Corpas (2012) pitched well for Panama, allowing one run in 5.1 innings over four relief appearances. Chinese Taipei beat New Zealand 9-0 to win their pool in their home stadium. Former I-Cub RH Hung-Wen Chen (2010-11) made one appearance and struck out three in an inning and a third of scoreless relief. RH Yao-Lin Wang is a current member of the Cubs' organization and went 4-5 with a 3.92 ERA in 37 games (nine starts) with the single-A Peoria Chiefs this past season. Thailand and the Phillipines were also included in that pool. In September, Spain beat Israel 9-7 in the first pool play at Roger Dean Stadium in Florida. South Africa and France were the other teams in the round robin. OF Adam Greenberg (2004, '06) played in two games for Israel before the Miami Marlins gave him his famous at-bat against R.A. Dickey in the regular season finale. Of note, Greenberg didn't register an official at-bat in his two games for Israel. He was a sub in one game and walked in his only plate appearance. C Chris Robinson (2007, '09-11) was an offensive leader for Team Canada's win in the second tournament at the Armin-Wolf Baseball Arena in Germany. Canada beat the host Germans 11-1 in the final game. LH Sheldon McDonald (2012) pitched for Team Canada. He spent one day with Iowa this season, but didn't pitch. He spent most of his year with Peoria and was 1-3 with a 1.89 ERA in 33 appearances for the Chiefs. LH's Will Ohman (2001, '05, '07) and Luke Sommer (2011) pitched for Germany. Ohman began last season with the Chicago White Sox and finished the year with triple-A Louisville in the Cincinnati Reds organization. Great Britain and the Czech Republic also played in that tournament.

Player	Country	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Adam Greenberg	Israel	.000	2	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1.000	.000	1.000
Chris Robinson	Canada	.455	3	11	4	5	0	0	1	4	1	1	0	1	.500	.727	1.227

 

Pitcher	Tournament	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	SO
Hung-Wen Chen	Chinese Taipei	0	0	0.00	1	0	0	0	1.1	0	0	0	0	0	0	3
Manny Corpas	Panama	0	0	1.69	3	0	0	0	5.1	4	1	1	0	1	1	0
Sheldon McDonald	Canada	1	0	6.75	1	0	0	0	1.1	2	1	1	0	1	0	0
Will Ohman	Germany	0	0	0.00	2	0	0	0	2.0	2	0	0	0	0	1	1
Luke Sommer	Germany	0	1	2.70	2	0	0	0	6.2	6	2	2	2	0	1	7
Yao-Lin Wang	Chinese Taipei	1	0	0.00	1	1	0	0	3.2	4	0	0	0	0	0	3

*Stats are courtesy of Major League Baseball Advanced Media, USA Baseball, and NPB Offical Website.

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We hope you enjoy the Winter League report this off-season. Don't forget to check back each week 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].