Article: Chicago Cubs Minor League Recap: Games of April 9-14

[Jason Ross]

The Chicago Cubs are currently getting key contributions from rookies Michael Busch, Ben Brown, and Luke Little. How has the next wave of Cubs' prospects faired in their second week of action? And who might be next?

Image courtesy of © GREG SWIERCZ / USA TODAY NETWORK

With all of the excitement of the home opener, the sweep of the Rockies, and taking two of three from the Dodgers, it would be entirely understandable if you missed that last weekend was also the first weekend of a full Cubs minor-league slate. How did the young Cubs fare?

Iowa Cubs (4-2)
On the road against the St. Paul Saints, the Iowa Cubs kept the good times rolling (at least in the win column) by taking four of six from the Minnesota Twins' affiliate. The Cubs will be back at home this week, playing the Reds' Triple-A team, the Louisville Bats, as they look to win a third straight series. 

?Jameson Taillon: 3.2 IP, 4 K, 1 BB, 0 R, 0 ER: In what will be his last minor-league tune-up before making his return to the Cubs, Taillon looked very sharp. Throwing just under 70 pitches, Taillon blanked the Saints for almost four innings. While he's still working on his stamina, his return will be good news for the Cubs, who have had a skeleton crew for a rotation for most of the 2024 season so far.

?Luis Vazquez: 324 wRC+ 21.7 K%, 17.1 BB%, 3 HR: That'll do, Luis, that'll do. The shortstop, who was added to the 40-man roster this winter, keeps putting pressure on the Cubs to eventually give him a look at the MLB level. In many organizations, that time would have come by now, but being blocked by Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner isn't making it easy. With that said, if an injury were to occur, it'd likely be Vázquez getting a call to fill in, at least partially. 

?Matt Mervis: 280 wRC+, 34.8 K%, 4.3 BB%, 4 HR: Matt Mervis had a really good week in the power department, hitting four home runs. The strikeout rate is a bit troublesome, but overall on the season, the man called Mash has had a nice start. I'm giving it a few extra weeks to start to look into the Statcast data to see if there's been an appreciable change in approach, but Mervis is doing well to force himself into a position to be called up if an injury requires it.

? Pete-Crow Armstrong: -56 wRC+, 57.9 K%, 0 BB%: Eleven strikeouts in four games will land you on this list. Woof. There's not much more to say about a no-good, rough, week for the center fielder. Let's just hope it's a blip.

?‍⚕️ Kohl Franklin: If you missed it, Franklin experienced forearm discomfort in his first start of Triple-A. I'm not going to post the video, but it didn't look good. With the recent addition of Julio Teheran on a minor-league contract, I fear the worst for the right-hander. For someone who's worked very hard this year on his command/control and who will be a minor-league free agent at season's end, I sincerely hope it's not a UCL tear. It didn't look good.

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Tennessee Smokies (2-3)
Weather played a large part in the Smokies' trip to Chattanooga this week. With wet and stormy weather early in the week, the Smokies lost two of five, including dropping both sides of a doubleheader on Saturday. The Smokies return home this week to host the Montgomery Biscuits. 

? Matt Shaw: 314 wRC+, 25 K%, 20 BB%, 1 3b, 2 HR: Shaw's week was so good that when I originally looked at his stat line, I thought his 314 wRC+ was so high that it had to be his batting average. The K's are up a wee bit right now, but so are the walks. Regardless, Shaw looks like a machine at the Double-A level and I wonder just how long the Cubs will go before they have seen enough and move him to Iowa. 

?Moises Ballesteros: 224 wRC+, 11.8 K%, 17.6 BB%, 1 2b, 1 HR: Much better week from Ballesteros. Big Mo hit his first Double-A home run (a shot down at his ankles, it felt like) and walked more than he struck out.

? Kevin Alcantara: -24 wRC+, 35 K%, 13 BB%: Alcantára does not have a hit yet on the 2024 season. We're just a handful of games in, so there's no reason to panic, but I think we can all agree this isn't the best start for the Jaguar. Hopefully, a good week will come next and he'll get off and running.

