Cubs Minor League Weekend in Review: Jefferson Rojas is Really That Dude, No-Hitter Watch

[Billy Reich]

Image courtesy of © MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK

The affiliates were on fire this weekend, bringing us exciting games and racking up wins across all levels. Teams went almost perfectly, with South Bend picking up the sole loss. Despite missing a clean weekend sweep, fans were spoiled with action across the board. South Bend swept their doubleheader to leapfrog into first place. Myrtle Beach and South Bend had no-hit bids running, and Iowa slugged their way to an extra-inning win. Pitching was the name of the game this weekend as Cubs’ minor league teams kept their opponents to one run or less in half of their games, including a two-hit team performance from Iowa on Sunday.

Cubs Affiliate Overview (May 10–11)

• Triple-A Iowa Cubs
  Series at Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers): Split 3–3
  Season Record: 19-16

• Double-A Tennessee Smokies
  Series at Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati Reds): Smokies win series 4–2
  Season Record: 16–15

• High-A South Bend Cubs
  Series vs. Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres): Cubs lose series 4–2
  Season Record: 9–24

• Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
  Series vs. Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles): Series split 3–3
  Season Record: 13–19

Triple-A Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 19-16
Series Opponent: Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers)
Series Standing: Series split 3-3

May 10: Down 1-3 in the series on Saturday, the Cubs slugged their way to a statement win against the Mud Hens, 7-6 in extras. The team picked up four of their seven runs via the long ball, with Third Baseman Chase Strumpf leading the way. Strumpf went 2-for-4, 4 RBIs on the day, with both hits being home runs. The second of which came as the game-tying run in the top of the 9th. Right Fielder Owen Caissie joined in on the fun, launching the third homer of the day, good for his sixth of the young season.

It wasn’t all power, though, as Moises Ballesteros added two hits of his own, going 2-for-5. Not only has Ballesteros raised his batting average to a scorching .368, he’s only struck out 16 times in 150 plate appearances. The front office brass will have to think long and hard about his future. He leaves nothing left to prove at the minor league level when it comes to his bat, but he grades poorly on the defensive end, and with first base, catcher, and DH locked up in the Majors, it’ll be interesting to see what they do with him moving forward.

Despite the final score, Cubs’ pitching was a real bright spot of this game, holding the Mud Hens to just one run on two hits entering the eighth inning of play. Through the first seven innings, the only pitcher to allow a hit was starter Frankie Scalzo Jr., who finished his day after going two innings pitched, allowing two hits, both of which were solo home runs.

From there, the Cubs decided to showcase their strong “shuttle team” - the group of relievers who tend to bounce between Triple-A and the Major League Club in an effort to keep arms fresh and competitive in the show. Ryan Brasier, Nate Pearson, Luke Little, and Brooks Kriske combined for five innings, no runs, no hits, one walk, and five strikeouts before Jack Neely came in to give up three runs in the eighth and notched just one out. Brandon Hughes came in to close out the inning and looked strong with two punch-outs, but also gave up a solo shot to tie the game.

The “Shuttle Team” finished strong, though, with Ethan Roberts striking out two in the ninth and Phil Bickford ringing up two of his own to grab the save in the bottom of the 10th.

Iowa continues to showcase its strong relievers this season with Luke Little, Ryan Brasier, and Ethan Roberts all with sub-1.5 ERAs. Expect to see each of them make their rotations in the Majors to provide some length and relief to a struggling Major League Bullpen.

May 11: Pitching shined again on Sunday as the Cubs took home a 3-1 win and managed to split the series after being down early. Three pitchers on the Cubs combined to allow just two hits on the day. Starter Peter Solomon started the day off strong, throwing four innings of two-hit ball, and his only run coming in as unearned. 

Reliever Keegan Thompson came in to piggyback off of Solomon, tossing three innings and accumulating no hits of his own. The Cubs have been working Thompson in long relief this season, with eight of his ten appearances being two innings or longer. Things seem to be clicking as well, as he currently holds possession of a 2.59 ERA. Riley Martin came in to grab the save, tacking on two innings of no-hit ball of his own.

On the offensive side of the ball, three Cubs managed to have multi-hit games. Ballesteros went 2-for-4 (shocker), James Triantos went 3-for-4 with a double, and Center Fielder Christian Franklin couldn’t let Triantos take all the credit, so he went 3-for-4 with a double to match.

Double-A Tennessee Smokies

Season Record: 16-15
Series Opponent: Chattanooga Lookouts (Cincinnati Reds)
Series Standing: Series win 4-2

May 10: The Smokies were rained out against the Lookouts on Saturday. The game will be rescheduled as part of a doubleheader on Sunday.

May 11: Last week, I had to write about the fact that the Smokies lost both games of their Sunday doubleheader. This week, though, the Smokies smoked the Lookouts in both games on Sunday with a combined score of 14-3 (9-2 Game One, 5-1 Game Two). The Smokies were firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball on Sunday. 

In game one, starter Grant Kipp threw four innings, giving up three hits and just one run to go along with six punch-outs and four walks. Robert Kwiatkowski came in to relieve Kipp and tacked on one inning, two strikeouts, and allowed just a single hit.

The offense erupted in the second inning, where the Smokies put up a crooked seven runs. Center fielder Brett Bateman started the scoring off with a two-run double and would finish the day 3-for-4 with 3 RBIs and a walk. BJ Murray Jr. (1-for-4) added on with a two-run single to center field, and Second Baseman Connor Joyce (1-for-3) joined in on the fun with a three-run homer to bring the score up to seven.

