Minor League Weekend Recap: Goodbye Shota, Hello Horton?

[Billy Reich]

Image courtesy of © Allan Henry-Imagn Images

Every affiliate except Iowa got worse this weekend, with losses piling up across the board. Rain washed out Knoxville, South Bend got rocked, and Myrtle Beach got walked off. The organization's top prospects continue to shine through the dark, though. Matt Shaw is holding steady after his rebound; Moises Ballesteros just cannot stop raking; and Cade Horton flashed Ace material on the mound in his sixth start in Iowa. 

 

Cubs Affiliate Overview (May 3–4)

• Triple-A Iowa Cubs
  Series vs. Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays): Split 3–3
  Season Record: 16-13

• Double-A Tennessee Smokies
  Series vs. Rocket City Trash Pandas (Los Angeles Angels): Smokies drop series 2–3
  Season Record: 12–13

• High-A South Bend Cubs
  Series at Cedar Rapids Kernels (Minnesota Twins): Kernels win series 5–1
  Season Record: 7–20

• Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
  Series at Carolina Mudcats (Milwaukee Brewers): Down 2–3
  Season Record: 10–16

Triple-A Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 16-13
Series Opponent: Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays)
Series Standing: Series split 3-3

May 3: The Cubs took home a statement win on Saturday against the Bisons, 10-2. Starter Connor Noland pitched 5 innings of one run ball, moving his season ERA to a respectable 3.00. Noland, the Cubs’ 9th-round pick in 2022, has seen his stuff tick up this season. He just notched his third win, and has struck out 28 batters in 29 ⅔ innings pitched.

We had solid performances from the Triple-A bullpen shuttle squad, too. Luke Little pitched two scoreless innings, and Tom Cosgrove closed out the game with two strikeouts and no hits in the ninth. Expect to see both make relief appearances for the parent club again this season.

On offense, you might as well just dub this game the top prospect showcase for the Cubs. Owen Caissie went 1-for-4 with a double. Moises Ballesteros went 2-for-5 with an RBI. Kevin Alcántara went 3-for-4 with a double, and Ben Cowles tacked on a 3-for-4, 4-RBI showing. Cowles went yard, too—his third dinger of the season.

May 4: Mostly bad news on Sunday for the Cubs, as they dropped the series closer against the Bisons, 3-1. The Cubs were held to just 6 hits on the day, with Ballesteros losing his 19-game hitting streak. Jack Neely (the reliever acquired from New York for Mark Leiter Jr. last summer) continued his struggles by picking up the loss on the day, giving up a pair of runs in the ninth. Carlos Perez notched the only multi-hit game for the Cubs on Sunday, going 2-for-5 with a home run for the team's only RBI.

The big bright spot of the day (and the weekend) was another stellar performance for Cade Horton. He pitched six innings of two-hit ball, allowing only one run and striking out five. Horton has had a stellar start to the 2025 season. In six starts, he boasts an impressive 1.24 ERA, a 0.86 WHIP (walks + hits per inning pitched), and has struck out 33 batters in 29 innings of work.

Horton's impressive start came on the same day that the Cubs lost Shota Imanaga to injury. Imanaga left Sunday's game with a hamstring strain. While the Cubs await further imaging on their star pitcher, attention has turned to Horton to answer the call and make his way to the show.

Having a 23-year-old prospect make their big-league debut in place of your All-Star ace during a season in which the team is pushing for a major playoff run is a massive ask. While the Cubs have redeveloped their approach for minor-league arms (having starters go deeper into games and rack up a higher pitch count in the minors, for instance), Horton is still only 29 innings removed from an injury that sidelined him for the season last year. It’ll be interesting to see whether the Cubs go with Chris Flexen, a veteran starter recently recalled from Iowa, or if they want to give a shot to Horton—who’s only logged 151 ⅔ innings pitched in his pro career, only 34 of which came last season.

Double-A Tennessee Smokies

Season Record: 12-13
Series Opponent: Rocket City Trash Pandas (Los Angeles Angels)
Series Standing: Series loss 2-3

May 3: The Smokies were rained out against the Trash Pandas on Saturday. The game will not be rescheduled.

May 4: The Smokies lost both games of their doubleheader against the Trash Pandas, 6-3 and 8-2. 

The Cubs were held to 5 hits in game one, with the biggest standout at the plate being right fielder Jaylen Palmer. Palmer went 2-for-3 and launched his 4th home run of the season in the 7th inning, scoring 2 of the Smokies' 3 runs. Fellow outfielder Parker Chavers had the other multi-hit game, going 2-for-3, both hits being doubles.

Starter Grant Kipp took the loss (his second of the season), giving up 4 runs on 8 hits through 5 frames. Kipp dipped to a 4.03 ERA on the season after the rough outing.

The bullpen wasn’t much of a relief. The surging Brad Deppermann looked good in his one inning of relief, giving up 1 hit and no runs. The struggles continued though with Cayne Ueckert, who gave up 2 runs in his lone inning of work. His season ERA now sits at 12.00.

