Cubs Minor League News: Moreno, Martinez-Gomez impress in Solar Sox win |
Dustin Riese
· · 7 hours ago
SALT RIVER - The Mesa Solar Sox were back on the road Thursday, as their mini mid-week road trip continued. This time, it was a trip to Salt River to take on the Salt River Rafters for some pre-Halloween baseball. Knowing how much the pitching struggled on Wednesday, the Solar Sox knew that it was going to come down to their offense if they wanted an opportunity to take down the Rafters.
Well, that is why you play the game. Yes, the Solar Sox offense was good, but this was a game decided by the pitching, as Mesa took down the Rafters 6-4. It does help when your offense can give you two runs of support early, but after falling behind 4-3 in the middle innings, the Solar Sox needed a late-game rally to get the job done and delivered with a three-run eighth to secure the win. For the first time all Fall, Owen Ayers has gone cold as he is now in what you call a mini-slump. It was bound to happen at some point, but to see him go hitless for a second straight game and to have his average fall from .425 to .370 was a shock, but that is the nature of the game. Ayers did manage to take a walk, which keeps his OPS north of 1.100. Ayers, along with Cole Mathis, have been two of the Solar Sox leading hitters this fall, but with Mathis out of the lineup, the attention shifted to the fourth Cubs positional prospect and one that often gets lost in the shuffle, Logan Poteet. Drafted in the 17th round this past summer, the catcher from the University of Charlotte is now getting some reps at first base in an effort to get more time on the field. That is where he was on Thursday, and despite striking out twice, he did come away with a hit. He is now hitting .214 for the season in what felt like his first game in over a month. Expect him to start getting more reps down the stretch as long as he can continue to show that position flexibility that the Cubs organization loves. While the Cubs' hitters may not have put on a big show, a pair of Cubs arms certainly did, and that all started with the starter, Koen Moreno. For the most part, Moreno has been dialed in this season, but it was one rough outing that makes his ERA look far worse than it really was. Today was more of the same for Moreno, who gave the Solar Sox three innings of one-run baseball, walking one and striking out four to keep his strong Fall going. Speaking of players who are dialed in, it's time to take notice of Luis Martinez-Gomez, who is quickly turning himself into a potential top-30 prospect in the Cubs system next year. Expected to be a relief arm in the future, Martinez-Gomez lowered his ERA to 1.69 following another scoreless outing as he gave Mesa one inning with one strikeout in the loss.
