MLB Trade Rumors
The Cubs agreed to a minor league pact with right-hander
Adrian Sampson, as Tommy Birch of the Des Moines Register tweeted yesterday. The team didn’t make a formal announcement, but the 29-year-old Sampson is now listed on the roster of their top affiliate in Iowa.
Sampson has pitched in part of three big league seasons, spending some time with the Mariners in 2016 and tossing 153 frames with the Rangers from 2018-19. Sampson spent the 2020 season with the Lotte Giants of the Korea Baseball Organization, racking up 130 innings but struggling to a 5.40 ERA with just a 14.7 percent strikeout rate. He did notch a strong 6.1 percent walk rate in the KBO, in addition to a massive 65.2 percent grounder rate.
Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap: May 7
Iowa walks off on a passed ball. The Smokies slug their way to a win. The Pelican join the win column for the first time this season.
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Three wins tonight including the Pelicans for the first time this season.
Iowa Cubs
Kohl Stewart got his first start in the Cubs organization and was pretty darn dominating over five innings. He allowed one run on one hit and walk walk. He struck out nine. The one hit was a triple down the right field line, just like on Thursday night against Cory Abbott.
Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap: May 5
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Iowa
Ben Holmes turned in a solid start in his first game in the Cubs organization. Holmes went five innings and gave up two runs on three hits. The part of his start that doesn’t look as good is that he walked four and struck out two.
The I-Cubs had a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth when
Jake Jewell entered the game. Jewell blew the save when he allowed a solo home run to Dustin Fowler. But he got the win when Iowa scored five runs in the bottom of the inning. Jewell’s final line was one run on two hits over one inning. He struck out two and walked no one.
Cubs minor leagues: Get to know the Iowa Cubs
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Our preview of the four Cubs minor league affiliates wraps up now with the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. This preview will be a little shorter than the other three since many of these players have seen time in Chicago with the Cubs or with other other major league teams. Most of them got a lot of playing time in Spring Training in Mesa this year as well. I don’t think I need to explain who most of them are.
Who? The Iowa Cubs have been the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate since 1981, which is the fourth-longest affiliation in baseball, behind only Reading (Double-A Phillies), Lakeland (Low-A Tigers) and Omaha (Triple-A Royals). They’ve been with the Cubs so long that this is now their third league that they’ve played in since joining up with the Cubs organization. From 1981 to 1997, they played in the American Association. From 1998 to 2019, they were a part of the Pacific Coast League.
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