What I’m Reading

• Right off the bat, I’ve gotta point out Alfonso Rivas and Scott Effross getting promoted to the majors. Both guys have experienced a wild ride to get to this point and now look to solidify roles with the big league club.

• Evan Altman interviewed Effross over at Cubs Insider a while back and laid out the process of converting to the sidearmer we see today.

• I wrote a piece at CI following an interview with Rivas back in July. He was one of the nicest guys I’ve talked to since I began my minor league coverage years ago, and he is poised to fill a big role at first base.

• Last week was a wild one on the farm, and the storylines to continue to grow.

What I’m Watching

• Before being scratched from a start late in the week, Kevin Made was tearing it up on both sides of the ball. He chipped in a few dazzling plays at shortstop and was hitting the ball for extra bases to no end.

• Owen Caissie has arrived in full-season ball and he is glorious.

• I can’t commend the work done by the Myrtle Beach Pelicans enough. Their social team, broadcast coverage, and game day experience is top notch. This season, their highlight videos have been next-level.

• I’ve watched this video of James Triantos swinging damn near 75 times.

What I’m Tweeting

• I mentioned Rivas’ debut up above, but if you want a quick rundown of who he is as a player, I’ve got you covered.

• Bryce Windham has flown way under the radar this year. He got off to a bit of a rough start to begin the season before hitting the IL for quite some time. But since returning from injury, the catcher/second baseman has been tearing it up. Plus, he basically never whiffs.

What’s Catching My Eye

• The Smokies squeezed in two games last week before getting the remainder of their series with Chattanooga canned because of COVID protocols. Flash forward to this week, the first two games of their series with the Rocket City Trash Pandas were also cancelled. Hopefully we’ll see the guys that were placed on the IL come back healthy very soon and praying that they don’t have lasting effects of COVID.

• Cristian Hernandez is lighting the world on fire in the Dominican Summer League. The big, big signing from last year’s class is putting up a .861 OPS in a place where the league-wide OPS is .670. Is that good? I’d say that’s good. Let’s get this kid stateside next season!