Ryan Dempster – Dempster looks more and more comfortable as a starter. He gave up four runs on five hits and five walks over six-plus innings against the Reds in his last start on Tuesday. The right-hander, who was the Cubs’ closer the last three years, has pitched at least six innings in each of his three games. He had a stellar start against the Pirates on April 9, holding them to one hit over seven scoreless innings.
Zach Duke – Duke struggled with his command and location in his last start more than he had in either of his previous two. However, to the credit of the left-hander, he kept the Pirates offense well within reach of a win by limiting the damage to just three runs (two earned) in six innings. Duke continues to rely heavily on his sinker, and it?s been there for him with relative certainty all season. This will be Duke?s second start against the Cubs this season. He didn?t factor in the decision in the first one, though he allowed just one run in seven innings of work.
- Has a wicked curveball that left-handed hitters have trouble handling. His fastball tops out at around 93 m.p.h. Keeps a quiet focus while on the mound.
- Needs to improve his change-up, which will help him against right-handed hitters. Tends to get hit hard in the early innings of his starts.
- A decent mid-rotation starter.
View the stat preview from Baseball Reference here
All Scouting Information taken from MLB.com and TSN.ca
News and Notes
- Justin Berg only allowed 2 runs and 2 hits over 6.0 innings pitched
- Esmailin Caridad only allowed one run in 6.0 innings pitched
- Nathan Samson was 3-for-6
- Marquez Smith was 3-for-4
Tracked Player Results
Organizational Roundup
(AAA) – Iowa Cubs – Lost vs. Oklahoma (4-7)
(AA) – Tennessee Smokies – Lost vs. Carolina (4-5)
(High A) – Daytona Cubs – Won vs. Brevard County (8-3)
(A) – Peoria Chiefs – Won vs. Great Lakes (9-7)
(SS) – Boise Hawks open their season June 17th
(RK) – Arizona Cubs open their season June 22nd
View the full organizational report courtesy of First Inning here.
Heh, remember when Duke came up in 05 and set the record for most consecutive scoreless innings by a rookie? Top prospect, etc etc.
Now he’s a “decent mid-rotation starter.”
That has got to suck.
Any chance we can get updated season stats for each of the above players as well? I like to see how they did on a daily basis, but I would also like to know how they are faring overall.
NDCubbie,
That’s a good suggestion. I’ll try to make that a weekly feature on Saturdays or Sundays, since I don’t have time to put it together on the weekdays.