River City Rascals third baseman Josh Silver was signed by the Chicago Cubs Monday morning and will be assigned to a minor league affiliate this week. Silver is the first Rascal since Taylor Ard last October and is the third Frontier League player to be sold to a Major League organization since the season began on May 12th.
The second year Rascal got off to the hottest start in the Frontier League and heads off to the minor leagues leading the Frontier League in batting average at .455. Through 20 games, Silver also placed in the top five in homeruns (5), RBI’s (19) and led the Rascals in multiple other categories. The California native started all 20 games at third base for the Rascals and finished with 35 hits, 10 more than anyone else on the team. Silver also scored 16 runs, had eight extra-base hits and slugged at a .701 mark which are all good for first on the team. The now Chicago Cub was the only Rascal to reach in all 20 games and held the longest hitting streak (11 games) ranging from May 25th-June 5th. He recorded at least one hit in every game but one and led the team with 13 multiple hit games and five multiple RBI games.
Silver’s professional career began in 2015 with the Rascals and he was a key part of their run to the 2015 Frontier League Championship series. During the regular season, Silver maintained a .263 average and played multiple defensive positions for manager Steve Brook. What he will most be remembered for is his postseason heroics against the Florence Freedom in the wild card game and game three against the Southern Illinois Minors.
With the bases loaded and the Rascals trailing to the Freedom in the eighth inning, Josh Silver cleared the bases with a double and gave the Rascals the 6-5 win. Five days later against Southern Illinois, Silver got into the Frontier League Record book as he became the first player to record two grand slams in a game. He accounted for eight of the nine runs and propelled the Rascals into the 2015 Frontier League Championship series.
His historic Rascals career came to end on Sunday, and despite the Rascals loss, Josh Silver’s final hit as a member of the Rascals was a home run to give the team a 2-1 lead. He will be missed by Rascals fans and teammates and the organization would like to wish the best of luck to him as he starts his new journey with the Chicago Cubs.