? James Triantos: -17 wRC+, 15 K%, 10 BB%: When you lose three of five, it's probable that your best players struggled. In this case, some of the culprits are James Triantos and the aforementioned Alcantára. Triantos had a good first series, but didn't crush it this week. That's okay! Hopefully, next week is a bounceback for him and the club in general.

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South Bend Cubs (2-4) 
South Bend had their first home series of the year spoiled by the visiting Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. Much like Tennessee, South Bend had to deal with rainouts and a doubleheader. Upward and forward, the Cubs go on the road to Beloit this week. 

? Brett Bateman: 123 wRC+ 30.4 K%, 21.7 BB%, 2 2b: The strikeout rate is a bit high, but Bateman has barely struck out over his MiLB career, so I'll ignore it. Bateman, a favorite of NSBB, has started the year well. I still have some hesitations over his profile, but the more he hits, the more I'm a believer. 

?‍♂️ Jefferson Rojas: 202 wRC+, 4.5 K%, 0 BB%, 1 3b, 1 HR: At this point, you're probably wondering why the shrug here; Rojas crushed it at the plate. He's also up to five errors on the season. So the good news is that Rojas is killing it at the plate, but he's been a bit shaky defensively. His sticking at shortstop is a coin flip; he might shift to second or third base down the road, but if he can stay at short, all the better. Hopefully, small mistakes early in the year are just that and will be ironed out. The bat is playing well above his age group.

? Will Sanders: 2 IP, 2 K, 3 BB, 3 R, 3 ER: Making his first start since being drafted with the Cubs, Sanders struggled with command and control. The real hope here is that he's just warming up and we'll shrug this off until later. It's not a terrible outing, but it's not good. It's just one. There are many more to go for Sanders.

? Tyler Schlaffer: 2.2 IP, 2 K, 4 BB, 4 R, 4 ER: On one hand, it's really good to see Schlaffer making appearances again, as he missed the entire 2023 season. Schlaffer had some helium in 2022, so the hope is that he can recapture some of that in 2024. Sadly, this appearance wasn't it and he's still rusty. No worries yet, lots of time!

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Myrtle Beach (1-5)
Making a trip down to face the Columbia Fireflies in Columbia, Georgia, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans struggled to get off the ground. Winning just one of six, it was a bad week for the Pelicans overall. Next up, a home series against Kannapolis. 

? Reginal Preciado: 191 wRC+, 17.9 K%, 3.5 BB%, 1 2b: Okay, there still isn't a ton of power or plate discipline being shown, but this is much better from Preciado, who's struggled since the Yu Darvish trade. There were high hopes for the Panamanian a few years ago, and he's struggled. Hopefully, a quick start will get Preciado promoted to South Bend and get his career back on track. Good week!

? Juan Bello: 3.1 IP, 5 K, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 ER: Another solid outing for Bello. The right-hander is up to 12 strikeouts in just over six innings. The 20-year-old is starting to become a name to keep tabs on based on his first two starts of the season.

? Drew Bowser: -63 wRC+, 40 K%, 0 BB%: The 20th-round selection out of Stanford struggled in his professional debut in Myrtle Beach. Struggling to make contact, the first baseman is going to need to hit if he's got any future as an MLB hitter. Let's hope as the year warms up, so, too, does Bowser.

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[CubinNY]

MB looks to have a rough year. It's too bad MLB has made the decisions they have regarding the minors. 

[Jason Ross]

1 hour ago, CubinNY said:

MB looks to have a rough year. It's too bad MLB has made the decisions they have regarding the minors. 

I think the help at MB is coming, but it'll be a bit. Mule, Wiggins, Rosin, Verniche should all start to make their way to the team over the next few weeks/months. There's a few interesting names from the 2023 draft, but they haven't fully hit their stride, like Carter Trice and Bowser. The hope is that those guys graduate, but then get replaced with the next round.