Brennen Davis is one of the best prospects in baseball and he’s knocking on the door of making his arrival to Wrigley Field. The Cubs’ top prospect got his first start at Triple-A and got off to a fast start.
Davis homered in his first at-bat for the I-Cubs on Tuesday, but he didn’t stop there. The Cubs’ top prospect launched another homer in his second at-bat, putting a cap on the Triple-A debut.
“Happy for Brennan going up having a little bit of success early on. That’s great,” manager David Ross said before the Cubs’ 6-5 loss. “I think that just proves the confidence we have in him and his ability to be a really good player. … The hardest part about this game is being consistent and doing it for a long period of time.
“We’ll see how he handles it and I think we all have high hopes for him and definitely a quality human being with a lot of talent.”
Davis is ranked as the No. 14 prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline.
Alec Mills allows 4 ER, Cubs walked-off
Right-hander Alec Mills got himself back on track in his last outing and looked locked early against the Phillies on Wednesday. Mills was rolling through Philadelphia’s lineup and didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning. But that’s where the Phillies would strike.
Mills allowed his first run of the game on a double play that gave the Phillies a 1-0 lead. After a walk kept the inning alive, he allowed a two-run homer to Freddy Galvis to make it 3-0.
The two teams would go back and forth late in the game as catcher Robinson Chirinos tied it at 4 with a two-run shot in the eighth inning. All-Star J.T. Realmuto jumped on the first pitch he saw from right-hander Codi Heuer and lined a solo shot to the right-field seats, giving the Phillies a 5-4 lead.
Matt Duffy would bring the Cubs back in the ninth with a lead-off homer in the ninth inning, tying the game at 5. But the Phillies would get the last laugh, scoring the game winning run on a passed ball as Trevor Megill’s breaking ball got past Chirinos.
“It’s hard to get crossed up I think with nobody on second base,” Ross said after the game. “It looked like just a breaking ball that backed up. Tried to rip it pretty hard there and backed up on Trevor.”
Hoerner (right oblique) could return this weekend
It’s been a long time since Nico Hoerner was in the Cubs lineup, but things are pointing in the right direction for the infielder. Hoerner is currently on a rehab assignment in Iowa and will play one more game on Wednesday before the team decides his next step on Thursday.
Ross said that a return this weekend when the team faces the Brewers in Milwaukee is a possibility. Hoerner has been on the 10-day injured list since July 29 with a right oblique strain.
He’s slashing .313/.388/.388 with 10 doubles, 14 RBI and 15 walks in 39 games this season.
“I want to give him some [more] at-bats,” Ross said. “He was out for a while. So the weekend is hopeful. I could say that maybe.”