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Cubs Minor League

Fall League Fridays: Cubs prospects earning acclaim in Arizona

1 year agoLee Bosch

Cubs left-hander Bailey Horn’s scoreless streak snapped Tuesday at 10.2 innings after a shaky outing in a 7-6 Mesa Solar Sox loss against the Scottsdale Scorpions.

He entered a tie game in the 6th with 2 outs, inheriting a runner on first. Horn walked the first batter he faced, then surrendered a bases-clearing double to Orioles prospect Reed Trimble. He induced an infield pop out and escaped the inning with no more damage. 

Horn came back out for the 7th and struggled a bit, giving up a single and a hit by pitch to the first two batters he faced. A forceout and strikeout later, he had runners on 2nd and 3rd, but on the verge of escaping unscathed. A balk forced the run in from third, but he closed out the inning with this strikeout:

His final line for the game: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K.

Walks were an issue for Horn in his first season with the Tennessee Smokies, but his high strikeout rate (12.53 K/9) helped him tally a 84.7% LOB (left on base percentage) over 41.2 IP in 2022. In Arizona, he’s running a 7:9 BB:K ratio but has done well limiting damage. Opponents are hitting just .150 against Horn and he’s sporting a 1.08 WHIP through 10.2 IP. 

Cubs lefty Riley Martin has continued to run up his strikeout count, now at 15. That total ranks 5th among pitchers who have yet to start a game in Arizona. The 24-year-old pitched 2 innings Monday, racking up 4 punchouts while walking a pair, allowing a hit and an earned run. 

On the hitting side, Owen Caissie went 2-for-5 Tuesday with a single and another double, his 5th of the AFL season.

He followed that up with a 1-for-4 game Thursday with a walk, 3 strikeouts and swiped his 3rd base of the season. 

Matt Mervis also played Tuesday, going 1-for-4. After leading off the 5th with a single, he executed some heads-up baserunning to advance to 2nd on a fly out to center field. You can see both plays below:

Saturday, you can catch Matt Mervis in the inaugural Arizona Fall League Home Run Derby at 8:35pm CT. The following day, he’ll be joined by Horn for the Fall Stars Game, starting at 3 p.m. CT.

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