Cubs Minor League News: AFL Edition |
Playing from behind has been an issue recently for the Mesa Solar Sox. Still, when you have guys like Moises Ballesteros, Nico Kavadas, and Jonathon Long in your lineup, early deficits aren't also an issue. Then, there are games where no matter who is in your lineup, the team struggles to hit, as the Solar Sox fell to the Glendale Desert Dogs on the road Friday 5-2.
Another early deficit put the Solar Sox in a hole as Mesa took a quick 1-0 lead in the first before watching the Desert Dogs erupt for five unanswered runs to break the game open. Two of those runs came in the third and the sixth innings, and the other run came across in the fourth. The most frustrating part of this game was having Long and Ballesteros reach base six times, although neither of them managed to do much damage with the bat. When Ballesteros is in the lineup, you can expect a great at-bat from him, and the chances of him making solid contact and reaching base are high, as he is hitting .351 for the season. Friday wasn't one of his better games, as he went 0-3 with a strikeout at the plate, but he managed to work two walks, which continues to be a massive part of his game. The same can be said about Long when he plays. He may not be as polished a hitter when you look at his eye at the plate, but he makes just as hard of contact as Ballesteros and remains one of the better run-producers on this team. Like his counterpart, with a .333 average, there is a good chance that Long reaches base when he makes contact, and with one hit in his two official at-bats, that trend continued. However, unlike many of his games this season, Long controlled the strike zone extremely well. He worked three walks to reach base four times, which is something this team wants to see more of from him. If either of them managed to pick up a hit with guys on base, the overall outcome of this game could've been different, but this was one of those days where the offense couldn't get things going. As has been the case most of the fall, Ben Cowles continues to be overshadowed when he plays, as he hasn't produced nearly to the level of the other two. From a defensive side, Cowles has been impressive, as that part of his game does appear to be ahead of the offensive side ride now. You have to expect that his offense will start to pick up with more reps, but after going 0-4 with two punchouts, Cowles is stuck in another slump as his average has fallen to .220. It's getting to the point where Cowles might lose some at-bats for the rest of the season as Mesa is in the middle of a playoff push, and they are fighting for a home-field in round one. Hitting Stats for the Cubs trio in the AFL
Moises - .351/.418/.667/1.085; 5 dingers, 14 RBI in 13 games
Jonny Long - .333/.417/.608/1.025; 4 HRs, 14 RBI in 12 games
Ben Cowels - .220/.324/.339/.663' 6 RBI in 15 games
