Cubs Minor League Weekend Recap: Moises Ballesteros Heats Up, South Bend Blows Playoff Chances

Cubs Affiliate Overview (August 30 – August 31)

• Triple-A Iowa Cubs
  Series at Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics): Win 4-2
  Season Record: 65-66

• Double-A Tennessee Smokies
  Series at Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox): Win 4-2
  Season Record: 60-64

• High-A South Bend Cubs
  Series at Peoria Chiefs (St. Louis Cardinals): Swept 0-6
  Season Record: 53-72

• Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans
  Series at Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Houston Astros): Split 3-3
  Season Record: 66-57

Triple-A Iowa Cubs

Season Record: 65-66
Series Opponent: Las Vegas Aviators (Athletics)
Series Standing: Win 4-2

August 30: The Cubs shot down the Aviators in a 10-8 slug fest on Saturday. Starter Will Sanders has continued his slump, pitching 4 ⅓ innings, allowing six earned runs on five hits, four walks, and a home run while striking out only two opposing batters. Things have gone south quickly for Sanders, who was looked at as a potential major league depth piece just a couple of months ago. He has now given up six or more earned runs in four of his last six starts and has ballooned his ERA from 3.89 on July 19 to 6.51 as of August 30.

Luckily for Sanders, the offense pulled its weight, knocking in 10 runs on 16 hits. Five Cubs position players notched a multi-hit game with Kevin Alcantara and Hayden Cantrelle stealing the spotlight. Alcantara went a scorching 3-for-5 with two RBIs on the night in a showing that would lead to his eventual promotion to the Major League club.

Carlos Perez put up a quiet—but stellar—performance that garnered hi, player of the game honors thanks to going 3-for-5 with an RBI, 2B, and two runs.

Cantrelle only went 1-for-5, but his one hit count as he blasted the game winning go ahead grand slam in the top of the 9th to put the Cubs in position to win the game.

August 31: The Cubs put up big numbers again on Sunday and shot down the Aviators 9-6. Antonio Santos took the bump for Iowa, putting up a rocky - but serviceable - performance. Santos went four innings, logging two earned runs on six hits and three walks, but dazzled with eight strike outs, displaying his raw stuff and high ceiling potential.

The Cubs hitters stole the show again today, logging another nine runs on 12 hits, with all nine batters getting on base at least once. Hayden Cantrelle got the offense going off rip again, driving in two with a single in the second.

Moises Ballesteros (1-for-3, 2 RBI, BB) kept the party going with a solo moon shot in the top of the 5th to extend the Cubs’ lead to two. Bally had himself quite the weekend, going 4-for-7 with a 2B and a HR.

It was 29-year-old veteran outfielder Forrest Wall who took home player of the game honors tonight. He spat on the ball, going 4-for-5 with three RBIs, a double, three runs, and a stolen base.

Double-A Tennessee Smokies

Season Record: 60-64
Series Opponent: Birmingham Barons (Chicago White Sox)
Series Standing: Win 4-2

August 30: The Smokies de-throned the Barons on Saturday, 4-2. Jaxon Wiggins was back on the mound again in limited action, but continued to display his dominance. His stock continued to rise as he pitched three innings, allowing zero runs on just two hits, striking out two and lowering his already microscopic ERA to 1.93. The organization continues to be careful with Wiggins as they limit his innings down the stretch, but he’s shown no signs of slowing down in his limited work. 

The offense only put up six hits tonight, but they managed to plate four runs in the seventh inning to complete a come from behind win.

Jalen Palmer (1-for-3, 2B, two RBIs) led off the scoring late in the game with a game-tying, two-run double in the seventh inning.

Jefferson Rojas (1-for-4, two RBIs, BB) drove in the go-ahead, game-winning runs thanks to a two-run single in the seventh that put the Cubs in the driver's seat for the rest of the game.

Brett Bateman didn’t get anyone across the dish, but he went 3-for-5 on the day and led the team in total bases.

August 31: The Smokies slaughtered the Barons on Sunday with an 11-1 romp in the series finale. Erian Rodriguez took the mound for the Smokies and has continued his dominant run since being called up from rookie ball. Rodriguez let up just one run in 5 ⅔ innings of work, allowing just four hits. He struggled to locate the zone as well as he has in his recent starts, but still kept walks down to three while striking out two. Erian started the season in the Arizona Complex League as an unranked Cubs prospect, but has worked his way up to a 2.53 ERA as batters are hitting just .229 against him.

The Smokies didn’t need Erian’s elite start though, as they put up 11 runs on 21 hits with seven batters notching a multi-hit game. BJ Murray Jr. (2-for-6, two RBIs), Andy Garriola (1-for-5), Reivaj Garcia (2-for-4, two RBIs), Jaylen Palmer (3-for-5, RBI), and Pablo Aliendo (3-for-5, RBI) all logged doubles today, flashing slug and driving runnings across home plate. Jordan Nwogu (3-for-4, two runs, two RBIs) launched his first home run of the season and led the team in total bases with six.

