Cubs Minor League Weekend Recap: Cristian Hernandez Rakes, Ryan Gallagher Strikeout King

[Billy Reich]

Image courtesy of Cristian Hernandez (@c_hernandez_15)

The affiliates have been in a slide recently against some tough competition, but we had some strong weekend performances from a couple teams and some standout games for a few fringe top prospects.

Cubs Affiliate Overview (May 24–25)

• Triple-A Iowa Cubs
  Series at Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Guardians): Cubs split series 3-3
  Season Record: 27-21

• Double-A Tennessee Smokies
  Series at Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers): Smokies drop series 1-5
  Season Record: 20-23

• High-A South Bend Cubs
  Series vs. Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee Brewers): Cubs lose series 2–4
  Season Record: 12-33

• Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
  Series at Hickory Crawdads (Texas Rangers): Pelicans drop series 2-4
  Season Record: 17-27

Triple-A Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 27-21
Series Opponent: Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Guardians)
Series Standing: Cubs split 3-3

May 24: The Cubs dropped their penultimate matchup this weekend against the Clippers by a score of 5-1. The loss was even worse than the final score would show, with the Cubs managing only five hits on the game and their lone run coming by way of an RBI single in the 7th inning off the bat of Chase Strumpf.

Things have been rough for the major league Cubs with their starting rotation suffering long-term injuries to their three best starters from last season (Imanaga, Steele, and Assad). Things got even worse, as starter Jordan Wicks left the game after pitching just ⅓ of an inning with an apparent injury — limping off the field after striking out the first batter of the game. It’s been one thing after another for Wicks; after a promising start to a young career, he’s been largely ineffective in the majors and has been struggling in the minors to the tune of a 4.86 ERA. We don’t have an injury update at this time, but fingers crossed that Wicks finds a way to rebound his health and on the field performance.

In Wicks’ absence, Brandon Hughes picks up the loss by letting up two earned runs in ⅔ of an inning pitched, but relievers Jack Neely, Tyson Miller, and Phil Bickford combined for four innings of no-run ball.

On the offensive side of the ball, most of the action came from the bottom of the lineup with James Triantos and Greg Allen providing four of the Cubs’ five hits. Triantos went 2-for-4 and Allen went 2-for-4 with a double on the day. Overall, a slow day for the Cubs on both sides of the ball.

May 25: The Cubs rebounded in a big way on Sunday with a statement win over the Clippers 9-3. The team went with a bullpen game, and everyone stepped up in a big way. Nate Pearson took the mound first and has continued his dominant May — he pitched for two innings, allowed zero runs, and struck out two batters. He did walk two, but didn’t allow a single hit on the day. Pearson continues to impress this month, posting a 0.87 ERA, three wins, and 13 strikeouts in 10 ⅓ innings pitched. The major league pen has largely straightened itself out with Ryan Brasier being called up, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pearson back in the Friendly Confines in the not-too-distant future.

Riley Martin had a stand out performance as well, picking up the win, pitching two innings of no hit ball and striking out four without walking a batter. Martin now has a 1.61 ERA on the season, a 0.90 WHIP, and 34 strikeouts in 22.1 innings pitched. Martin has flown relatively under the radar in recent seasons, but the 2021 draft pick has been turning heads so far this year. 

Cubs hitters had a field day as well, with five hitters having multi-hit games. No shock here, but Moises Ballesteros continues to rake at this level. Ballesteros had the best performance of the day, going 3-for-4 with a double and a walk. He didn’t drive any runs in, but it’s hard to argue with a .350 AVG and a .901 OPS. Veteran catcher Reese McGuire recently got the call up to join the major league club, raising concerns about how the Cubs’ front office view Ballesteros as a long-term piece. Being skipped over for the call up is likely due to McGuire’s experience game calling in the majors, but Ballesteros has nothing left to prove on offense in the minors, and at a certain point, they’ll need to figure out if he has what it takes behind the dish at the highest level.

