Minor League Weekend Recap: Can Kevin Alcantara Unlock his Power?

[Billy Reich]

Image courtesy of © Allan Henry-Imagn Images

It was a fun weekend all around for the affiliates. The Cubs’ top outfield prospects led an Iowa resurgence, Knoxville tossed back-to-back shutouts, Myrtle Beach split the weekend away series, and despite consecutive losses, South Bend showed some fight against the Lugnuts.

Cubs Affiliate Overview (May 17–18)

• Triple-A Iowa Cubs
  Series vs. St. Paul Saints (Minnesota Twins): Cubs win series 5-2
  Season Record: 24-18

• Double-A Tennessee Smokies
  Series vs. Columbus Clingstones (Atlanta Braves): Smokies split series 3-3
  Season Record: 19–18

• High-A South Bend Cubs
  Series at Lansing Lugnuts (Athletics): Lugnuts win series 5–1
  Season Record: 10-29

• Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
  Series at Lynchburg Hillcats (Cleveland Guardians): Pelicans drop series 2-4
  Season Record: 15–23

Triple-A Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 24-18
Series Opponent: Paul Saints (Minnesota Twins)
Series Standing: Cubs win 5-2

May 17: The Cubs surged to a 10-9 win over the Saints on Saturday on the backs of their top outfield prospects, who put on a clinic for fans. Owen Caissie will be remembered as the walk-off hero for roping a single into the gap for the walk-off win in the bottom of the 9th, but it was Kevin Alcantara who stole the show through the first eight innings. Alcantara, the Cubs’ #5 prospect, drove in five of Iowa's 10 runs. He finished the day going 3-for-5 with a single, a double, and a three-run home run. It was nice to see some pop in Alcantara's bat - fans have been waiting for his power to develop in Triple A, with his slugging sitting at just .388 on the season. He was slugging 81 points higher by the end of last season, so the hope is that he can continue to build off of days like this.

Fans who tuned in also got a taste of the Cubs' latest reclamation project in Kenta Maeda. Maeda, 37, was recently released by the Detroit Tigers after posting a 7.88 ERA in relief for them this season. While you can never have too much pitching depth, things didn’t look great for him in his Cubs debut as he gave up two walks, four hits, and four earned runs in just two innings in his start. 

Reliever Frankie Scalzo Jr. came in to relieve Maeda, and things didn’t go much better for him. Scalzo ended up conceding three runs of his own off three hits and a home run. However, he did manage to strike out five batters in two innings, so there’s some clear upside on his pure stuff and ability to miss bats.

The “shuttle squad” did it again to lock down the game after Scalzo, with Nate Pearson, Luke Little, and Ryan Brasier all combining for four scoreless innings and five punch-outs. All three looked great today, and I expect all three to take the mound at Wrigley Field at some point this summer. 

Nate Pearson looks particularly intriguing right now. Cubs manager Craig Counsell stated during spring training that the coaching staff believed Nate Pearson was one of the most valuable relievers on the major league team and that his stuff had looked incredible during spring. Pearson struggled to start the season in the bigs and didn’t look any better in the minors, finishing April with a 9.35 ERA. May has looked a lot better for him, though. In six appearances this month, he’s only let in one run, suitable for a 1.42 ERA. He’s also struck out eight batters so far this month, already surpassing the seven he rung up in all of April.

May 18: Jordan Wicks took the bump on Sunday during the Cubs' 3-1 loss and strung together one of his best starts of the year in Iowa. He went five innings pitched with three Ks, four Hits, and just one earned run. Things have been rough for Wicks this season, adding to the Major League teams' issues with depth for starting pitching. May hasn’t been much better for Wicks (6.23 ERA in four starts), but it’s hard to argue with a five-inning, one-run performance. Hopefully, he can string a few of these together.

The offense was quiet today without a single Cub garnering more than one hit in the game. The lone run came from James Triantos’ groundout in the bottom of the sixth. Catcher Caleb Knight and center fielder Christian Franklin led the way for offense with a double from each. 

Double-A Tennessee Smokies

Season Record: 19-18
Series Opponent: Columbus Clingstones (Atlanta Braves)
Series Standing: Series split 3-3

May 10: The Smokies shut out the Clingstones 5-0 on Saturday on the back of Will Sanders. Sanders has strung together his third excellent start in a row with a six-inning, one-hit, zero-run outing today. In three starts in May, his ERA sits at a pristine 0.56, and he’s tacked on 18 strikeouts in 16 innings of work. He’s been on fire this month and has helped carry Iowa to a few wins as of late. Relievers Zac Leigh, Cayne Ueckert, and Mitchell Tyranski deserve their flowers as well - the trio combined for three innings of shutdown scoreless ball.

