For those of you Cubs fans who don’t pay a whole lot of attention to the Cubs’ farm sysyem, you may want to start. because there is some real talent there.
I take you to Daytona Beach. Right now the Daytona Cubs are 37-12. Yes, that is correct, 37-12. That is an outstanding record in any league. Currently the Cubs have won 10 straight. In many of those game they have come from behind late. Tuesday they trailed 7-4 with two out in the seventh. Three home runs later they won 9-7. Tonight they were down 5-0 in the sixth. They won 9-5.
In Double-A, the Tennessee Smokies are 32-17. Many of the players there now are guys from the last two Daytona teams. The ’09 team won the Florida State League title. They came in a close second in ’10.
Remember these names. You’ll be seeing them at Wrigley in the near future.
Robert Whitenack: This guy throws heat! He was 3-0 in Daytona before being called up to Tennessee, where he is now 4-0.
Rebel Ridling. One of two good-looking power-hitting first basemen. He has 9 HRs for Tennessee so far this year.
Justin Bour. Absolutely crushes the ball. And can hit it the other way with pop. Left-handed bat. He his hitting .332 with 13 HRs at Daytona.
Jae-Hoon Ha: Was hitting .311 at Daytona, called up to Tennessee, where he is hitting .267.
DJ LeMaheiu: second baseman at Tennessee hitting .360
Junior Lake: Infielder with some power. Batting .314 with 10 doubles and six HRs.
Michael Burgess: Not a good average at .202, but a ton of power. If he can cut down on his Ks he has a lot of potential. When he hit’s one it is usually crushed.
The Florida State League is typically not a power hitter’s league. The ballparks are usually large and the humidity in Florida is stifling. So when you see balls flying out of the park like I have this year, you notice. There are some guys hammering balls out of Jackie Robinson Ballpark this year. When Bour, Ridling and Burgess get to Wrigley with the wind blowing out, look out.
The most encouraging is these guys know how to win. When they get to Chicago, they won’t be going there expecting to lose. So get ready Cubs fans. Help is on the way.
Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com