CHICAGO CUBS MINOR LEAGUE RECAP 2017 SEASON | MINOR LEAGUE CLUBS: 347-341 OVERALL IOWA CUBS-AAA Season Over TEAM LEADERS Iowa finished in 4th place in the PCL American Northern Division at 67-72 ... the I-Cubs OVERALL RECORD: 67-72 AAA-Iowa were 37-34 at home and 30-38 on the road this season. Average: Victor Caratini (.342) © OF John Andreoli led the squad with 14 homers and paced the league in stolen bases with 26 ... OF Mark Zagunis had the PCL's Homers: John Andreoli (14) fourth-best OBP (.404) and tied for the fourth-most walks drawn (70). RBI: Taylor Davis (62) © INF/OF Ian Happ, OF Mark Zagunis, C/1Bs Victor Caratini and Taylor Davis, INF Jeimer Candelario and INF Mike Freeman were all OPS: Victor Caratini (.951) called up to Chicago's active roster this season ... Happ, Zagunis, Caratini and Davis made their major league debuts. ERA: Seth Frankoff (4.40) © RHPs Eddie Butler, Dylan Floro, Seth Frankoff, Pierce Johnson and Dillon Maples all appeared for the Cubs in the majors ... LHPs Wins: Aaron Brooks (8) Jack Leathersich, Zac Rosscup and Rob Zastryzny all saw big-league action as well. Saves: Pierce Johnson (9) Strikeouts: Seth Frankoff (119) TENNESSEE SMOKIES-AA Season Over AA-Tennessee The Smokies went 36-33 in the season's first half, then had a 32-37 record after the OVERALL RECORD: 68-70 Average: David Bote (.272) All-Star Break to finish their 2017 campaign at 68-70. Homers: Jason Vosler (21) RBI: Jason Vosler (81) © The Smokies hit the second-most homers in the Southern League (114) ... INF Jason Vosler led the team with 21 long balls and OPS: David Bote (.792) 81 RBI while ranking second in the league in each of those categories ... six Tennessee batters reached double-digit home runs. ERA: Daury Torrez (1.40) © RHP Duane Underwood Jr. tied for the league lead with 13 wins ... RHP Daury Torrez had the league's fifth-lowest opponent Wins: Duane Underwood Jr. (13)* average (.211) and was tops among all relievers with a 1.33 walks per 9.0 IP ratio. Saves: Craig Brooks (7) © INF David Bote finished with 30 doubles, 47 extra-base hits and 206 total bases, placing him in the top-five in each category. Strikeouts: D. Underwood Jr. (98) A-Myrtle Beach MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS-A Season Over Average: Tyler Alamo (.281) The Pelicans' season ended with a 2-0 loss in the Division Series ... Myrtle Beach went OVERALL RECORD: 73-67 Homers: Eddy Martinez (14) 43-27 in the first half and 30-40 in the second half ... won the first-half division crown RBI: Jesse Hodges (63) to advance to their seventh-straight postseason. OPS: Jesse Hodges (.772) © INF Tyler Alamo led the team and ranked sixth in the Carolina League with a .281 average (120-for-427). ERA: Michael Rucker (2.51) © RHP Pedro Araujo led all Carolina League relief pitchers with a 11.55 SO/9 and ranked second with a 2.09 BB/9 ratio ... led the Wins: Adbert Alzolay (7) league with a 8.35 baserunners per 9.0 IP ratio ... the right-hander saved 10 games for the Pelicans and pitched to a 1.81 ERA Saves: Pedro Araujo (10) (13 ER/64.2 IP) ... was named a Mid-Season All-Star for the second time in his career (also, 2015 with Eugene). Strikeouts: Thomas Hatch (126) © RHP Dakota Mekkes allowed just 25 hits in 146 at bats over 42.1 IP with Myrtle Beach, holding opponents to a .171 average. © RHP Duncan Robinson (2.37 ERA), RHP Michael Rucker (2.51 ERA) and LHP Justin Steele (2.92 ERA) all posted sub-3.00 ERAs. A-South Bend Average: Luis Ayala (.281) Homers: Kevonte Mitchell (11) SOUTH BEND CUBS-A Season Over RBI: Kevonte Mitchell (59) South Bend finished 1.5 games short of clinching a playoff berth in the first half, then OVERALL RECORD: 75-64 OPS: Luis Ayala (.734) went 36-34 in the second half to finish the season at 75-64, the second-best overall ERA: Duncan Robinson (2.11) record in the Midwest League. Wins: Manuel Rondon (14)* Saves: Wyatt Short (16) © LHP Manuel Rondon led the league with 14 wins. Strikeouts: Manuel Rondon (113) © OF Luis Ayala batted .281 (110-for-391), the ninth-best average in the league. © LHP Bryan Hudson's 3.91 ERA (54 ER/124.1 IP) ranked 10th among Midwest League starting pitchers. Short-A-Eugene © OF D.J. Wilson was named the Cubs organization's Player of the Month for July after batting a combined .284 (23-for-81) with Average: Aramis Ademan (.286) five doubles, seven homers and 21 RBI in July. Homers: Michael Cruz (8) RBI: