Cubs Prospect Jake Slaughter is Heating Up at Double-A

It was a fruitful day offensively for the Chicago Cubs Double-A affiliate, Tennessee Smokies, but Jake Slaughter in particular had a standout day. The two-hole hitter was one of five Smokies hitters with multiple hits, but both of Slaughter's hits went for home runs, his 18th and 19th of the year. Slaughter also walked and drove in six runs. 

Though the 25-year-old hasn't gotten much attention in a resurgent season for the Cubs farm, the former 18th-round pick has been as good a hitter as any this season. The LSU product is batting well above .300 in Double-A with a .968 OPS. Slaughter also has a 152 wRC+ with Tennessee. Safe to say, Slaugher is murdering baseballs.

With numbers like this, it may be puzzling to notice that the third baseman has little hype behind him, he isn't even a top 30 Cubs prospect according to MLB Pipeline. That is because Slaughter is already 25 years old, and has a groundball rate of over 40% in Double-A. 

Still the results have been great for the righty, and if he can turn his groundballs into more line drives, he may have a better chance of succeeding going forward.

Triple-A: Iowa Cubs (60-70) at Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (69-60): W 6-2

• Levi Jordan was the only player with multiple hits. The third baseman went 2-5 with his sixth home run of the year.
• Adbert Alzolay went three innings in his third rehab outing with Iowa. The righty allowed one run and struck out a pair of batters.
• Cam Sanders pitched two scoreless innings, striking out two while walking one and allowing one hit.
• Darius Hill went 1-4 with a double. The outfielder is batting .331 in Triple-A. 

Double-A: Tennessee Smokies (68-58) vs Pensacola Blue Wahoos (63-57): W 14-4

• Nelson Maldonado went 2-4 with two doubles, two RBI, and a walk. The outfielder has a 1.072 OPS in Double-A.
• Yonathan Perlaza went 2-5 with a walk and his 23rd home run of the season. The 23-year-old is the active leader in home runs with Tennessee.
• Bryce Ball also went 2-4 with two doubles and a walk. 
• Everyone in the Smokies lineup had at least one hit, and all but one had at least one walk. 
• Bailey Horn pitched one clean inning, striking out two. The lefty acquired in the Ryan Tepera trade with the Chicago White Sox has a 0.73 ERA in his last eight games and 22 strikeouts over 12.1 innings pitched.

High-A: South Bend Cubs (71-56) at Cedar Rapid Kernels (71-56): L 8-6

• Pete Crow-Armstrong was named High-A Midwest League Player of the Month after slashing .356/.417/.535 in August. The lefty also lead the league in OPS with .952. 
• Luis Devers was also named High-A Midwest League Pitcher of the Month. The righty allowed three runs in four starts during the month. 
• Jordan Nwogu had another two-hit day, knocking in two runs and hitting his 16th double of the season. The former Michigan Wolverine has a 153 wRC+ since Aug. 1.
• BJ Murray went 2-4  with a double and an RBI. The first baseman has a hit in seven of his last nine games.
• Luke Little pitched three shutout innings while striking out four. The lefty has a 0.69 ERA in High-A.

Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans (76-51) vs Carolina Mudcats (67-60): W 5-4

• Kevin Alcantara went 2-5 with his 15th home run of the season. The 20-year-old has homered in back-to-back days.
• Juan Mora finished 2-4 with his sixth home run of the season. 
• Michael Arias pitched three shutout innings to open the game. The righty has a 4.50 ERA in Single-A.

Transactions:

• Right-handed pitcher Oliver Roque was promoted from the ACL Cubs to Single-A Myrtle Beach.
• The South Bend Cubs activated right-handed pitcher Bailey Reid.