It is time for the rollout of our second annual Chicago Cubs’ minor league All-Star team. Today, we reveal the pitchers, two starters and two relievers, who made our squad. In each subsequent installment, we will give All-Star nods to two or more position players until we have fielded a full squad.
So let’s get to work revealing our All-Star pitchers.
RHP Jen-Ho Tseng: The Cubs have been handsomely rewarded for doling out a $1.625 million signing bonus to obtain the Taiwanese Tseng last summer when he was ranked by MLB.com as the 29th best International prospect. In his first season in the system, Tseng, 19, helped pitch the Kane County Cougars to a 91-49 record and a berth in the Low A Midwest League playoffs.
In fact, on Wednesday, Tseng staked the Cougars to a 1-0 lead in their first-round best-of-three series against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, collecting the win by throwing six innings and yielding just two runs, two hits and one walk against four strikeouts.
Tseng is armed with a fastball between 92-95 MPH, an above-average curveball and his best pitch, a straight-changeup that, at 81-82 MPH, “drops off the table”, according to scouts.
In nineteen appearances (seventeen starts), Tseng fashioned a 6-1 record and pitched 105 innings.
Among the 55 Midwest League pitchers who logged a minimum of 100 innings, Tseng ranked second in BB/9 (1.3); second in BB rate (3.8%); fourth in SO/BB ratio (5.67); tied for fourth in batting average allowed (BA) (.200); fifth in ERA (2.40); first in WHIP (a microscopic 0.867); and second in BABIP (Batting Average on Balls In Play) (.239), suggesting that he yields a lot of soft contact.
Tseng will probably be competing with teammate RHP Daury Torrez for organizational pitcher of the year honors.
Torrez, 21, sports a fastball in the low to mid 90’s, possesses excellent command and has improved his secondary pitchers, a slider and a changeup. In 23 starts, Torrez produced a team-high eleven wins against seven losses.
Among the 15 Midwest League pitchers who logged at least 130 innings, Torrez was first in WHIP (1.00); first in BABIP (.250); second in BA (.222); second in BB/9 (1.4); second in ERA (2.74); and second in walk percentage (4.0).
Honorable mention status is merited by RHP’s Duane Underwood and Pierce Johnson and LHP Eric Jokisch. Underwood, 20 and a second-round selection in the 2012 draft, is yet another member of the Cougars vaunted starting rotation. He generated a 6-4 record with a 2.40 ERA, sixth best among the 55 pitchers who logged at least 100 innings in the Midwest League. In 100.2 innings, Underwood yielded 85 hits and 36 walks and fanned 84. His BA (.230) and BABIP (.273) were exceptional, and he produced a solid WHIP of 1.202.
Johnson, a first round pick in the 2012 draft who was ranked among MLB.com’s Top 100 prospects prior to the 2014 season, was limited to 91.2 innings at AA Tennessee of the Southern League because of a midseason calf injury. Nevertheless, among the 37 Southern League pitchers who tallied at least 90 innings, Johnson, 23, was first in ERA (2.55); BA (.191); BABIP (.242) and strikeout rate (24.4%). On the downside, his 14.5% walk rate ranked worst among the 37 pitchers and is an issue he will need to remedy moving forward.
Jokisch, 25 and an 11th round pick in the 2010 draft, produced a 9-10 record over 158.1 innings and 26 starts for the AAA Iowa Cubs of the Pacific Coast League (PCL). Among the 31 PCL pitchers who logged at least 120 innings, Jokisch ranked fourth in BB/9 (1.76); fourth in BB rate (4.8%); fourth in SO rate (22.0%); fourth in WHIP (1.18); fifth in ERA (3.58); and seventh in SO/9 (8.13). He also tied for fifth in BA (.252).
As a reward for his outstanding season, the Cubs added Jokisch to the 40-man roster, which protects him from being plucked away in the Rule 5 draft this offseason, and promoted him to the major league team for the remainder of the season.
We also selected two relief pitchers for our All-Star squad.
RHP Armando Rivero: In his first full season in the system after defecting from Cuba, Rivero, 26, split the campaign between Tennessee (34.2 innings) and Iowa (30.1 innings), fanning 100 and allowing only 43 hits and 28 walks. His ERA of 2.22 and WHIP of 1.092 were exceptional.
Among the 145 Southern League pitchers who tossed at least 30 innings, Rivero ranked sixth in ERA (1.56); 12th in WHIP (0.98); first in BA (.150); first in K/9 (14.2); and 20th in BABIP (.250).
Among the 248 Pacific Coast League pitchers who tallied a minimum of 30 innings, Rivero ranked second in K/9 (13.8) and strikeout percentage (36.5) and placed in the Top 35 in ERA (2.97).
But for the fact that Rivero is not on the Cubs ‘ 40-man roster and not yet eligible for the Rule 5 draft, the pitcher with the mid-90’s fastball would have been promoted to Chicago when rosters were able to be expanded on September 1.
RHP James Pugliese: Pugliese, 22 and a 8th round pick in the 2011 draft, had a dominant season for Kane County. In 31 relief appearances, Pugliese logged 54.1. innings, allowing 39 hits and 15 walks while striking out 56.
Among the 159 Midwest League pitchers with at least fifty innings of work, Pugliese was third in ERA (1.66); tied for seventh in WHIP (0.99); was eight in BA (.191); and was 13th in BABIP (.259). His 9.6 K/9 innings was also exceptional.
Pugliese has an impressive array of pitches: a low to mid 90’s fastball, a slider, a changeup and even a knuckleball.
LHP Michael Heesch merits honorable mention distinction. Selected in the eighth round of the 2012 draft, the big lefthander with a low 90’s fastball joined the Kane County Cougars bullpen after a rough 2013 season in the team’s rotation. In 45.1 innings, he allowed 32 hits (one homer) and fanned 59.
Of the 200 Midwest League pitchers who threw a minimum of 40 innings, Heesch tallied the eight best K/9 (11.71). His ERA and WHIP of 2.18 and 1.15, respectively, were excellent.
Check back Sunday as we reveal which catcher and first baseman made our All-Star squad and others at those positions who merit honorable mention.
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