Cubs Minor League Report (5/10): Killer P's Lead South Bend to Double-Digits

I thought I would try something new today here at North Side Baseball/Cubs. This is the first Minor League Report here. This daily review of the organization's farm system has been a staple since long before Twins Daily became Twins Daily over 10 years ago. It essentially becomes a one-stop shop for any and all Cubs minor-league information. Below you will find transactions and the scores and notes and highlights and key performers from Wednesday. We will pick a Cubs minor-league hitter and pitcher of the day. And look at the next day's schedule. 

Check out today's report. Leave some Comments below with your thoughts on this report and if it could be valuable for the readers here, or not. And if so, it would be great to get three or four writers to help write about the minor leaguers. What we would be looking for? Cubs fans who have a passion for minor-league baseball. 

Let’s get to the report. Please feel free to discuss and ask questions. 

TRANSACTIONS

• RHP Kohl Franklin promoted from South Bend to Tennessee. 

• South Bend placed RHP Sam Thoresen on the Injured List. 

• C Miguel Amaya was optioned to Iowa. 

IOWA CUBS COURIER  
Iowa 3, Toledo 2
Box Score
The Cubs held a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning. A Jared Young single scored Edwin Rios for a third run, an insurance run that proved important. The Mudhens scored two runs in the top of the ninth, but the Cubs got the win, 3-2. 

Young went 2-for-4 with the third RBI. Leadoff man Darius Hill had the team’s lone extra-base hit. The 25-year-old left fielder hit his sixth double. 

Ben Brown made his second Triple-A start. In his first start, he gave up one run over 5 2/3 innings. On this night, he tossed five shutout innings. He gave up two hits, walked three, and struck out 10 batters. In six overall starts this season, Brown is now 3-0 with a 0.59 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP, and has 47 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings. 

Brendon Little tossed a scoreless sixth inning. Riley Thompson then went 1 2/3 scoreless innings.. He gave up two hits and two walks. Manuel Rodriguez came in with two runners on base but got the final out of the eighth inning. Rodriguez also pitched the ninth and gave up the two runs on one hit and two walks. However, he recorded his fifth save of the season. 

The Cubs are now 20-12 on the season and 0.5 games ahead of Memphis in the International League West Division. 

SMOKIES SENTINEL
Tennessee 5, Montgomery 2
Box Score 
On Tuesday night, the Smokies smoked a couple of baseballs, and those two baseballs that went over the outfield wall were the difference in this game. 

In the third inning, nine-hitter Jordan Nwogu hit a two-run homer to score the first runs of the game. It was the left fielder’s fifth homer of the season.

Then in the fifth inning, right fielder Owen Caissie launched his seventh homer with two runners on base to give the Smokies a 5-0 lead. Nwogu and Caissie each had two hits in the game. The rest of the lineup had just three hits and two walks in the game. Pablo Aliendo and Haydn McGeary each hit a double. 

Porter Hodge started and did well through four scoreless innings. He gave up two hits, walked on and struck out four batters. Ryan Jensen struck out four batters over two perfect innings out of the bullpen. Carlos Guzman gave up one run on two hits over two innings. Cayne Ueckert gave up a run in the ninth. 

The Smokies are now 17-12, two-and-a-half games ahead of Rocket City in the Southern League North Division. 

SOUTH BEND BEACON
South Bend 10, Wisconsin 6 
Box Score
Cade Horton was the 7th overall pick in the 2022 draft out of the University of Oklahoma. He made his pro debut this season in Myrtle Beach. In four starts, he gave up two runs on eight hits, four walks and 21 strikeouts in 14 1/3 innings. A 1.26 ERA and a 0.84 WHIP, and the Cubs pushed him up to High-A. On Wednesday, he made his first start. It didn’t exactly go well. He gave up six runs on five hits (3 homers) and three walks in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out four batters. 

Fortunately, the Cubs offense had another big day. They scored 10 runs on 15 hits and two walks. The team scored two runs in the first inning on a Yohendrick Pinango RBI single. He later came around to score on a Wild Pitch. They added four runs in the fourth inning. Christian Franklin had an RBI double and then scored on an error. Ezequiel Pagan drove in two runs with a single. In the seventh inning, Pinango had another RBI single. Franklin drove in two with a double, and Casey Opitz singled in the tenth run. 

The team’s two-three-four hitters came up big in this game. Pagan went 3-for-4 with a walk and two RBI. Fabian Pertuz, who played for Team Colombia in the WBC, went 3-for-5 with two doubles. He also stole his ninth base. Pinango went 3-for-5 with two RBI. Franklin was batting seventh, and he hit his first two doubles with the Cubs. 

