Cubs Minor League Weekend Review: Ryan Gallagher Does It Again, Hitters Slump

[Billy Reich]

Image courtesy of Lily Chubb/Noozhawk Photo

The affiliates continued to drop this weekend, with all teams losing ground on the standings. The teams have been in a slump lately, with top prospects struggling on both sides of the ball and three of the four affiliates dropping their series this week. After going a combined 8-16 this week, the clubs will look to get things turned around as quickly as they can.

Cubs Affiliate Overview (May 31–June 1)

• Triple-A Iowa Cubs
  Series vs. Syracuse Mets (New York Mets): Cubs drop series 1-5
  Season Record: 28-26

• Double-A Tennessee Smokies
  Series vs. Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox): Smokies win series 4-3
  Season Record: 24-26

• High-A South Bend Cubs
  Series at Quad Cities River Bandits (Kansas City Royals): Cubs lose series 2–4
  Season Record: 14-37

• Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
  Series vs. Augusta GreenJackets (Atlanta Braves): Pelicans drop series 1-4
  Season Record: 18-31

Triple-A Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 28-26
Series Opponent: Syracuse Mets (New York Mets)Series Standing: Cubs lose 1-5

May 31: The Cubs lost a tough battle to the Syracuse Mets on Saturday, falling 6-4 off the hand of starter Frankie Scalzo Jr. All six of the Mets’ runs came in the first inning off of Scalzo Jr., who’s now increased his ERA to a brutal 14.18. He’s failed to keep runs off of the board in eight of his last ten outings, averaging 1 ⅔ innings pitched and 2.63 earned runs per outing in the month of May.

That’s where the struggles ended for the Cubs though, as their bullpen went scoreless for eight innings after a rough ride in the first. The Shuttle Squad ™ was at it again, with familiar names Luke Little, Tyson Miller, Tom Cosgrove, Michael Fulmer, and Ethan Roberts combining to go 8 IP, 8 Ks, 6 H, and 0 ER. 

I want to put the spotlight back on Luke Little here. With today's performance, the monster lefty is now boasting a 1.29 ERA and 0.71 WHIP with 24 strikeouts in 21 innings pitched. He’s given up just four runs this entire season in Triple-A and only one of those came in the month of May. Even more impressively, he’s only walked three batters this month along with 20 of his strikeouts, demonstrating that he’s not just benefitting from his defense behind him, but limiting baserunners at an elite rate. The big league club has largely figured out their bullpen situation with key arms coming in during big moments and trust being built with skipper Craig Counsell, but I would be shocked if we don’t see Luke Little re-emerge as a high-leverage arm this summer at Wrigley Field if he can keep his performance up.

On offense, the Cubs tried to claw their way back from the early deficit. They came close, cutting the Mets’ lead to just two in the 6th inning thanks to twin homers from Kevin Alcantara (7)  and Ben Cowles (4). Greg Allen went 3-for-3 with two walks, Moises Ballesteros went 2-for-5 with a double and an RBI, and Owen Caissie went 1-for-4 with a walk and an RBI of his own.

June 1: The Cubs continued their skid on Sunday, dropping yet another game to the Mets, losing by a score of 5-4.

Starting pitching continued to struggle with starter Peter Solomon giving up three runs in the third inning, finishing his day going 3 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, and 3 Ks. The relief corps kept the game within reach until reliever Nate Pearson came in and picked up his first blown save of the season by giving up a solo home run in the 8th inning. Such a bummer for Pearson, who was coming off a 0.73 ERA and 17 punch outs in May.

Reliever Jack Neely came in to try and keep the game in hand in the 9th but ended up picking up the loss after walking two, giving up two hits, and giving up the game winning run, raising his already troublesome ERA to 6.23.

The Cubs continued to slug today though, making things interesting. Jonathan Long launched his ninth homer of the season, a solo shot in the third inning to tie the game. Veteran Catcher Carlos Perez knocked a long ball of his own in the bottom of the seventh to give the Cubs the lead.

