It was a hot and sticky Wednesday in mid-July, as the South Bend Cubs were going through pre-game drills. In the middle of the diamond, two infielders are snapping through plays with youthful exuberance. They are Carlos Sepulveda and Andruw Monasterio, and they are getting reacquainted after a long layoff. As members of the AZL Cubs last season, Sepulveda and Monasterio played 40 games together. But since the end of last season, it appeared that both players were on different developmental tracks.
When Spring Training broke, the 19-year old Sepulveda was assigned to South Bend straight out of the Rookie League.