Cubs Minor League News: AFL Edition |
On a night filled with Cubs prospects taking the field, the Mesa Solar Sox hosted the Scottsdale Scorpions at Sloan Park. Coming off a rough loss on Tuesday, the Solar Sox were hoping to get back on track, but once again, a slow start to the game did them in as they spotted the Scorpions four runs in the first two innings and never recovered in a 10-6 loss.
Grant Kipp took the ball for the Solar Sox and endured his worst showing of the Fall League. Kipp, an undrafted free agent from Yale, has been a steady force for both the Myrtle Beach Pelicans and the South Bend Cubs for the past two seasons, to the point where the Cubs wanted to challenge him more this fall. For the most part, Kipp has been able to handle the challenges that the Arizona Fall League presents, as his velocity has been slightly up from where it was during the regular season while his command has been lights out, leading to plenty of strikeouts. Wednesday was a night he would like to forget as he not only allowed four runs in his two innings to see his ERA rise to 4.91, but with six walks and only two strikeouts, he couldn't find the zone, which wasn't an issue for him going into that start. He was one of two pitchers and five players overall to see action from the Cubs system, as this was one of the busier days for their system overall. The second of the two pitchers was Vince Reilly, and it was more of the same for the fast-rising right-handed reliever, who is starting to get more attention from scouts. Not a typical minor leaguer who comes into the league as a starter before moving to the pen, Reilly has been a relief-only option since day one and one that was counted on a ton for the Pelicans last season and will be counted on even more as he moves through the system. With two more strikeouts across 1 1/3 scoreless innings, Reilly lowered his ERA to 2.70 and remains one of the main guys to see action in the late innings. Getting into the offense for a bit, and it was the first time in over a week that all three Cubs hitters were in the lineup at the same time, which is something fans want to see more of down the stretch. As expected, Moises Ballesteros and Jonathon Long continue to see the ball well as they combined for three hits in the loss, with Long picking up two. Neither of them drove in a run, but with Ballesteros adding a pair of walks to his single, he continues to be one of the league leaders in average at .370 while Long is sitting at .327. With those two being the center of attention most of the fall, many fans forget about Ben Cowles, who hasn't had the same luck as those two on the plate. Cowles went his first three-plus games without a hit and has been battling his way out of that slump all season. It has taken a long time to do that, but he is finally starting to come around, leading many to believe that his wrist is finally 100% healthy, which could lead to a strong 2025 showing. Cowles matched Long with two hits to give the Cubs three prospects five combined hits, but with no runs driven in, they didn't make the impact they typically do. Even with two strikeouts to go with his two hits, Cowles has pushed his average to .255, as a .300 average to finish the season is a realistic goal and not out of reach.