Despite the recent skid, slugging continues to be a boon for this Iowa Cubs team, with five players sporting an OPS over .800. Jonathan Long in particular has been an eye opener this season, raising questions regarding his prospect ranking status across the minors. According to Fangraphs, amongst qualified Triple-A batters, Long current ranks:

• Batting Average: 2nd, .344

• Home Runs: T-11th, 9

• RBIs - 9th, 41

• Hits - 4th, 65

• OPS - 8th, .979

• wRC+ - 4th, 154

Long wasn’t a highly touted prospect, he was the 266th overall pick by the Cubs in 2023. He’s not a system top 10 prospect (currently), he’s not in the top 100, scouts have graded him with below average run, hit, and arm tools, and yet he’s continued to play serviceable defense and smash the cover off the ball at every level he’s stopped at. Long is already garnering comparisons to flame out prospect Matt Mervis, a potential AAAA player who lacks the baserunning and contact ability to make it in the majors, but by all accounts has grown into a player that appears to be putting together an above average package of contact and power at the Triple-A level. Keep an eye on midseason prospect lists as they begin to roll out, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Long start to vault up the system. At only 23, Long is bursting with potential. The Cubs may hope he continues to raise his value to become a desired trade piece at the deadline this year, with Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros, and Michael Busch all vying for playing time at DH.

Double-A Tennessee Smokies

Season Record: 24-26
Series Opponent: Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox)
Series Standing: Series win 4-3

May 31: The Smokies split a double header against the Barons, taking a win in game one 2-0 and picking up a loss in game two 1-2.

The name of the game for the Smokies in game one was pitching. Starter Nick Dean was lights out today, hurling six innings of no-run ball and striking out six. This was Dean’s first start for the Smokies as he was just called up from South Bend after a solid start to the season. He made the most of his start, allowing only three runs and leading his team in the shutout. Reliever A.J. Puckett came in and notched his eighth save of the season, closing the game while striking out one and allowing no hits.

Right Fielder Jaylen Palmer was the hero today on offense, going 2-for-2 and driving in both of the teams’ runs with an RBI double in the 2nd and an RBI single in the 4th.

First Baseman Pablo Aliendo had the other multi-hit game today. It’s been a rough start to the season for the 24 year old Aliendo, who’s hitting below the Mendoza line so far this season. Hopefully today helps build his confidence, as he went 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs in the win.

Game 2: The Cubs were on the receiving end of a low scoring loss in game two, dropping the game 2-1. Starter Antonio Santos continues to be a force in the Smokies’ rotation, going five innings, striking out three, and allowing just one run on three hits in the loss. He kept his team in the game and gave the Smokies a chance to win a game they would ultimately lost in extras.

Mitchell Tyranski is the unfortunate bearer of the loss today, giving up the game winning run in the top of the eighth inning. Tyranski has arguably been the Smokies best reliever this season, owning an impressive 0.86 ERA through 21 appearances after the loss. He gave up a one out walk and then an RBI double to put his team behind. Despite his impressive stats this year, Tyranski moves to 1-2 on the season.

The Smokies were almost shut out on offense, but I’ll give the spotlight to Corey Joyce. He’s been off to an electric start to the season and had the teams only RBI of the day. Joyce finished by going 1-for-1 with an RBI double.

June 1: The Smokies dropped the series finale to the Barons 8-4 on MVP Matt Shaw bobblehead night.

Starter Sam Armstrong had a rough first inning before settling in on the bump. Thanks to an untimely error by Shortstop Jaylen Palmer, Armstrong was forced into a jam and couldn’t pull out of it, giving up four runs (three earned) in the first by way of a three run home run.. Things turned around in the 2nd inning however, as Armstrong rallied off four more innings, striking out three and not allowing another run.

Ethan Hearn hit his third home run of the season in the third inning to put the Smokies on the board. The team continued to add on in the 7th with an RBI single from Jordan Nwogu and another from Pedro Ramirez to tie the game up 4-4.

Things were looking good until the 9th inning where closer Zac Leigh picked up his first loss of the season, giving up three runs. Leigh wasn’t able to find the strike zone. He gave up three walks and hung a ball in the zone, giving up a grand slam to put the game out of reach late.

High-A South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 14-37
Series Opponent: Quad Cities River Bandits (Kansas City Royals)
Series Standing: Cubs lose series 2-4

May 31: Ryan Gallagher does it again for the Cubs, boosting his team to a 4-1 win over the River Bandits. Gallagher has become increasingly more exciting to cover and has become must-see weekend pitching in South Bend. After an eclectic 6 IP, 0 ER performance last week, Gallagher came out today and went 6 ⅓ innings, striking out eight River Bandits, giving up just one run without walking a single batter.

