Winter League Report, November 8

I-CUBS WINTER LEAGUE UPDATE
November 8, 2010

The free agency period for Major League Baseball is underway and rumors and reports have already started flying. Teams will start getting their rosters ready for signings and the Rule V Draft at the Winter Meetings next month. Meanwhile, all of the winter leagues are in full swing. Every Monday, you can come to iowacubs.com to keep track of how your favorite former Iowa Cubs players, along with some of the Chicago Cubs top current prospects, are faring in winter league action. We'll also keep up with the players involved in off-season transactions.

TRANSACTIONS:
Pat Listach returned to the Cubs' organization this week when Chicago announced his hiring as Mike Quade's bench coach. Listach has been the Washing Nationals' third base coach the last two seasons since managing in Iowa in 2008. Listach won the Pacific Coast League's Manager of the Year award and led the team to the playoffs that year. His replacement in Washington also has an Iowa Cubs tie. The Nationals hired Bo Porter to coach third base. Porter played for the I-Cubs in 1998 and '99 and played both football and baseball at the University of Iowa. In other staff announcements, Mike Brumley (played for Iowa from 1986-87) was named first base coach with the Seattle Mariners under new manager Eric Wedge. The Houston Astros named Rick Kranitz (Iowa pithing coach in 2004 & 2005) as their new minor league pitching coordinator. The Cubs outrighted Angel Guzman (2006-09) off the 40-man roster and re-signed him to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training. Guzman missed all of last season after injuring his right shoulder in spring training. The Pittsburgh Pirates outrighted Sean Gallagher (2007-08) who is currently pitching in Venezuela (see below). The Pirates also outrighted Marshalltown, IA native Jeff Clement to their Triple-A team in Indianapolis. The Atlanta Braves declined their option on reliever Kyle Farnsworth (1998-00, '02) making him a free agent. The follwing players have all declared for free agency: Eric Hinske (1999) and Derrek Lee (2006) from the Braves, Miguel Cairo (1997, '01) from the Cincinnati Reds, Will Ohman (2001, '05, '07) and Chad Tracy (2010) from the Florida Marlins, Henry Blanco (2007) from the New York Mets, Jerry Hairston, Jr. (2005) from the San Diego Padres, Aaron Miles (2009) from the St. Louis Cardinals, Miguel Batista (1997) from the Washington Nationals, Kerry Wood (1997-98, 2000, 2004-06) from the New York Yankees, Ron Mahay (2001-02) from the Minnesota Twins, and Corey Patterson (2001, '05) from the Baltimore Orioles.

ARIZONA FALL LEAGUE:
The Chicago Cubs are down to six players participating in the Arizona Fall League for the Mesa Solar Sox. The Sox are managed by former I-Cub Casy Kopitzke (2001, '04, & '06). Kopitzke managed at single-A Peoria this past season and with short-season Boise in 2009. CF Brett Jackson has been shut down for the rest of the AFL due to an infection in his ankle. The Cubs expect Jackson to be back to 100 % well before the start of spring training. This was a light week in the AFL with the "Rising Stars" Game on Saturday night. 3B Josh Vitters (1st round pick in 2007) played in the game and was 0-for-2. It was his first action since November 1st. In his last four games, he is batting .300 (6-for-20) with a homer, three RBI, and five runs scored. RH Chris Carpenter (2010) also appeared in the All-Star Game on Saturday. He struck out two and allowed one hit in an inning of work. He pitched 1.2 scoreless innings in his only other appearance this week, but has gotten good reviews with his fastball reaching 100 mph in a game. Carpenter has been a starter his whole pro career, but has been working in relief in the AFL. IF Ryan Flaherty (2nd round pick in 2008) has cooled just a bit. He had three hits last Monday to cap an eight-game hitting streak, but went 0-for-8 in his other two games this week. RH David Cales (2009-10) has not allowed a run in 5.1 innings over his last four appearances. RH Jake Muyco (2010) matched his longest outing with four innings in his last start. He allowed three runs on six hits. All five of Muyco's appearances in the AFL have been starts although he had started just once in 126 regular season appearances since converting from catcher in 2008. RH Kyle Smit was one of the two minor league pitchers the Cubs got from the Dodgers in the Ted Lilly/Ryan Theriot trade.

