The Rundown: Bijan Rademacher Steals the Show in AFL
Bijan Rademacher caused some serious havoc in the Mesa Solar Sox 8-4 win on Saturday.
The outfielder led off the fourth inning with a bunt single, advanced to second on an errant pick-off attempt, moved to third on a ground-out, and then eventually came all the way home as part of a double steal.
He finished the game 2-for-4 with a run and RBI. Rademacher, 23, was drafted in the 13th round of the 2012 draft and had a pretty solid year in High-A Daytona (.281/.363/.488).
Addison Russell and Dan Vogelbach each scored two runs without the benefit of a base hit.
The Solar Sox knocked out Diamondbacks top pitching prospect Archie Bradley, who lasted only two innings and gave up seven runs (four earned). The D-Backs had hoped to bring up Bradley in 2014, but he suffered through injuries and struggled in the minors. He did make one start for Arizona.
Other notes
* Royals’ touted pitching prospect Kyle Zimmer was removed from his AFL start on Saturday after one inning because he “looked tight.” Zimmer missed almost all of 2014 because of injury. When trade rumors were swirling about Jeff Samardzija this year, Zimmer was figured to be included in any package from the Royals.
* Cubs scout and former Pirates GM Dave Littlefield is expected to join the Tigers, according to Carrie Muskat. Littlefield has been with the Cubs since 2007.
* The Double-A Tennessee Smokies yesterday hinted on Twitter at the unveiling of a new logo. I wonder if there will be an accompanying team name change to something Cubs-related:
A small preview of what's coming soon. But uh, let's keep this on the down low. It's not exactly street legal yet. pic.twitter.com/UY8tL72OvB
— Tennessee Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) October 19, 2014
* Barry Rozner writes about the construction of the current Royals squad, outlining the different recent draft picks and trades. It’s easy to make comparisons to the methods of the Royals and what the Cubs have done during the rebuild. It will be interesting to see trades equivalent to the Wil Myers/James Shields trade and whether it has a similar effect for the Cubs.
* The Boston Red Sox may try to trade Yoenis Cespedes this off-season, according to Nick Cafardo. I don’t think the Cubs would necessarily be interested, but I find it a bit odd that the Red Sox would want to trade the outfielder after moving Jon Lester to get him. Maybe they thought they had a chance of re-signing him, but now that’s looking unlikely?
Cafardo also says Justin Masterson, a free agent, will likely sign a reasonably priced three-year deal. Masterson says he will be healthy next year, so he might be a target for a team as a bounce-back candidate. Given the Cubs front office’s connection to Masterson, I could see them making a play if the price is right.