High-A South Bend Cubs

Season Record: 53-72
Series Opponent: Peoria Chiefs (St. Louis Cardinals)
Series Standing: Swept 0-6

August 30: The Cubs dropped another heartbreaker on Saturday as they were walked off in extras by the Chiefs. Starter Kenten Egbert had a tough start, pitching five innings and allowing four earned runs on six hits and a walk while striking out just one. Relievers Jack Neely and Grayson Moore put up everything they had to keep the Cubs in the game, combining for three innings of shutout ball, but Luis Martinez-Gomez gave up the walk off single with two outs in the bottom of the 10th.

The offense did what they could to capitalize off of their seven walks, but they couldn’t string anything together after the fifth inning. The Cubs got on the board early thanks to Rafael Morel (1-for-3, two runs) stealing home from third base.

Edgar Alvarez (1-for-4, RBI, BB) cut the deficit to one in the fifth with a ground ball RBI up the middle, and Ariel Armas (0-for-5, RBI) would drive in the game tying run with an RBI ground out.

Tied in the 6th, Kade Snell would make a leaping grab to prevent the go ahead run from scoring, but it wasn’t enough as the Cubs would ultimately go down in the 10th.

August 31: The Cubs dropped their sixth straight game 3-6 as the Chiefs completed their sweep on Sunday. Rising star Yenrri Rojas took his first major hit since being called up to High-A. Rojas went 5 ⅓, and after a dominant first five innings where he kept the Chiefs scoreless, things blew up for him in the sixth. He would ultimately get credited for five earned runs on six hits, raising his ERA to a still-impressive 2.10. Rojas was cruising until he gave up three straight singles and a home run with one out in the bottom of the sixth.

Things went nearly as poorly on offense with the Cubs racking up just three hits on the game. Rafael Morel (1-for-3) got the team on the board by scoring off a balk. Alexis Hernandez (1-for-3, RBI) would capitalize and put the Cubs up 2-0 with an RBI single. That was about all that went the Cubs’ way until the top of the 9th where Reginald Preciado reached on a fielding error and Brian Kalmer came in to score.

The six straight losses put South Bend in serious playoff trouble. The team sits at 3.0 games back in the Midwest League West after going 3-for-7 in their last 10 and giving up the lead. With six games remaining in the season, South Bend will need to try and sweep on their final homestand to have a chance.

Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans

Season Record: 66-57
Series Opponent: Fayetteville Woodpeckers (Houston Astros)
Series Standing: Split 3-3

August 30: The Pelicans out flew the Woodpeckers, picking up a 5-3 win on Saturday. Starter Ethan Flanagan was in his groove, pitching three innings of no run ball, allowing just three hits and striking out four. Landon Ginn pitched three innings of long relief and picked up the illustrious win and blown save after giving up five hits and two earned runs. Ginn, despite making us doubt, picks up his fifth win of the season.

The offense put up five runs on 10 hits and three walks. Angel Cepeda (2-for-5, RBI) got the Pelicans on the board with an RBI single in the top of the fifth.

The Woodpeckers would give the team a run for their money after tying the game up 3-3 in the seventh, but Christian Olivio (2-for-4, RBI) would drive in the game-winning run in the eighth with an RBI line drive to left field.

Alexey Lumpuy would add on the insurance run in the top of the 9th and become the first Pelican to reach 10 home runs this season!

August 31: The Pelicans were pecked out by the Woodpeckers as they dropped the series finale in a disappointing 12-3 romp. Starter Ronny Lopez got tuned up in his start, going 3 ⅓ innings and allowing seven runs on just two hits and five walks. He let up a run scoring balk and then proceeded to walk three consecutive batters with the bases loaded in the fourth. Lopez picked up his second loss (0-2) and raised his season ERA to 6.59.

The offense was slightly brighter as the team managed to rack up seven hits, but they could only plate three and didn’t register a single walk to their 10 team strikeouts. Eli Lovich (1-for-4, two RBIs, R) was the main highlight of the game as he drove in two to put the Pelicans up early in the second with an RBI double.

That was about it for a quiet offense today. Justin Stransky (0-for-2, RBI) drove in the only other run than;s to a sac fly that would drive in Lovich.

While the series finale loss was certainly disappointing, the main focus will be on getting Kane Kepley going again and resting the pitching staff as Myrtle Beach prepares for the playoffs.

Notable Promotions / Injury Notes

• Chicago Cubs optioned LHP Jordan Wicks to Iowa Cubs

• Chicago Cubs recalled RHP Porter Hodge from Iowa Cubs

Interested in learning more about the Chicago Cubs' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!