Game 2 was even worse for the Smokies, as they fell 8-3. The Smokies went down 8-0 before managing to put their only 2 runs on the board in the bottom of the 7th inning, on the back of a Pedro Ramirez double. Ramirez ended the game going 2-for-4 with a double and 2 RBIs. The 21-year-old third baseman has been a bright spot on the team, slashing .289/.352/.351 on the year. It’s nice to see the young infielder build on his solid performance last year in High A.

It was the pitching that struggled in game 2. Starter Antonio Santos had a nice outing, throwing 3 innings of shutout ball, but Nolan Clenney promptly gave up the lead, letting in 2 runs in just ⅓ of an inning pitched. Things would go further south later in the game, as Zac Leigh gave up 6 runs on 6 hits, striking out none in ⅔ innings of work to put the game out of reach in the 7th.

High-A South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 7-20
Series Opponent: Cedar Rapids Kernels (Minnesota Twins)
Series Standing: Cubs lose series 5-1

May 3: The South Bend Cubs dropped their game against the Kernels, 8-3. Starter Ryan Gallagher had issues early, giving up 2 runs in just 2 ⅔ innings pitched. Things didn’t go any better for relief man Connor Schultz who gave up 5 runs on 5 hits, adding 3 walks in his 2 ⅓  innings. The Cubs relievers then settled in with, Kenyi Perez and Sam Thoresen each keeping the Kernels off the board, but the damage had been done and the Cubs couldn’t mount any meaningful damage on the basepaths. 

Left fielder Andy Garriola had a two-run double in the 6th inning, but finished the day just 1-for-4. No Cub managed to notch more than one hit.

May 4: Things continued to go south for South Bend on Sunday, with a 9-1 loss at the hands of the Kernels. Cubs starters continue to struggle, this time with starter Kenten Egbert getting tagged for 4 runs in 4 innings of work, good enough to rack up his 3rd loss on the season. The trend continued with reliever Joe Naha, who gave up another 3 runs in just 1 inning pitched. 

Three Cubs logged multi-hit games, with rising star Ivan Brethowr going 2-for-4. Brethowr went hitless on Saturday, but has continued to show his resiliency and sits at a .907 OPS. Center fielder Carter Trice went 2-for-3 and logged the Cubs' only RBI of the day, on a first-inning single.

Reginald Preciado went 2-for-4, as well. This is Preciado's fifth season in the Cubs farm system, and most Cubs fans have had their eye on him for a while as he was acquired with top prospect Owen Caissie in the Yu Darvish Trade. Preciado is still just 21, and he’s off to his best start yet after three subpar seasons in the minors. He’ll hope to continue to build on his early season success.

Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 10-16
Series Opponent:  Carolina Mudcats (Milwaukee Brewers)
Series Standing: Pelicans Drop series 3-2

May 3: Myrtle Beach lost an absolute heartbreaker on Saturday, with a 4-3 walkoff loss to the Mudcats. Starter JP Wheat put up a valiant effort with a five-inning, one-run outing to keep the Pelicans in the game early. Wheat walked one and struck out an impressive 6 batters, moving his ERA to 3.36 on the season and racking up 25 Ks in 22 ⅓ innings of work.

Center fielder Alexey Lumpuy gave the Pelicans a 3-1 lead over the Mudcats in the top of the 4th inning with a two-run home run, his second of the season. Cole Reynolds earned a hold in the 6th despite giving up a run on a wild pitch to make the game 3-2. Reynolds looked good otherwise, giving up just a single hit in his 3 innings of relief.

Closer Mathew Peters couldn’t get it done, though, giving up a walk to start the inning, then an RBI single and a walkoff grounder to end the game 4-3.

May 4: The Pelicans were rained out on Sunday. The game will not be made up.

Notable Promotions / Injury Notes

• Iowa Cubs release RHP Trevor Richards

• ACL Cubs placed RHP Ben Johnson on the 7-day IL

• ACL Cubs placed RHP Yander Maria on the 7-day IL

• South Bend Cubs sent Grayson Moore on a rehab assignment

• ACL Cubs placed SS Fernando Cruz on the 7-day IL

• ACL Cubs placed RHP Thomas Mangus on the 7-day IL

• ACL Cubs placed LHP Wilson Cunningham on the 7-day IL

• Myrtle Beach Pelicans sent RHP Landon Ginn on a rehab assignment

• ACL Cubs placed SS Derniche Valdez on the 7-day IL

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System Standouts of the Week

Hitter:
Kevin Alcantara (Triple-A Iowa) – 4-for-8 with 2 doubles and 6 total bases over the weekend.

Pitcher:
Cade Horton (Triple-A Iowa) – 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 5 K ; Horton continues to shine this season in Iowa and his pitch count continues to creep up. With a 1.24 ERA and a 70 grade slider, expect to see Horton pitching on the North Side this season.

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