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Cristian Hernandez and Jaxon Wiggins continued their great starts to the season at High-A South Bend. Still, it was a tough couple of days for Chicago Cubs affiliates, who went a combined 1-6 from April 24-25, with the I-Cubs getting postponed in Louisville both days. Cubs Affiliate Overview (April 24–25) Triple-A Iowa Cubs Series vs. Louisville Bats (Cincinnati Reds): Bats lead 2–0 Season Record: 11–9 Double-A Tennessee Smokies Series vs. Pensacola Blue Wahoos (Miami Marlins): Blue Wahoos lead 3–1 Season Record: 9–9 High-A South Bend Cubs Series vs. Beloit Sky Carp (Miami Marlins): Tied 2–2 Season Record: 6–13 Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans Series vs. Kannapolis Cannon Ballers (Chicago White Sox): Cannon Ballers lead 3–1 Season Record: 7–12 Triple-A: Iowa Cubs April 24: Postponed April 25: Doubleheader postponed. Double-A: Knoxville Smokies April 24: The Knoxville Smokies were blanked by the Pensacola Blue Wahoos 3-0, the first time all season that the Smokies have been shut out in a ballgame. BJ Murray Jr. was the lone standout offensively, going 2-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base. Despite taking the loss, right-hander Chris Kachmar turned in a solid effort on the mound, allowing two runs on six hits over 5 2/3 innings of work, striking out three. April 25: Knoxville dropped its third-straight game, falling to Pensacola 4-2. Jordan Nwogu paced the Smokies at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a run scored. After being limited to three hits on Thursday, Knoxville tallied seven hits but has now gone two straight games without recording an extra-base hit. Right-hander Nolan Clenney spun a solid relief effort, keeping the Blue Wahoos scoreless over the final three innings of the ballgame, yielding just one hit to go along with one punchout. High-A: South Bend Cubs April 24: The Beloit Sky Carp shut out the South Bend Cubs, 3-0, snapping a brief two-game winning streak. Cristian Hernandez picked up the Cubs’ only hit in the ballgame, going 1-for-3 with a walk. Right-hander Jaxon Wiggins continued his strong start to the season, allowing one unearned run on three hits over four innings, striking out seven for the second-straight start. April 25: South Bend suffered a second-straight defeat, falling 5-2 to the Beloit Sky Carp. After falling behind 3-0, the Cubs made it 3-2 after the seventh but could not complete the comeback. South Bend was held to just two hits, with Cristian Hernandez and Drew Bowser picking up the knocks. Hernandez extends his hitting streak to six games and has hit in 16 of 18 overall this season. In relief, Yovanny Cabrera spun two scoreless innings and did not allow a hit. Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans April 24: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans split a doubleheader with the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers, falling in the opener, 6-1, before earning a 10-2 win in the nightcap. In the opener, the Pelicans were limited to just three hits, with two coming off the bat of Cole Mathis (2-for-3, 2B). In the second game, the Myrtle Beach offense exploded for 10 runs in the fifth, tallying five hits and six runs in the inning, sending 15 batters to the plate. It was enough run support for starter Nazier Mulé, who fanned seven over 5 1/3 innings, allowing two runs on two hits. Mulé has yet to allow more than two earned runs this season, which has been over three starts. April 25: Myrtle Beach fell 6-3 to Kannapolis on Friday. Cameron Cisneros and Owen Ayers each went 2-for-4 at the dish, with Ayers tallying his first home run of the year. Dominic Hambley worked 1 2/3 scoreless innings in relief, whiffing four of the eight batters he faced. View full article

Not the greatest couple of days results-wise in the Cubs system, with the four affiliates combining for a 3-5 record over Thursday and Friday. The Iowa pitching staff racked up 30 strikeouts over the two games, Pablo Aliendo crushed a pair of home runs for Knoxville, South Bend saw its losing skid reach six games, and Myrtle Beach recorded its first shutout of the season on Friday. Image courtesy of David Durochik/Diamond Images via Getty Images Cubs Affiliate Overview (April 17–18) Triple-A Iowa Cubs Series vs. St. Paul Saints: Tied 2–2 Season Record: 10–7 Double-A Tennessee Smokies Series vs. Chattanooga Lookouts: Lookouts lead 3–1 Season Record: 5–6 High-A South Bend Cubs Series vs. West Michigan Whitecaps: Whitecaps lead 4–0 Season Record: 4–9 Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans Series vs. Augusta Green Jackets: Tied 2–2 Season Record: 6–7 Triple-A Iowa Cubs Season Record: 10–7 Series Opponent: St. Paul Saints (7–9) Series Standing: Tied 2–2 April 17: Chase Strumpf's eighth-inning grand slam helped the Iowa Cubs pull away from the St. Paul Saints and claim a 6-2 victory. Keegan Thompson got the start for the I-Cubs, allowing one run, unearned, on just one hit over 3 1/3 innings of work to go along with three strikeouts and no walks. Tom Cosgrove picked up the win in relief, turning in 1 2/3 scoreless frames, also picking up three strikeouts. Gavin Holloway had a stellar outing out of the bullpen, whiffing five of the six batters he faced in two perfect frames of work. I-Cubs arms racked up a total of 14 strikeouts in the ballgame. Along with Strumpf's grand slam, Greg Allen (2-for-3) went yard, launching a two-run shot in the fourth that gave Iowa a 2-1 lead. Ben Cowles (3-for-3) also tallied a multi-hit effort and collected a season-high three hits. Eight of the 10 I-Cubs batters that stepped up to the plate recorded a hit. April 18: The Iowa Cubs let a 5-1 lead slip and ultimately fell to the St. Paul Saints 11-6. Moisés Ballesteros (2-for-4) and Kevin Alcántara (2-for-5) paced the offense, with Christian Franklin slugging his second home run of the season, a solo shot in the first. Connor Noland (2-1) took the loss in the start, allowing six runs on eight hits over 3 2/3 innings. Despite the rough outing, Noland still fired a season-high seven strikeouts and did not issue a walk. Double-A Tennessee Smokies Season Record: 5–6 Series Opponent: Chattanooga Lookouts Series Standing: Lookouts lead 3–1 April 17: The Knoxville Smokies took a 4-0 lead in the second on a solo home run from Pablo Aliendo (1-for-4) and a three-run double from Pedro Ramirez, but the Chattanooga Lookouts scored five times in the fourth and would go on to hand the Smokies a 5-4 defeat. Wil Jensen, Mitchell Tyranski and Zac Leigh combined to toss 5 1/3 scoreless innings in relief, allowing just three hits while punching out six. April 18: The Knoxville Smokies were handed a third-straight loss, falling 3-1 to the Chattanooga Lookouts. The Smokies offense could only muster four hits in the ballgame, with two going for extra bases. Pablo Aliendo (1-for-4) homered for the second-straight game, delivering the Smokies only run of the contest. Right-handers Cayne Ueckert and A.J. Puckett each worked 1.0 scoreless innings in relief. High-A South Bend Cubs Season Record: 4–9 Series Opponent: West Michigan Whitecaps Series Standing: Whitecaps lead 4–0 April 17: The South Bend Cubs fell to the West Michigan Whitecaps 2-1 for the second time in the last three games. The Cubs were held to just three hits offensively, with none of those hits going for extra bases. Cristian Hernandez (0-for-4) was held hitless for just the second time this season. Jaxon Wiggins took the no-decision in the start, allowing one run on two hits over five innings of work, posting seven strikeouts. Chase Watkins (0-1) was handed the loss despite also allowing one run over three innings. April 18: The South Bend Cubs were handed a sixth-straight loss with a 6-4 defeat to the West Michigan Whitecaps. Carter Trice (1-for-3) and Andy Garriola (2-for-4) each crushed two-run blasts in the first to put the Cubs ahead 4-0. The recently activated Jefferson Rojas went 2-for-4 with a run, posting his first multi-hit game of the season. Right-hander Nick Dean took the no-decision in his start, picking up six strikeouts over five innings of two-run ball. Dean has tallied 12 strikeouts compared to just two walks in his first nine innings of the season, spanning two starts. Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans Season Record: 4–7 Series Opponent: Augusta Green Jackets Series Standing: Tied 2–2 April 17: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans broke a 6-6 tie in the eighth with a five-run frame to earn an 11-6 victory over the Augusta Green Jackets, snapping a four-game losing skid. Leonel Espinoza had a monster night at the plate, going 5-for-5 with three runs scored, a home run and three RBI. Cole Mathis also had a big game, going 2-for-5 with two runs, two home runs and five RBI. Right-hander Brayden Spears helped close the contest by tossing two scoreless innings, striking out two. April 18: The Myrtle Beach Pelicans evened up the series with the Augusta Green Jackets with a 2-0 shutout win. Cameron Sisneros' (1-for-3) solo blast in the second gave the Pelicans the lead and Cole Mathis (1-for-3) doubled the advantage with an RBI-double in the fourth. Left-hander Evan Aschenbeck (1-0) earned his first win of the season by blanking the Green Jackets over 5 1/3 innings, striking out three. Mathew Peters (2/3 IP), Christian Gordon (2.0 IP) and Brayden Risedorph (1.0 IP) combined to help deliver the Pelicans' first shutout of the season. View full article

Former prized-prospect Cristian Hernández has been named Midwest League Player of the Week after going 10-for-22 at the plate with four doubles, a home run and three RBI in six games against Peoria. Image courtesy of Todd Johnson Cristian Hernández, the North Side Baseball #10-ranked prospect, had an absolutely monster week at the dish for the South Bend Cubs. The shortstop went 10-for-22 (.455) with four runs scored, four doubles, a home run, three RBI and three walks over six games vs. Peoria (St. Louis Cardinals), earning Midwest League Player of the Week honors. Hernández began the series by ripping off four-straight two-hit games before being held hitless in the second game of Saturday's doubleheader. He wouldn't be kept quiet in Sunday's finale, piecing together another two-hit performance. Though early in the season, Hernández's torrid start is an encouraging sign for a prospect that was ranked as high as #2 in the Cubs system in 2021 and was an overall top 100 prospect entering the 2022 season. Through South Bend's first nine games, Hernández has posted a slash line of .417/.475/.667, good for a 1.142 OPS, to go along with four doubles, a triple, a home run and six RBI. He has multi-hit efforts in six of those ballgames and leads the Midwest League with 15 total hits. After a slow start to his professional career, Hernández made strides last year at Class-A Myrtle Beach, earning a 2024 Carolina League Post-Season All-Star selection. He earned a late-season promotion to High-A but hit just .229 in 23 games at South Bend. It's early, but Hernández is beginning to show flashes of why he was so highly touted when the Cubs signed him for $3 million in 2021. While his current walk rate of 7.5 percent is nearly half of what he posted last season (14.6%), but he has cut his strikeout rate to 17.5 percent (from 22.2%) and raised his ISO to .250, currently more than double last year's mark (.120). If Hernández is able to maintain his hot start to the season, he should see a promotion to Double-A in the near future. View full article