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Josh Harrison
Turning the page on the calendar can be a cathartic experience. For Harrison, going from June to July helped him knock off a nasty slump that had plagued him throughout the third month of the season. After going 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI against St. Louis on Tuesday, Harrison has now hit safely in six-straight games, lifting his average marginally from .280 to .282. He is batting .280 over the course of the mini-hit streak and has also smacked three doubles and driven in six runs. His slugging percentage during the last week (.400) was better than his overall mark for the season (.385). By getting on base more often, Harrison also got to try out the ol’ cleats, snagging a pair of bags. He now has 14 stolen bases on the season and looks well on his way to eclipsing the career-high of 18 he had in 2014, his lone All-Star campaign.
That brings us to some not so awesome news. Unfortunately, Harrison will not be participating in the NL All-Star Game in San Diego. It was a long shot that he would be voted in, especially since Cubs fans stuffed the ballot and Harrison went ice cold in the final month of voting, but its still a bit of a disappointment.
Ian Happ
Speaking of All-Stars, Happ’s promotion to Double-A continues to be an excellent move by the Cubs. After crushing just about every pitch he saw in his first few times on the diamond for the Tennessee Smokies, Happ has cooled slightly, going 17-for-38 over the last 10 games but just 8-for-27 (.296) in the last week. That speaks to how well Happ has been hitting, since anyone in their right mind would be more than fine with a shortstop, or any player for that matter, batting .296. Happ, who has a slash line of .452/.490/.690 in 12 games for the Smokies, has gotten the attention of the overall Cubs organization, as he was named the franchise’s minor league player of the month for June.
Tony Campana
Last week, Campana was released by the Washington Nationals only to be signed to a minor league deal by the Chicago White Sox on June 30. Campana signed a previous minor league deal with the White Sox in December of 2014 but he was cut the following March after tearing his ACL during spring training. In six games for the Charlotte Knights, the Triple-A affiliate of the White Sox, Campana is batting just .217 with two RBI and three runs scored. He managed to hit just .225 in 43 games with the Syracuse Chiefs before being cut by the Nationals.
Connor Walsh
The left-hander is listed on the seven-day DL for the Winston-Salem Dash and has not made an appearance since June 18.
And introducing... Ryan Atkinson
The former Bearcat pitcher signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 2. Atkinson graduated in 2015 and went unsigned before pitching in the Independent Frontier League for the Evansville Otters. He made his first appearance for the Missoula Osprey, the Rookie League affiliate of the Diamondbacks, on July 4, celebrating Independence Day with five innings of shutout work. In his senior year, Atkinson posted a 4.82 ERA in 71 innings.