Will Sanders took the bump in game two and had a stellar performance, continuing on his great start to the season. Sanders went five innings and allowed just two hits. More impressively, he also struck out seven and didn’t give up a single run. Cayne Ueckert came in to pitch an inning of scoreless relief as well. Don’t let his 9.82 ERA fool you. Since a disastrous first appearance this year, he’s had five scoreless outings, and his WHIP is down to just 1.00 in the month of May. He’s also struck out 15 in just 11 innings of work.

It took a while for the Smokies to get going on the offensive side of the ball, but ShortStop Hayden Cantrelle got the team going with an RBI single in the fifth. The team put up two more runs by way of a sacrifice fly in the fifth and sixth, but it was right fielder Darius Hill who put up a two-run homer in the seventh to put the game away. Hill has had an interesting start to the season, between being assigned to the Cubs, then to the developmental list, and then back to Double-A, but he’s made the most of his time with the Smokies as he boasts a team-leading .941 OPS.

The win was good enough to push the Smokies into first place on Sunday, leapfrogging the Lookouts. The margin is tight, just half a game up, but they’ll look to keep the good times rolling as they take on last-place Columbus next.

High-A South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 9-24
Series Opponent: Fort Wayne TinCaps (San Diego Padres)
Series Standing: Cubs lose series 4-2

May 10: Once again, the pitching is a ray of sunshine across the affiliates as the Cubs take home the win on Saturday, 5-0 over the TinCaps. Fans got their hopes up as the team took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning off the back of starter Ryan Gallagher, who set the tone by striking out the first three batters of the game. Gallagher put up his best start yet, going six innings pitched, allowing zero hits and striking out eight TinCaps en route to dropping his ERA to 3.38 and picking up his first win of the season.

Luis Rujano came in to relieve Gallagher in the seventh, and while he went on to strike out three and allowed zero runs in his two innings of work, he also killed the no-hitter by allowing a single to the first batter he faced. 

On offense, the Cubs spread the love with the runs with Jefferson Rojas, Edgar Alvaraz, Miguel Pabon, and Reginald Preciado all putting RBIs on the board. Christian Hernandez (Cubs #11 Prospect) continued his hot start to the season by going 2-for-5. Hernandez got off to a slow start last season in High-A, but he’s been making strides this year and is slashing .294 / .357 / .452.

May 11: The Cubs spoiled the weekend fun on Sunday by taking home the only affiliate loss of the weekend with a 10-3 loss. The run of great starts couldn’t last forever, and starter Kenten Egbert took the brunt of it. Egbert picked up his fourth loss of the season on Sunday after pitching for four innings and allowing seven runs and six hits. He had some nasty stuff going, striking out six, but left too many balls in the zone and got hammered on them. Johzan Oquendo came in for relief in the fifth, but things didn’t go much better for him either, as he let in another two runs, giving up a double and a homer in his inning of work. Cubs relievers settled in from there on out, combining for four innings of three-hit and no-run ball, but the damage was already done.

The Cubs hitters were slow at the dish as well, racking up just five hits on the day. Jefferson Rojas put on his best Superman impression and tried to carry the team on the back of his 3-for-4, 3 RBI performance, but it wasn’t enough to get the rest of the lineup going. Rojas hit two home runs and scored all three of the team's runs. Rojas, the Cubs' #6 prospect, has been turning heads this season. It’s only been 21 games, but his slug has jumped 177 points. All eyes will be on the top prospect to see if the power surge is the real deal.

Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 13-19
Series Opponent:  Delmarva Shorebirds (Baltimore Orioles)
Series Standing: Pelicans split series 3-3

May 10: The Pelicans took home a tight win over the Shore Birds on Saturday, 3-2. The trend of unhittable (literally) starting pitching continued as starter JP Wheat came out and pitched an impressive six innings and didn’t give up a single hit. Wheat has been fascinating to watch this season, as he has a nasty arsenal and has struck out 30 batters in 28 innings pitched this year. However, he’s also struggling to find the zone, giving up 19 walks in that time frame. That was on full display Saturday as well, where he struck out five and walked five over his six innings.

Mathew Peters gave fans a scare, letting the Shore Birds come within one run of a tie in the eighth inning by surrendering two runs, but Ethan Bell came in to close out the inning, and Jackson Kirkpatrick closed the game in the ninth by retiring the side.

The Pelicans did most of their damage in the fifth inning. Alex Lumpuy led off with a triple and was driven in by a Yahil Melendez single. Right Fielder Leonel Espinoza capped off the run with an RBI double. Espinoza looked great on Saturday, going 2-for-4 with the RBI Double.

May 11: The Pelicans did it all on Sunday with an 11-0 romp over Delmarva, truly showcasing they’re the winner in the Battle of the Birds. I mean, seriously, have you seen a shorebird next to a Pelican?

Pelican pitchers combined for nine innings of no-run ball, striking out 11 and walking only five. Cole Reynolds stood out on the day, picking up the win with his two-inning, four-strikeout performance. 

The real fun was on offense as the Pelicans strung together 10 hits and 11 runs via the small ball. They didn’t put up a single home run and only two doubles, but they were a menace on the base paths. They got ‘em on, got ‘em over, and got ‘em in. Four Pelicans had multi-hit games on Sunday. Cameron Sisneros went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs, Cole Mathis went 2-for-3 with 2 RBIs and a double,  and Jose Escobar went 2-for-5 with 2 RBIs and three runs.

Notable Promotions / Injury Notes

• South Bend Cubs released RHP Carlo Reyes

• SS Christian Olive assigned to Myrtle Beach Pelicans from South Bend Cubs

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System Standouts of the Week

Hitter:
Jefferson Rojas (Double-A Knoxville) – 4-for-8 with two home runs and 4 RBIs over the weekend.

Pitcher:
Ryan Gallagher (Double-A Knoxville) – 6 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 8 K; Gallagher is settling in this season, posting a 2.08 ERA and 11 Ks in his two starts in May.

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