Player	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Ryan Flaherty	.316	17	57	9	18	3	0	0	4	9	8	1	1	.409	.368	.778
Brett Jackson	.250	4	12	3	3	1	0	0	5	1	5	1	0	.286	.333	.619
Josh Vitters	.255	13	55	10	14	4	0	2	11	5	6	1	1	.311	.436	.748

 

Pitcher	W	L	ERA	G	GS	SV	SVO	IP	H	R	ER	HR	HB	BB	SO
David Cales	1	0	2.57	6	0	0	0	7.0	8	3	2	0	0	2	4
Chris Carpenter	0	1	4.91	7	0	0	0	11.0	11	6	6	1	0	8	8
Jake Muyco	0	2	9.18	5	5	0	0	16.2	29	17	17	5	1	6	6
Kyle Smit	3	1	2.70	7	0	0	0	10.0	8	3	3	1	1	7	6

VENEZUELAN WINTER LEAGUE:
SS Marwin Gonzalez took over as the every day shortstop in Tennessee after Starlin Castro was called up to Chicago last May. Gonzalez hit just .246 in 86 games for the Smokies, but is tearing things up at home in Venezuela this winter. Gonzalez has hit safely in 13 of his last 15 games, including two four-hit games. He has also scored multiple runs in a game four times during this stretch. On Friday, he was 4-for-5, a double, a home run, three RBI, and four runs scored. Gonzalez leads the league in RBI (20) and runs scored (21); is tied for second in total bases (46); ranks third in batting (.376), on-base percentage (.475), and walks (16); and is tied for third in hits (32). 3B Marquez Smith (2010) continued his power stroke this week, adding two more home runs. He is now tied for third in the league with four home runs, one off the lead. OF Jason Dubois (2004-05, '08-10) is one of the guys tied for the league lead with five home runs, but he has gone cold at the plate. Since his seven-game hitting streak ended last Tuesday, he has gone 1-for-18 in his last six games. RHP Austin Bibens-Dirkx (2010) didn't get a decision in his last start on Thursday, but allowed just one unearned run on four hits in five innings. He ranks ninth in the league with a 1.90 ERA. OF Brandon Guyer (2010 Cubs' Minor Leauge Player of the Year with Tennessee) has hit safely in four straight games and ranks fourth in the league with a .348 average. Guyer has also seen time at all three outfield spots. OF Tony Campana (2010 Southern League All-Star) has just one hit in his last six games. RH Craig Muschko (22nd round pick in 2007) earned a win on Friday, allowing just one run and striking out five in 5.2 innings. RH Sean Gallagher (2007-08) won his second straight start with six shutout innings against Lara on Saturday. C Henry Blanco (2007) had a grand slam on Saturday at Aragua, but had a six-game hitting streak snapped on Sunday. OF Josh Kroeger (2008) played his first game with Caracas on Friday and has a hit in each of his first three games. Kroeger has spent the last two seasons with Triple-A Charlotte (Chicago White Sox) since playing for the I-Cubs in '08. SS Ronny Cedeno (2004-05, '07) joined Aragua on Thursday and went 3-for-5 with a double and scored two runs in his first game.

Player	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Henry Blanco	Margarita	2007	.265	11	34	6	9	1	0	2	7	3	2	0	0	.324	.471	.795
Tony Campana	Zulia	Cubs Prospect	.286	19	42	5	12	1	1	9	9	3	4	4	4	.333	.357	.690
Ronny Cedeno	Aragua	2004-05, '07	.357	4	14	2	5	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	.400	.429	.829
Jason Dubois	La Guaira	2004-05, '08-10	.274	22	73	9	20	2	0	5	13	6	15	1	0	.346	.507	.853
Marwin Gonzalez	Caracas	Cubs Prospect	.376	22	85	21	32	8	0	2	20	16	9	0	1	.475	.541	1.016
Brandon Guyer	Aragua	Cubs Prospect	.348	19	69	11	24	3	0	1	7	10	12	4	0	.444	.435	.879
Josh Kroeger	Caracas	2008	.300	3	10	2	3	0	0	0	2	2	2	0	0	.417	.300	.717
Jackson Melian	Caracas	2003	.224	18	58	16	13	1	0	2	9	17	13	1	2	.408	.345	.753
Luis Rivas	Magallanes	2009	.111	12	36	2	4	0	0	0	0	1	8	1	0	.135	.111	.246
Marquez Smith	Aragua	2010	.245	16	53	11	13	3	0	4	14	10	11	0	0	.365	.528	.893

 

