Madison, Wis. – Former Madison Mallard Rafael Lopez made his Major League debut for the Chicago Cubs on Tuesday, September 2, 2014. Lopez is the fourth player in Mallards history to reach the major league level joining Ryan Spilbourghs, Matt Pagnozzi, and Phill Gosselin.
Lopez, who played collegiately at Florida State, played for the Mallards in 2010 and was drafted by the Chicago Cubs in the 16th round of the 2011 MLB draft. In his one season with the Mallards he hit .344 with four home runs and 30 RBI in 37 games played.
In his Major League debut on Tuesday night against the Milwaukee Brewers, Lopez entered the game as a pinch hitter. He grounded out to first base in a two pitch at-bat against Brewers reliever Alfredo Figaro.
Lopez began his minor league career in 2011 with the Cubs rookie level team in the Arizona league. He was there for three games before being promoted to to Boise in the Northwest League. Lopez hit a combined .319 over 59 games between the two teams and added six home runs, nine doubles, and 39 RBI.
In 2012, Lopez appeared with three teams over the course of the season. He began in rookie ball for four games before being promoted to the Lo A Midwest League with the Peoria Chiefs. He played 31 games with Peoria and was moved up to the Hi A Daytona Cubs in the Florida State League. He finished the season in Daytona, playing in 35 games. He finished 2012 with a .279 batting average with 28 RBI, 19 doubles and 31 walks. He also sported a .983 fielding percentage behind the plate.
Lopez spend the entire 2013 season in the AA Southern League with the Tennessee Smokies. In 95 games, he hit .247 with eight home runs and 43 RBI. He started 2014 in Tennessee and was promoted after 45 games to the AAA Pacific Coast League with the Iowa Cubs. Lopez appeared in 61 games with Iowa before being called up to the Chicago on September 2. Between the two teams Lopez was hitting .290 with five home runs and 51 RBI.
The Madison Mallards are a member of the finest developmental league for elite college baseball players, the Northwoods League. Playing its 21st season of summer collegiate baseball, the Northwoods League is the largest organized baseball league in the world with 18 teams, drawing significantly more fans, in a friendly ballpark experience, than any league of its kind. A valuable training ground for coaches, umpires and front office staff, more than 115 Northwoods League players have advanced to Major League Baseball, including Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer (DET) and MLB All-Stars Chris Sale (CWS), Jordan Zimmermann (WAS), Curtis Granderson (NYM), Allen Craig (STL) and Ben Zobrist (TB). All league games are viewable live the Northwoods League YouTube channel. For more information, visit MallardsBaseball.com