Other standout performances go to Owen Caissie (3-for-6), Carlos Perez (2-for-3, 3 RBIs), Greg Allen (2-for-5, 2 RBIs), and Hayden Cantrelle (2-for-5, RBI).

Double-A Tennessee Smokies

Season Record: 20-23
Series Opponent: Biloxi Shuckers (Milwaukee Brewers)
Series Standing: Series loss 1-5

May 24: The Smokies were humbled on Saturday with another loss to the Shuckers 5-8. Pitching killed Knoxville, with starter Chris Kachmar giving up five earned runs off of seven hits in five innings. Kachmar has had up and down performances, currently sitting 2-3 on the season with a 4.03 ERA after the rough outing. Reliever Zac Leigh wasn’t any better. He walked three in ⅔ of an inning, giving up three runs on zero hits. 

Reliever Brad Depperman came in to try and salvage the day, continuing his stellar start to the season by pitching 1 ⅓ innings, striking out two and giving up zero runs. Depperman has now advanced to 14 appearances, 15 ⅔ innings pitched, and an unblemished 0.00 ERA. His stuff isn’t over the top nasty (12 Ks in his 15 innings), but he doesn’t walk many and gives up weak contact, keeping the base paths pretty clean. Depperman has only pitched 130 innings since being drafted by the Cubs in 2019, but he finished last season with a 0.67 ERA and has only built upon that success so far in 2025.

Third Baseman Pedro Ramirez made his presence felt by launching a home run in the 3rd and adding an RBI sac fly in the 7th. Center Fielder added a 2-for-5 performance of his own with a double and an RBI. Right Fielder Jordan Nwogu had the last multi-hit performance of the day going 2-for-4.

May 25: The Smokies continued their skid against the Shuckers, getting walked off in the series finale 6-7. The Smokies started off hot by putting up three runs in the first inning thanks to a 2 RBI single off the bat of Haydn McGeary, scoring Corey Joyce and BJ Murray Jr.

Haydn McGeary added another run to the board with an RBI single in the 4th, and Ethan Hearn hit a two-run home run in the 6th to put the Cubs up 6-1.

Unfortunately, that’s where the fun stopped for Smokies, as starter Sam Armstrong imploded in the bottom of the 6th and gave up four runs. Reliever Tyler Santana comes in to salvage the game but quickly gave up the tying run before ending the inning. Reliever Nick Hull did his best to keep the game within reach by hurling two innings of no-hit ball, but AJ Puckett came out and gets walked off after notching just one out. 

The loss caps off a 1-5 series against the Shuckers that has sent the team into a bit of a skid. They’ll look to bounce back against Birmingham this week.

High-A South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 12-33
Series Opponent: Wisconsin Timber Rattlers (Milwaukee Brewers)
Series Standing: Cubs lose series 2-3

May 24: The Cubs tame the Timber Rattlers on Saturday with a 6-2 win. Top prospect Jefferson Rojas had himself a day, going 3-for-5 with an RBI, a double, and 2 runs. Rojas continues to shine, hitting .295 with an .862 OPS this season. He’s continued to shine in his “breakout” season. James Triantos has been occupying second base at the Triple-A level, but Rojas has been doing his best to try and force the Cubs’ hand and push his way into a promotion.

Speaking of top prospects, Cristian Hernandez had himself a 2-for-4 performance on the day, tagging on an RBI of his own. Hernandez is hitting .274 and has continued to look like a stable presence at the top of the Cubs’ lineup.

Rising star Ryan Gallagher had an incredible bounce back performance as well, pitching six innings, letting up zero runs and just two hits while striking out an impressive nine batters. Gallagher has had quite a run here, going six innings in each of his last three starts, giving up zero runs, five runs, and then zero runs while striking out an absurd 29 batters in those 18 innings. Gallagher, the Cubs’ 6th round pick in 2024 has demonstrated an increasingly high ceiling, showcasing strong strikeout ability and a low WHIP despite debuting at High-A. All eyes will be on Gallagher as he progresses through the season and possibly makes his way onto the Cubs’ top prospect list during the mid-season ranking refresh.

