Three I-Cubs Named Cubs Organization All-Stars

DES MOINES, IA – Yesterday, Minor League Baseball announced first baseman Matt Mervis, as well as outfielders Alexander Canario and Darius Hill 2022 Organization All-Stars for the Chicago Cubs.

Mervis, who was named the Buck O’Neil Cubs Minor League Player of the Year by Chicago two weeks ago, adds yet another accolade to recognize his 2022 season.

The 24-year-old started the year with High-A South Bend and was promoted to Double-A Tennessee on May 17. He joined Iowa’s roster on July 22, where he played 57 games. At his third and final level in the 2022 campaign, Mervis hit .297 (62-for-209) with 15 doubles, one triple, 15 home runs and 39 runs batted in.

Despite playing in just 57 games with the I-Cubs, his 15 doubles were tied for seventh on the season-long roster while his 15 home runs were good for fourth and his 39 RBI put him fifth on the team. Mervis also ranked sixth with 21 multi-hit games and fourth in multi-RBI games with 12.

Among all minor leaguers this year, Mervis ranked tied for third in home runs with 36, first in RBI with 119, fifth in slugging percentage with a .605, eighth in OPS with a .984, tied for seventh in hits with 158, tied for second in doubles with 40, first in extra-base hits with 78 and first in total bases with 310.

The only player in Chicago’s system that hit more home runs than Mervis was Canario, who hit a game-tying solo shot in the ninth inning in the season finale to take the home run lead over his teammate. That solo blast put his home run total on the 2022 season at 37, good for second in all of Minor League Baseball.

Like Mervis, Canario also started the season with South Bend before getting promoted to Tennessee on May 9 and Iowa on August 22. In just 20 games with Iowa, Canario hit .231 (15-for-65) with two doubles and six home runs.

Throughout the three levels, the 22-year-old hit .252 (117-for-464), with 26 doubles, 37 home runs and 97 runs batted in. He also took 59 walks and stole 23 bases in 26 attempts.

Another outfielder who played with Iowa in 2022 and was named an Organization All-Star yesterday is Darius Hill. Hill led the Cubs system with 166 total hits, batting .314 (166-for-528) with Tennessee and Iowa.

His 166 hits not only led all Cubs minor league players but tied for first among all minor league players in the 2022 season. It was the most hits for a Cubs minor leaguer since DJ LeMahieu had 174 hits for Single-A Daytona in 2010.

The 25-year-old had three hitting streaks of 10 games or longer this year, including a 12-game streak with Iowa from July 15-August 5. Although he was fifth on the team in games played, Hill led the way on the final season roster with 32 multi-hit games and was second in total hits for Iowa with 109.

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