Gustavo Polanco (32) OPS: Michael Cruz (.944) EUGENE EMERALDS-A Season Over ERA: Jesus Camargo (2.39) The Emeralds advanced to their second-straight Championship Series after clinching a OVERALL RECORD: 39-37 Wins: Javier Assad (5) playoff berth in the season's final days ... Eugene was denied a repeat, falling in four Saves: Luis Aquino (8) games vs. Vancouver. Strikeouts: Jesus Camargo (73) © Cubs 2017 first-round picks LHP Brendon Little (No. 27 overall) and RHP Alex Lange (No. 30 overall) each made their R-Mesa professional debut. Average: Marcus Mastrobuoni (.308) © The Emeralds boasted the Northwest League's top starter (RHP Javier Assad) and reliever (RHP Luis Aquino) in strikeouts per Homers: Nelson Velazquez (8) 9.0 IP, with Assad fanning batters at a 9.82 K/9 clip (72 SO/66.0 IP) and Aquino posting a 13.93 K/9 ratio (49 SO/31.2 IP). RBI: M. Mastrobuoni/J. Sierra (22) © 1B Gustavo Polanco opened the season with a 10-game hitting streak, batting .452 with eight RBI in that stretch. OPS: Marcus Mastrobuoni (.931) © Eugene's pitching staff had the second-best ERA in the Northwest League, combining for a 3.24 mark (250 ER/695.1 IP) ... ERA: Faustino Carrera (3.88) Emeralds pitchers were also tied for the second-most strikeouts in the league with 761. Wins: Eugenio Palma (5) Saves: Ivan Medina (4) Strikeouts: Brailyn Marquez (52) MESA RECAP ON BACK *League Leader MESA CUBS-R Season Over, Arizona League Champions NEWS AND NOTES Mesa won its first AZL Championship since 2002 ... defeated the AZL Giants, 2-1, in the OVERALL RECORD: 25-31 CALLED UP: The Chicago Cubs called best-of-three series, two games to one. up Iowa RHPs Jen-Ho Tseng, Dillon © OF Nelson Velazquez drove in seven runs in the three-game Championship Series ... was named the Cubs' Player of the Month for Maples, C Victor Caratini, INF Mike August after leading the Arizona League with six homers in the month ... hit eight homers this season, tied for third in the league. Freeman, C/1B Taylor Davis and © LHP Faustino Carrera's 3.88 ERA (22 ER/51.0 IP) and RHP Alfredo Colorado's 3.91 mark (22 ER/50.2 IP) both ranked in the LHP Rob Zastryzny after rosters top-10 in the Arizona League ... Carrera's .260 opponent average (46-for-177) was the third-lowest among AZL starters. expanded on September 1. © C Marcus Mastrobuoni batted .308 (41-for-133), good for 10th in the Arizona League. © The team's 3.95 ERA (215 ER/489.1 IP) was the fourth-lowest in the league. OUR PROSPECTS ARE GOOD: Four of the Cubs’ top 10 prospects (as rated by Baseball America) have gotten the TOP 10 PROSPECTS (as of start of 2017 season/Baseball America) call to the big leagues already this season ... OF Albert Almora Jr. made 1. Eloy Jimenez, OF (A-Myrtle Beach) 6. Mark Zagunis, OF (AAA-Iowa) Traded to the White Sox as part of a four-player package for LHP Made ML debut 6/22/17. the Northsiders’ Opening Day roster ... José Quintana on July 13, 2017. I-Cubs INF/OF Ian Happ made his 7. Jeimer Candelario, INF (AAA-Iowa/MLB) big league debut May 13 at St. Louis 2. Ian Happ, 2B/OF (AAA-Iowa/MLB) Sent to Detroit with INF Isaac Paredes for LHP Justin Wilson and and homered off Cardinals pitcher Called up to Cubs May 13, homered for first major league hit. C Alex Avila on July 31. Carlos Martinez for his first-career ML hit ... he has remained in the 3. Albert Almora Jr., OF (MLB) 8. Trevor Clifton, RHP (AA-Tennessee) big leagues ever since ... OF Mark Made Cubs’ Opening Day roster. Was named 2016 Carolina League Pitcher of the Year. Zagunis collected his an RBI in his first-career at-bat on June 22. 4. Dylan Cease, RHP (A-South Bend) 9. D.J. Wilson, OF (A-South Bend) Sent to the White Sox with Jimenez in the José Quintana trade. Picked in the 4th round of the 2015 Draft. CHAMPS!: The Mesa Cubs of the AZL rode a torrid second half to the 5. Oscar De La Cruz, RHP (A-Myrtle Beach) 10. Jose Albertos, RHP Named Midwest League Pitcher of the Week 8/14/2016. 4.0 IP, H, 0 R in one start last season with Mesa. Arizona League Championship Series, where they defeated the AZL Giants in the best-of-three set, two games TROPHY CASE to one ... marked the AZL Cubs' first Award Player(s) Notes league title since 2002. Cubs Pitcher of the Year RHP Jen-Ho Tseng Went 13-4 with a 2.54 ERA (41 ER/145.1 IP) this season HEY NOW...: Three Iowa Cubs were (AAA-Iowa/AA-Tennessee) in 24 starts between Double-A Tennessee and Iowa ..