Iowa round-up: The Offense

With the big league club sputtering, it would be nice to find some real positives in the high minors to sooth the pain.  Unfortunately, the current bright spots in Iowa and West Tennessee mirror that famous satellite map of North Korea.  I’ll look at the Iowa offense today, and the pitching tomorrow.  The Diamond Jaxx will be examined later in the week.

Iowa:  New promotions Luis Montanez (outfield-age 24-bats R) and Micah Hoffpauir (far away from baseball glove-26-L) are settling in at Des Moines.  Hoffpauir has jacked three homers already in his brief stay - he slugged .594 in Double A.  After a hot start, Buck Coats (OF-23-L) has cooled considerably.  The improvement in his play since he moved to the outfield is mitigated by his poor plate discipline (8 walks in over 160 plate appearances).  Uber-prospect Felix Pie (OF-21-L) has also been more aggressive at the plate of late, and his numbers have dropped accordingly.  Geovany Soto (C-23-R) has put up a .265/.341/.316 line; that might not seem impressive, but with Hank Blanko as a comparison, it looks positively Hobbsean (and Soto’s glove is not a concern).  Michael Restovich (OF-27-R) has hit with good power and average since being demoted.  The fact that he is not on the major league roster is unforgivable.  Finally, I know you’ve been waiting on pins and needles to learn how our newest man in Cubbie blue has performed!  Well, kiss your spouse (or spouses for those readers in Colorado City) and open that cold PBR, as the news is all you could have hoped for!  Mr. Womack (fifth circle of Hell-36-L) has mocked AAA pitching to the tune of .500/.571/.583 in 14 plate appearances.  With three stolen bases in three attempts as well, it looks like the Cubs have found the versatile, speedy, veteran-salted goodness the team has lacked all season.

Don’t forget to check out Brew Crew Ball’s fantastic split stats database for more detailed information, including Brandon Sing’s highly disappointing numbers versus pitchers of all persuasions.