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.
Austin Bibens-Dirkx	Zulia	2010	1	2	1.90	5	5	0	0	23.2	20	9	5	0	1	6	0	12	2	.217
Craig Muschko	Zulia	Cubs Prospect	2	1	4.11	4	3	0	0	15.1	20	7	7	2	0	2	0	10	1	.317
Sean Gallagher	Magallanes	2007-08	2	1	2.25	6	3	0	0	20.0	16	6	5	1	2	13	0	15	1	.232

PUERTO RICAN WINTER LEAGUE:

All of the players currently playing in the Puerto Rico fall into the "blast from the past" category of I-Cubs baseball. IF Luis Figueroa (2008) has hit safely in 10 straight games since going hitless in the season opener. He has five multi-hit games on the year. He leads the league in doubles (5), extra-base hits (6), and total bases (25); is teid for first in hits (18); ranks second in batting (.383) and runs scored (8); is third in on-base percentage (.442); and fourth in slugging (.532). RH Antonio Alfonseca (2003) has pitched scoreless relief in four of his five appearances. He gave up four runs in his other inning. RH Vince Perkins (2009) hasn't appeared in a game since October 31st. IF Donny Leon (2003-04) hasn't played since October 29th. Leon has played in the Mexican League since 2005.

Player	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Doug Deeds	Mayaguez	2009	.235	8	34	3	8	1	1	0	4	1	7	0	0	.257	.324	.581
Luis Figueroa	Caguas	2008	.383	11	47	8	18	5	1	0	2	5	3	1	1	.442	.532	.974
Donny Leon	Mayaguez	2003-04	.167	4	12	1	2	0	0	0	1	2	2	0	0	.267	.167	.433

 

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.
Antonio Alfonseca	Carolina	2003	0	0	7.20	5	0	0	1	5.0	6	4	4	0	0	2	0	0	0	.286
Francis Beltran	Carolina	2003-04	0	0	5.14	6	0	0	0	7.0	4	4	4	0	0	6	0	2	1	.160
Vince Perkins	Ponce	2009	0	1	8.44	2	2	0	0	5.1	2	6	5	0	2	9	0	6	2	.105

DOMINICAN WINTER LEAGUE:

1B/DH Jake Fox (2007-09) ranks fifth in the league in on-base percentage (.426) and batting (.333). C Welington Castillo (2008, '10) is 1-for-8 in his last three games and hasn't record a multi-hit game yet for Licey. OF/IF Eric Patterson has hit safely in four of his last five games. OF Felix Pie (2006-08) has hit safely in six of his last seven games including a 3-hit game on Sunday. LH Jamie Moyer (1986) re-injured his left elbow in his last start and there are reports that his career could be over. Algona, IA native Brad Nelson is tied for second in the league in both homers (4) and RBI (10).

Player	Team	Yr(s) with I-Cubs	AVG	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	OPS
Welington Castillo	Licey	2008, '10	.172	9	29	2	5	0	0	1	2	1	7	0	0	.200	.276	.476
Jake Fox	Licey	2007-09	.333	10	39	3	13	3	0	0	6	5	9	0	0	.426	.410	.843
Eric Patterson	Cibaenas	2006-08	.222	13	36	5	8	1	0	2	8	8	13	2	1	.364	.417	.780
Felix Pie	Oriente	2006-08	.393	7	28	6	11	4	0	1	3	2	3	0	0	.452	.643	1.094

 

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.
Marcos Mateo	Oriente	2010	0	0	13.50	1	0	0	0	0.2	2	1	1	0	0	2	0	1	1	.500
Jamie Moyer	Escogido	1986	0	0	1.69	3	3	0	0	5.1	4	2	1	0	0	0	0	5	0	.190

MEXICAN PACIFIC LEAGUE:
RH Marco Carrillo (2010) suffered a loss in his last start on Sunday at Guasave. he allowed five runs on four hits (including two home runs), walked three, and struck out two.

 

Player

Team

Yr(s) with I-Cubs

AVG

G

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BB

SO

SB

CS

OBP

SLG

OPS

 

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.
Marco Carrillo	Obregon	2010	1	2	6.75	5	5	0	0	21.1	26	16	16	5	0	12	0	19	2	.302

*Stats are courtesy of Major League Baseball Advanced Media

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

We hope you enjoy the Winter League report this off-season. If you think we are missing updates on former I-Cubs that are in action somewhere in winter ball, please email Randy Wehofer at [email protected] and we'll do our best to track down their information. Don't forget, the Winter League report gets updated every Monday at iowacubs.com.