May 25: After dropping the first four games of the series against the Timber Rattlers, the Cubs cap the series with another win - a strong 8-3 finale. Cristian Hernandez led the way for the Cubs, going 4-for-5 with 3 RBIs, a double (14), and a triple (2). Hernandez, the Cubs’ #11 prospect, is looking to climb his way back up the rankings after a lackluster 2024 season in which he struggles at the High-A level, hitting just .229 and generating little to no power. He’s showed growth in both his hit and power tools, posting career high numbers in both AVG (.290) and Slug (.432). While the team likely hopes he can tap into a little more of that power as his bat to ball skills develop, he’s made great strides and is showing off the potential that pushed him to the top of the prospect rankings to begin with.

To go with a strong offensive performance, starter Kenton Egbert picked up his first win of the season with a five inning, one run, four strikeout performance. 

Reliever Marino Santy gave up two runs, but Connor Shultz and Brayden Risedorph combined for two innings, no runs, and three strikeouts to close out a much needed victory.

Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 17-27
Series Opponent: Hickory Crawdads (Texas Rangers)
Series Standing: Pelicans drop series 2-4

May 24: The Pelicans picked up another loss on Saturday, falling 3-4 against the Crawdads. Starter Kevin Valdez strung together his best performance of the year with a six inning, five strikeout game, giving up just one walk. Reliever Yoendris Gonzalez came in to pitch another two innings of one hit, no run ball, keeping the Pelicans in the game heading into the 9th. Unfortunately, Mathew Peters came in to close and got walked off after picking up two outs and coming within inches of closing out the game.

On offense, things were just as bleak, with the Pelicans picking up just three hits on the day. The MVP award goes to Left Fielder Jose Escobar who scored all three of the Pelicans runs with a three run moonshot in the 6th inning.

May 25: The Pelicans lost another one run game at the hands of the Crawdads on Sunday, dropping the finale 7-8. Pitching was a weak spot, with starter Cole Reynolds giving up three runs in three innings of work. Things went even worse for Landon Ginn in relief, as he gave up four runs in 2 and ⅓ innings of work. The bats came to life to keep the Pelicans in the game, but pitching continued to give up runs and reliever Charlie Hurley picked up the loss by letting in the losing run.

The offense looked significantly better this game, with three players picking up two hits and eight out of nine batters getting a knock. Stand out performances go to star Right Fielder Leonel Espinoza (2-for-2 with an RBI and 3 Walks) and third baseman Eriandys Ramon (2-for-5 with an RBI).

Notable Promotions / Injury Notes

• Chicago Cubs select RHP Brooks Kriske from Iowa Cubs

• Chicago Cubs designated RHP Julian Merryweather for assignment

• Chicago Cubs selected the contract of C Reese McGuire from Iowa Cubs

---

System Standouts of the Week

Hitter:
Cristian Hernandez (Double-A South Bend) – 6-for-9 with a double, a triple and 4 RBIs over the weekend.

Pitcher:
Ryan Gallagher (High-A South Bend) – 6 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 9 K

View full article

[We Got The Whole 9]

It's pretty insane that Martin has only allowed 5 hits in 22 IP. What kind of stuff are we talking about here?

Depperman has allowed 2 ER in 42 IP since the beginning of 2024. 0 HR. This dude must have some serious stuff, hard to barrel.

Cristian needs to get the ball off the ground. His profile at present is unexciting/milquetoast. He just doesn't lift the ball consistently. The KBB is blah. Hope he picks it up, but his batted profile hasn't changed much in the last few years. He might need an overhaul.

Rojas seems to be a perfect complementary piece in a trade. He should be in AA soon at 20 years old. That's worth its weight in gold for SS/MIF. High potential.

Gallagher is firmly on the radar. Looks like a quick riser.

[muntjack]

Has Gallagher added any velo?  I know some draft reports had projected that he would, once he had major-league resources.