Candelario breaks out in Smokies' romp

Photo credit: Brian McLeod/MiLB.com

Jeimer Candelario needed less than a week last year to justify his midseason promotion to Double-A Tennessee. This season had been a different story -- until Tuesday.

The Cubs' No. 7 prospect, who hit safely in 17 of his first 19 starts with the Smokies in 2015, fell on hard times in his first 18 games this season. He'd struck out 16 times after fanning 21 times in 46 games following his promotion last July.

"You control what you control and strikeouts are going to happen," Candelario said. "You just have to get your pitch to hit and take your walks, like I'm doing now. I've got to keep working hard and be able to get the mistakes."

After languishing below the Mendoza line for much of April, Candelario broke out in Tennessee's 11-2 win at Mobile. The 22-year-old switch-hitter went 2-for-3 with his second homer of the year and six RBIs, more than doubling his season total and raising his OPS 98 points to .722.

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