Minor League Hot or Not: Is Will Sanders Breaking Out?

[Jason Ross]

Image courtesy of © Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Cubs' homegrown talent pipeline has been very important this year. Matt Shaw, Moisés Ballesteros, and Cade Horton have all seen big-league action, and a handful of other Iowa Cubs will likely see action, as well. The Cubs are a bit banged up, specifically in the rotation, so getting good results in Triple A will quickly move you into a position to see action in Chicago right now. 

Overall rating: 🥶 Not a particularly strong week. There were some good performances, but nothing that stole the show. Most of the "hot" players were "good," not "great", and there were some real stinkers—especially in the lower levels. Part of this is because the Cubs' best prospects are in Chicago; part of this is the normal grind of the year. 

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Iowa Cubs, Triple-A (5-2)
Up next: @ Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Guardians)

🔥 Jordan Wicks, SP - 5 IP, 3 K, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 ER: A nice bounce-back start for Wicks saw him re-feature the changeup heavily. Wicks has been alternating good starts and bad starts the last few, giving up 13 earned runs in his last four, but with 12 of them coming in just two of those. Here's hoping for more starts like today

🔥 Matt Shaw, 3b - 237 wRC+, 6.5 K%, 12.9 BB%, 5 HR: Hopefully, this will be the last time Shaw features on the Minor League Hot or Not segment. He's up in Chicago (and after a nice two-hit performance in his first game back, he looks more comfortable) and will hopefully stay. Shaw has shown improved leg kicks and better mechanics overall. 

🥶 Owen Caissie, OF - 80 wRC+, 27.3 K%, 15.2 BB%, 1 2B: Ok, so this really isn't the kind of bad week we're used to seeing from Caissie, as the strikeouts didn't shoot through the roof. He's been hovering around this range for his last 40 plate appearances, and the hope here is that he can stick there. If he couples 27% strikeout rates with the power, he'll be knocking on the door.

🔥 Connor Noland, SP - 6 IP, 8 K, 2 BB, 2 R, 2 ER: Noland isn't a star; he's not even probably all that exciting or good. But he's solid enough that he could make competent big-league starts if the Cubs need him to, and based on the injuries piling up, they might need him to. He's probably worked his way into organizational up/down depth, but that's not terrible. He gets ground balls and limits hard contact and walks. That will work.

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Knoxville Smokies, Double-A (3-3)

🔥 Jaxon Wiggins, SP - 4 IP, 4 K, 1 BB, 1 R, 1 ER: Okay, it's not as eye-popping or as efficient as his last start, but this isn't a bad first go a level up. And man, just an aside, it's nice having some very exciting prospects join the Smokies. It isn't a knock on the roster on the whole, but it's been hard to watch when the (very few) higher-ceiling guys struggle.

🔥 Grant Kipp, SP - 5 IP, 6 K, 2 BB, 0 R, 0 ER: Good to see Kipp get going again. With the Cubs pitching staff struggling for pitchers, Kipp and his slider could play a role at some point. Don't think he's a starter long-term, but he's got bullpen potential based on that pitch alone.

🥶 Pedro Ramirez, INF - 91 wRC+, 21.7 K%, 17.4 BB%, 1 2B: These are the kinds of weeks you worry a bit about Ramirez. The walks were good, but if he's just not hitting singles, he doesn't add a ton. He's yet to hit a home run on the season; has an ISO of .057; and it's just going to be hard for him to really be a prospect with a 103 wRC+. He needs to find 7 home runs a year.

🔥 Will Sanders, SP - 6 IP, 7 K, 0 BB, 0 R, 0 ER: There isn't a hotter arm in the system than this guy. He's given up one run over his last 16 innings. Over that span, he's struck out 21 hitters and walked just two. Breakout? Maybe!

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South Bend Cubs, High-A (1-5)
Up next: vs Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee Brewers)

🔥 Ivan Brethowr, OF - 110 wRC+, 16.7 K%, 4.2 BB%, 1 2B: My boy is back! (Mostly.) Brethowr had been struggling the last little bit, but he's found the groove again, sans the power. You'd want to see him get to the pop a bit more, but limiting the strikeouts remains a good thing. 

🔥 Jefferson Rojas, INF - 110 wRC+, 29.6 K%, 7.4 BB%, 2 2B, 1 3B: Rojas remains relatively hot. This does represent a bit of a "cooler" run than he's been on recently, but if this is "cooled off" Rojas, it's a great sign about the kind of year he's having. He's got to be close to a promotion to Knoxville, himself.

🥶 Cristian Hernandez, INF - 17 wRC+, 27.3 K%, 4.5 BB%: Not a great week for Hernandez, who had gotten hot again recently. On the season, he's cooled off over the last little bit, so I was hoping his recent run would keep going. Still, he's doing enough to remain prospect-relevant. He might be two really hot weeks away from regaining that momentum.

🔥 Reggie Preciado, INF - 138 wRC+, 33.3 K%, 0 BB%, 4 2B: He's not having a great season, and he's almost assuredly not on a prospect redemption arc, but he's had a nice week and he's a name I can't entirely quit yet. Maybe this is the start of something? More likely, it's his lone appearance on this list all year. But I'm hoping!

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Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Low-A (2-4)
Up next: Hickory Crawdads (Texas Rangers)

🥶 Ty Southisene, INF - 42 wRC+, 18.2 K%, 18.2 BB%: The approach has been strong from the fourth-round pick, but he hasn't really hit the ball well yet. We're still in his early days in Myrtle Beach, so the hope is that the approach begets results.

🥶 Nazier Mule, SP - 2 IP, 2 K, 2 BB, 6 R, 6 ER: A second straight blow-up for Mule isn't great. He had been looking really strong in his first 20 innings, giving up just 5 earned runs over his first four starts. He's given up 13 in just his last five innings. Yeesh.

🥶 JP Wheat, SP - 4 2/3 IP, 4 K, 3 BB, 6 R, 6 ER: JP had looked like might get on a little roll lately. The walks were still there, but he was limiting contact and runs. Not so much this time around. The strikeouts are real, but he's going to have to rein in the walks at some point if he's going to be a viable starter.

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Was there someone here you think I missed? Who's weekly performance did you find particularly interesting? Let us know in the comment section below!

 

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