Despite the cushion, the offense did its job as well. Shortstop Hayden Cantrelle and left fielder Parker Chavers stood out today, with each of them smacking a double, but it was Chavers who was good for driving in three runs. Second baseman Corey Joyce stood out as the only Smokie to have a multi-hit game, going 2-for-4 with an RBI.

May 18: The Smokies logged back-to-back shutouts with a 4-0 win over the Clingstones on Sunday. This time, it was Chris Kachmar who wanted to go band for band with Will Sanders from the previous day. Kachmar picked up his second win of the season on the back of a six-inning, two-hit, four-strikeout, zero-run effort. He didn’t miss as many bats as Sanders, but he kept the ball on the ground and the runs off the board.

Relievers Ben Leeper, Nick Hull, and Brad Deppermann put on their best triplet impression as all three put up identical innings of relief. Each pitched exactly one inning, struck out two batters, allowed one hit, and gave up zero runs. Not bad, boys. The spotlight goes to Deppermann, though - he’s been an absolute machine on the mound as he hasn’t conceded a single run all season. He leaves the weekend with his shiny 0.00 ERA intact. He’s only walked four batters the entire season, and he’s struck out eight in 12 appearances so far.

High-A South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 10-29
Series Opponent: Lansing Lugnuts (Athletics)
Series Standing: Cubs lose series 5-1

May 17: The Cubs put up a valiant effort in the 9th inning on Saturday but couldn’t quite get it done in their 5-6 loss to the Lugnuts. Starter Ryan Gallagher got my pitching spotlight last weekend, but things went south for the righty in today's matchup. He looked good to start the outing, but ended up conceding five runs across six innings, four of those runs coming from home run balls. His performance continues to look out of this world, though, as he struck out a whopping 12 batters.

On offense, it was Ivan Brethowr who stole the show again. He went 2-for-4 with a double, including a 2-out RBI in the 9th inning to put the Cubs within one run of the Lugnuts. Catcher Miguel Pabon had the other two-hit game of the day - he went 2-for-3 with a walk.

May 18: The Cubs dropped their fifth game of the series to the Lugnuts on Sunday with a 4-8 loss. Starting pitching woes bit the team again, this time from starter Kenten Egbert, who picked up his fifth loss of the season. Egbert went four innings today, giving up eight hits and four runs. He didn’t strike out a single Lugnut batter.

The Cubs never led on offense, but left fielder Edgar Alvarez stole the show, going 3-for-4 with a double and an RBI. First Baseman Brian Kalmer went 3-for-3 and added a double of his own, his best offensive performance of the year. It was shortstop Christian Franklin who drove in the other two runs for the Cubs, both of which came on sacrifice flies.

Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 15-23
Series Opponent: Lynchburg Hillcats (Cleveland Guardians)
Series Standing: Pelicans drop series 2-4

May 17: The Pelicans blanked the Hillcats on Saturday for a 6-0 win. Starter Alfredo Ramiro put up his best outing of the season after tossing a five-inning, one-hit gem and striking out 4. Reliever Kevin Valdez put up a great effort of his own - he threw three innings, striking out a gaudy eight batters. He let up three hits and two walks, but missed an incredible amount of bats to keep runs off the board.

The offense was all over the place with six different Pelicans notching one or more hits. The standout performance of the game has to go to Catcher Owen Ayers, who went 2-for-4 with a double and four RBI. Ayers has been a pleasant surprise this season for the Pelicans. He was a 19th-round draft pick from the Cubs last year and only put up a .190 average in his pro debut last season for Myrtle Beach. This year, Ayers is 2nd on the team with an .817 OPS, and his defense has looked solid behind the plate. The Pelicans had five players enter today's game with batting averages below the Mendoza line (.200), but still managed to put six runs on the board.

May 18: Things didn’t go as well for the Pelicans on Sunday as they dropped the series finale to the Hillcats 9-2. Starter JP Wheat, another pitcher with a stellar outing last week, dropped the ball today. He went 4 ⅔ innings pitched but gave up six earned runs on six hits. Brayden Spears came in to relieve a struggling Wheat, but things didn’t go much better as Spears gave up two earned runs of his own. 

The offense looked equally shaky today, as the Pelicans only managed to garner four hits in the matchup. Back-up catcher David Avita made his first appearance for the Pelicans today and logged the team's only RBI with a single in the top of the third.

Notable Promotions / Injury Notes

• NONE

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System Standouts of the Week

Hitter:
Corey Joyce (Double-A Knoxville) – 5-for-7 with a double and 2 RBIs over the weekend.

Pitcher:
Kevin Valdez (Low-A Myrtle Beach) – 3 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 8 K; Valdez logged nine outs for the Pelicans on Saturday, a remarkable 8 of which came via strikeout

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