Peter Matt (photo by Stephanie Lynn)

AAA

St. Paul 8, Iowa 1

Top Performers

Jared Young: 2-4, HR (6), R, RBI (.213)Ildemaro Vargas: 1-3, BB (.250)Erick Castillo: 2-4 (.500)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Your @EMCInsurance Player of the Game is Jared Young with this solo blast! (yes, @voiceofcohen called it) pic.twitter.com/5gooUejlE1

May 5, 2022

Good news: Wade Miley is set to start for Iowa today. Alec Mills has begun throwing again after his setback following his first rehab appearance with Iowa last week.

Bad news: @IowaCubs trail @StPaulSaints 8-1 after 7 innings.

Good news: Cayne Ueckert just hit 99 mph six times in the 7th inning. Gave up one unearned run, but stranded bases loaded by striking out old friend Elliot Soto on one of those heaters.

May 5, 2022

AA

Tennessee 10, Birmingham 4

Game Recap

Two of the hottest hitters in the Cubs system, Chase Strumpf and Nelson Velazquez, hit solo home runs in the early going. Singles by Levi Jordan and Luis Vazquez knocked in three more runs in the 4th. It was all the offense Ryan Jensen and Smokies pen required.

Footage: pic.twitter.com/njiaotErKa

May 4, 2022

Jensen wasn’t very efficient, and I struggle to see enough progress from him this year to expect him to remain a starter long term, but he limited the damage through four innings. Blake Whitney followed, and continued his strong season to earn the win. Next up was Burl Carraway, he threw well in his first inning, but lost control in his second, which allowed the Barons to pull within a run in the 8th.

The Smokies offense added four insurance runs in the top of the 9th to pull away.

Top Performers

Nelson Velazquez: 2-3, HR (9), 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, SB (4) (.278)Chase Strumpf: 3-5, HR (5), 3 R, RBI (.229)Andy Weber: 2-4, R, RBI, BB (.261)Levi Jordan: 2-4, R, RBI, BB (.400)Christopher Morel: 2-5, 3B, R, RBI (.309)Harrison Wenson: 1-3, RBI, BB (.154)Ryan Jensen: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K (5.51)Blake Whitney: 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K (W, 2-0, 3.38)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Ben Hecht (2021 TJS) threw a bullpen in Mesa according to AZ Phil.

High-A

South Bend 6, Peoria 3

Game Recap

Alexander Canario and Bradlee Beesley, who were pivotal in their comeback victory the night before gave South Bend, homered to give them an early 3-2 advantage. Joe Nahas allowed a run in the 3rd which tied it, but held the Chiefs there over the next five innings. Nahas has been a key piggyback starter in the org the last couple of years. He’d struggled a bit to open the year, but hopefully yesterday was springboard to get him back on track. He punched out seven over six innings.

The Cubs are making a habit of late inning offensive dramatics. This time it was an 8th inning three-run Matt Mervis homer which secured the victory for South Bend.

ICYMI… Today we belted 3 @hoosierlottery homers, including a game-winning 3-run homer from Matt Mervis in the 8th. pic.twitter.com/9qssYZ5QZp

May 4, 2022

Top Performers

Alexander Canario: 1-2, HR (7), 2 R, RBI, 2 BB (.289)Bradlee Beesley: 1-3, HR (2), R, 2 RBI, BB (.246)Matt Mervis: 1-4, HR (5), R, 3 RBI (.299)Caleb Knight: 1-2, R, BB (.182)Scott McKeon: 1-3, SB (2) (.200)Yohendrick Pinango: 1-4, 2B, R (.244)Joe Nahas: 6 IP, 4 H, R, 2 BB, 7 K (W, 1-0, 4.70)Jeremiah Estrada: IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, K (S, 2, 1.08)

Injuries, Updates, and Trends

Kohl Franklin started and went two innings. The Cubs are not pushing him very hard after he missed the last two years of development. He’s looked understandably rusty. The stuff looks good, but he’s shown very little command thus far. It is going to be a slow build up for him this year, and I wouldn’t expect great results during the first half of the season.

Low-A

Myrtle Beach 24, Salem 6

Game Recap

I’m not even sure what to say. The Pelicans are riding high in 1st place and it is becoming a regular occurrence for them to blow teams out. This was another level though.

With @Cubs outfield prospect Peter Matt unexpectedly leading the way with 2⃣ homers and 7⃣ RBIs, @Pelicanbaseball delivered the young season’s biggest show of offense: https://t.co/4L9dxgxFYr pic.twitter.com/kwhrAoERyD

May 5, 2022

No. 13 @Cubs prospect Reginald Preciado plated a career-high six runs … and he wasn’t even the @Pelicanbaseball biggest RBI man Wednesday night. pic.twitter.com/XPPPqpVROU

May 5, 2022

Put it in the books!@Cubs prospects Pete Crow-Armstrong (No. 6) and Reginald Preciado (No. 11) played major roles in the 24-run offensive barrage by the @Pelicanbaseball: https://t.co/gBNyK1qjOz pic.twitter.com/UYZGa7d2di

May 5, 2022

Top Performers

Peter Matt: 3-5, 2 HR (1, 2), 3 R, 7 RBI, SF (.259)Pete Crow-Armstrong: 3-6, HR (4), 2 R, 2 RBI, BB (.392)B.J. Murray: 3-4, 2 2B, 4 R, 5 RBI, BB, HBP (.276)Reginald Preciado: 4-6, 2 2B, R, 6 RBI (.186)Yeison Santana: 2-3, 2B, 4 R, 2 RBI, 3 BB (.327)Cole Roederer: 4-7, 2 2B, 3 R (.545)Ethan Hearn: 2-4, 4 R, 2 RBI, 2 BB, SB (3) (.214)Kevin Alcantara: 0-3, 2 R, 2 BB (.232)Luke Little: 2.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, ER, BB, 4 K (3.86)