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23: Bote Comes in Clutch, Davis Strikes Out

Originally posted on On Tap Sports Net | By Rob Wegley | Last updated 4/2/23

As the Iowa Cubs move to 2-0 on the season, we’re highlighting the pluses and minuses from their second game.

Welcome back to Around the Farm! If you missed the first edition of the 2023 season, make sure to check it out. The Iowa Cubs are still the only Chicago Cubs' affiliate team playing at the moment, so we’ll be brief again. Iowa came from behind to collect a victory in extra innings on Saturday. It was an exciting game, so we’re pumped to share some highlights. Let’s get after it.

Triple-A Iowa: 4-3 Victory Over Columbus Clippers

Biggest Yes: David Bote — 2/2, 2B (1), RBI (3), 3 BB

Bote, 29, has not been able to meet the expectations put upon him when he signed a five-year, $15 million contract extension back in 2019. As such, he finds himself playing in Triple-A and off the 40-man roster. Still, a player who was expected to be a key role player in the majors should absolutely rake in the minors, and Bote is off to a hot start this year.

Over the first two games of the season, Bote is slashing .429/.600/1.000 with a home run (hit Friday), a double, and three RBIs. It’s almost as small of a sample size as you can get, but it is an encouraging change from Bote’s recent performances in Triple-A.

In 2022, Bote slashed .252/.319/.385 in 38 games. In his brief stops with Iowa in 2019 and 2021 (three and five games, respectively), he hit around .100. Therefore, Bote coming out to start the 2023 season raking is a great sign.

He was on base every at bat on Saturday, and his double came at a clutch time, tying the game in the ninth inning with two outs. We’ll take that.

Biggest Yikes: Brennen Davis — 0/3, HBP, 2 SO, CS

Brennen Davis is a prospect with a ton of hype. I had him as my second-best prospect in the Cubs’ system before Spring Training. Davis struggled immensely last season, but it was easy to attribute that to the fact that he needed to have surgery on his back. Now, after getting more time to rehab and be exposed to competitive baseball, it’s concerning to see Davis get off to such a cold start.

Over the first two games of the season in Iowa, Davis is slashing .000/.222/.000. That’s, er, not at all promising. Again, this is a super small sample size, and there is a lot of baseball that still needs to be played before we can make more conclusive observations. Still, Davis looks a little slow and timid at the plate, he’s missing baseballs pretty badly, and he’s producing outs even when he gets on base.

I still have a ton of faith in Davis, but his first two games have been anything but promising. We will have to see how he turns things around.

This article first appeared on On Tap Sports Net and was syndicated with permission.

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