Cubs Minor League News: AFL Edition |
With just two weeks remaining in the Arizona Fall League season, every game (win) is a crucial step to make the playoffs. When it comes to the Mesa Solar Sox, wins are hard to come by right as they are stuck in the middle of an extremely tough stretch. This comes on the heels of one of their best stretches of the season when they played themselves into first place, but have now fallen to the middle of the pack and are in danger of falling even further behind.
Monday was a microcosm of how things are going right now for the Solar Sox, as their offense seems to be in a team-wide funk while the pitching is struggling to miss bats. Even after holding an early 3-2 lead on the Surprise Saguaros at Sloan Park on Monday, the bats went cold as Surprise ended the game with eight unanswered runs to pick up a dominating 11-3 win. Part of the season for the current funk that the offense is going through is the sudden drop off of Moises Ballesteros, as he is struggling and seems to have hit a wall. After raising his average close to .380 10 days ago, Ballesteros is in danger of falling below .300 as he is currently down to .313 for the season. That comes after his fourth hitless game in his last five and second straight hitless performance as Ballesteros went 0-4 with a punchout at the plate. While Ballesteros has been scuffling of late, Jonathon Long hasn't been and has emerged as the best and most consistent of all the Cubs hitting prospects to date. Long hasn't been doing much damage at the plate, but with a 1-3 showing on Monday to go with a walk, his average remains at .333 and has steadily been in that range for the better part of three weeks. He might get more looks at the plate these final two weeks, while Ballesteros may get some extra time off. One person whose stock continues to fall offensively but remains steady defensively is Ben Cowles, who hasn't gotten into the groove he has been hoping for. Acquired in the Mark Leiter Jr. trade at the deadline, Cowles broke his wrist after getting hit by a pitch in June and didn't make his Tennessee Smokies debut until the final week of the regular season. The Arizona Fall League was a way to get him the at-bats he lost during the regular season, but his .222 average is a cause for concern. He did manage to come away with a hit in this one with a strikeout, but the overall consistency the Cubs were hoping to see from him hasn't been there. Switching to the pitching, the Cubs saw three of their relief arms take the mound in what was a busy day for the Cubs and their overall system. Shane Marshall has had a horrible season thus far, as the 14.14 ERA indicates. However, with one walk and two strikeouts across one scoreless frame, he may be starting to figure things out. On the other hand, Vince Reilly has been strong all season, even with the occasional hiccup here and there. Reilly has had several scoreless outings this season as he continues to build off his strong 2024 campaign. Although he wasn't at his best in this one, allowing two runs in one inning, Reilly has still looked good this season. The Cubs will continue to keep an eye on his future after this. Speaking of a guy with a bright future, look no further than Sam Thoresen, who could be a future closer. Armed with a mid-90s heater and a sharp slider, Thoresen has the two-pitch mix scouts dream about when talking about a high-leverage reliever and, for the most part, has lived up to that billing this season. Like Reilly, Thoresen picked the worst time to have his worst outing of the season as he allowed three runs in five hits across one inning and saw his ERA rise from the mid-3s to 7.20.
