Happ, Candelario go deep for Iowa in second straight game
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A pair of top Cubs prospects continued their hot start to the Minor League season on Saturday, as Ian Happ (Cubs' No. 2, No. 26 overall) and Jeimer Candelario (Cubs' No. 4, No. 93 overall) each homered for the second consecutive game to help lead Triple-A Iowa to a 10-9 win over Oklahoma City.
Happ, a switch-hitter batting from the left side, belted a two-run homer well over the left-field wall in the third inning to extend the Cubs' lead to 5-2 over the Dodgers on Saturday night. He finished the game 1-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk to go with the two RBIs. On Friday, the 2015 first-round Draft pick hit his first Triple-A home run, a solo shot in a 7-5 win over Oklahoma City.
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Candelario hit a three-run shot to left in the first inning on Saturday before adding a two-RBI double in the fifth, increasing his RBI total to a Pacific Coast League-leading 10. The 23-year-old third baseman also hit a first-inning homer in Friday's win.
Happ is coming off a tremendous Cactus League performance during Spring Training with the Cubs, as he batted .383 with seven doubles and five home runs in 60 at-bats. In 134 games between Class A Advanced Myrtle Beach and Double-A Tennessee last season, Happ hit .279/.365/.445 with 15 home runs.
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Candelario split the 2016 season between Tennessee and Iowa, batting .283/.376/.464 with 13 homers in 132 games. He was briefly called up in July, appearing in five games for the Cubs and going 1-for-11 with a single.