Gallagher came into the Cubs’ system at the perfect time as the “pitch lab” has been hitting its stride and a philosophy in pitching development has changed how the Cubs do things in the minors. This is Gallagher's first season of pro ball, and he’s already stretched out to over six innings and his stuff has been electric, piling high strikeout game on high strikeout game. He’s my prediction for the teams biggest mover during the midseason prospect re-ranking. He’s just 22 years old and has struck out 48 batters in just 37 innings, building up to long starts and limiting walks to the tune of a 1.08 WHIP. If he can continue to maintain a healthy season, it’ll be all eyes on the rookie to see if he can continue to build on his hot start.  

Offensive MVP goes to Carter Trice who went 2-for-5 with a two run RBI double in the fifth inning. Jefferson Rojas continues to display his abilities in his breakout season, going 1-for-4 with the teams only other RBI in an otherwise quiet night at the plate for the Cubs.

June 1: The Cubs dropped their final game to the River Bandits 3-1. Starting pitching was the showcase again today with starter Kenten Egbert going 6 ⅔ innings pitched, striking out three batters and giving up only three runs. This was one of Egbert's best starts to the season, keeping Bandits scoreless through the first five innings. He ultimately gave up three runs in the 6th, but limited the damage and kept the Cubs in the game. Despite the solid outing, he picked up his sixth loss of the season as his team was unable to give him any run support.

Bats were quiet, nearly silent on Sunday, as the Cubs put up just four hits in 30 at bats, striking out nine times at the plate. The team's lone run came at the hands of Jefferson Rojas, who drove in Reivaj Garcia with a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning. Catcher Ariel Armas gets a spotlight for putting up two of the Cubs four hits today, going 2-for-4 with a double in the loss.

Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 18-31
Series Opponent: Augusta GreenJackets (Atlanta Braves)
Series Standing: Pelicans drop series 2-4

May 31: The Pelicans dropped both games of their double header, managing to drive in just two runs across both contests.

Game One: The Pelicans lost game one 6-2 with starter Alfredo Romero giving up three spots in the third and the fifth. Romero ended the day giving up four walks and seven hits to just three strikeouts, earning himself five runs on the outing. 

Bats were quiet yet again for the Pelicans, driving in only two runs on four hits in the contest. Catcher Owen Ayers came through with an RBI double in the fourth driving in the teams first run, and then scored off a Yahil Melendez single, making himself partially responsible for both runs on the day. Ayers finished 1-for-3 with an RBI.

Game Two: Things didn't go much better for the Pelicans in game two as they dropped to the Greenjackets again 2-0. The team was once again held to just four hits, but this time, three of those four came from Shortstop Angel Cepeda. He wasn’t able to get any runs across the plate, but produced the vast majority of the offense, going 3-for-4 with a stolen base.

Things went better on the pitching side of the ball, but it wasn’t enough to boost the team to a win. Kevin Valdez took the mound to start the game and gave up just one run in 3 ⅓ innings pitched. He was a rollercoaster ride, giving up five walks but striking out six batters in his outing. Since the Pelicans couldn’t drive in any runs, Valdez picked up his second loss of the season.

Reliever Charlie Hurley looked better, getting help from his team on defense. Hurley closed out the back half of the game, going 3 and ⅔ innings, striking out two and giving up just one hit.

June 1: The Pelicans drop the series finale to the Greenjackets 4-1. Things went poorly on both sides of the ball as the team mustered just four hits on the day and starter Hayden Frank gave up three runs on four hits and a walk in just two innings. This is Frank's third loss of the season as his ERA creeps up to 8.29. 

Cole Reynolds gets the pitching spotlight today. He went three innings of relief, and while he let in a run of his own off of two hits, he mainly pitched well, striking out five batters and walking just one.

The best offensive rally the Pelicans managed to muster was an RBI groundout by Jose Escobar in the first inning. Catcher Owen Ayers notched the only extra base hit of the game, going 1-for-4 with a double.

Notable Promotions / Injury Notes

• RHP Ismael Morey assigned to DSL Cubs Red

• OF Luis Leon assigned to DSL Cubs Red

• LHP Angel Gonzalez assigned to DSL Cubs Red

• Iowa Cubs placed 3B James Triantos on the 7-day IL

• Iowa Cubs activated RHP Peter Solomon from the 7-day IL

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System Standouts of the Week

Hitter:
Owen Caissie (Triple-A Iowa) – 3-for-9 with two doubles over the weekend.

Pitcher:
Ryan Gallagher (High-A South Bend) – 6.1 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 8 K. Gallagher continues to string together elite performances on the mound. 

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