Horton came out of the game and was replaced by Brad Deppermann who faced five batters and got four outs, three on strikeouts. Frankie Scalzo improved to 4-0 with two scoreless innings. He gave up two hits and had one strikeouts. Joe Nahas finished with three strikeouts over two scoreless, hitless innings. 

South Bend improved to 17-12, one-and-a-half games behind Beloit. 

PELICAN PRESS 
Myrtle Beach 1, Lynchburg 5
Box Score 
The Pelicans had just three hits in this game, and Reivaj Garcia had two of them. The leadoff man and second baseman is now hitting .309 on the season. Andy Garriola had the other hit, a double, his sixth of the season. 

Former infielder Michael Arias made his fifth start of the year.  He gave up just one run on three hits and two walks in four innings. He had five strikeouts and now has 24 strikeouts in 15 2/3 innings. 

Branden Noriega came on and got two outs but not before he gave up two runs on three walks, a hit batter, and a hit. Jose Romero came in with the bases loaded and got out of the fifth inning without further damage. He went two innings and gave up one run on two walks and two hit batters. He left the game with two on, but Johzan Oquendo got the final out. He worked the final two innings and gave up one run on two hits and two walks. 

The Pelicans are now 14-14 and tied with Augusta for third place in the Carolina League South Division, three-and-a-half games behind Columbia. 

CUBS DAILY MINOR LEAGUE PLAYERS OF THE DAY
Pitcher of the Day – Ben Brown (Iowa Cubs) - 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 10 K.
Hitter of the Day – Fabian Pertuz (South Bend Cubs) - 3-for-5, 2-2B(4), R, SB(9). 

PROSPECT SUMMARY
Check out the Prospect Tracker for much more on the Cubs Top 20 prospects after seeing how they did on Wednesday. (Today, we will include all of our Top 20 prospects. As we move forward, we would only update those who played on that day.) 

#1 - OF Pete Crow-Armstrong (Tennessee) - Did Not Play. 
#2 - RHP Hayden Wesneski (Chicago) -  Did Not Pitch. 
#3 - OF Kevin Alcantara (South Bend) - 1-for-5, R, 3 K. 
#4 - OF Brennen Davis (Iowa) - 1-for-3, RBI, HBP.
#5 - LHP Jordan Wicks (Tennessee) - Did Not Pitch 
#6 - 1B Matt Mervis (Chicago) - Did Not Play. 
#7 - RHP Cade Horton (South Bend) - 3 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 4 K. 62 pitches, 38 strikes. 
#8 - OF Owen Caissie (Tennessee) - 2-for-4, HR(7), R, 3 RBI, K. 
#9 - RHP Ben Brown (Iowa) - 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 10 K, 83 pitches, 51 strikes.  
#10 - RHP Daniel Palencia (Tennessee) - Did Not Pitch. 
#11 - IF Cristian Hernandez (Myrtle Beach) - 0-for-4, 3 K. 
#12 - OF Alexander Canario (Iowa) - 60-Day IL, broke left ankle, dislocated left shoulder in the DWL. 
#13 - RHP Porter Hodge (Tennessee) - 4 IP, 0 R, 2 H, BB, HBP, 4 K. 75 pitches, 43 strikes. 
#14 - LHP Jackson Ferris (ACL Cubs) - Did Not Play. 
#15 - 3B James Triantos (South Bend) - Did Not Play. 
#16 - RHP Caleb Kilian (Iowa) - Pitches Thursday
#17 - C Moises Ballesteros (Myrtle Beach) - 0-for-4. 
#18 - SS Kevin Made (South Bend) - 1-for-5, R. 
#19 - C Miguel Amaya (Iowa) - Did Not Play. 
#20 - RHP Jeremiah Estrada (Iowa) - Did Not Pitch

THURSDAY’S SCHEDULE AND PITCHING PROBABLES 
Toledo @ Iowa (12:08 PM CST) - RHP Caleb Kilian (2-0, 4.96 ERA) 
Montgomery @ Tennessee (6:00 PM CST) - TBD  
South Bend @ Wisconsin (6:40 PM CST) - RHP Connor Noland (0-1, 3.93 ERA).  
Lynchburg @ Myrtle Beach (6:05 PM CST) - LHP Marino Santy (1-0, 3.60 ERA) 

Please feel free to ask questions and discuss Wednesday’s games!