Chicago Cubs Minor League Wrap: August 7

Canario hit .354 with a .500 OBP and seven home runs and 19 RBI in July in Double-A Tennessee.

Little made five starts for the Pelicans and posted a 1.15 ERA. He struck out 25 batters and walked only five over 15.2 innings in the month.

Iowa Cubs

The Iowa Cubs were shelled by the Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers), 10-6. The Mud Hens won the seven-game series, four wins to three.

Hayden Wesneski made his Cubs debut in this game and things did not go well. Wesneski gave up eight runs on eight hits over 1.2 innings. Wesneski walked two and struck out two. He threw 53 pitches and 33 of them were strikes.

(Here’s where I take a break from the format to say that Wesneski didn’t look quite as bad as that line. He was clearly amped up pitching for a new organization and was overthrowing. That was a problem. His command in the zone wasn’t great and he had trouble throwing the slider for strikes. But five of the eight hits Wesneski allowed were weak—less than 75 mph off the bat. Wesneski was sitting 95-to-97 miles per hour on the fastball. He also gave up a grand slam to Kerry Carpenter, whom everyone is wondering why he’s still in the minors.)

Iowa scored all six runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to make this game closer. First baseman Matt Mervis topped off the scoring with a three-run home run. It was Mervis’ 24th home run of 2022 and his third with the I-Cubs Mervis went 2 for 4.

Right fielder Narciso Crook had a pair of doubles in a 2 for 4 game. He drove in one run and scored on Mervis’ home run in the eighth.

Tennessee Smokies

The Tennessee Smokies were burned by the Rocket City Trash Pandas (Angels), 4-3. The two teams split the series with three wins each.

Jordan Wicks had his second-straight start without allowing a run today. Wicks pitched four innings and surrendered just two hits. He struck out seven and walked two.

Peyton Remy had a lot of trouble throwing strikes in the bottom of the eighth inning, eventually walking in what proved to be the winning run. Remy pitched one inning and allowed one run on one hit and three walks. He struck out one.

Right fielder Yonathan Perlaza led off the game with a solo home run. It was his 19th home run of the year and his fifth in the month of August already. (His fifth in the six-game series as well.) Perlaza was 1 for 4.

Shortstop Luis Vazquez was 2 for 3 with a walk.

South Bend Cubs

The South Bend Cubs were oxidized by the Fort Wayne TinCaps (Padres), 7-5 in a game that ended in the top of the eighth inning because of rain. Each team won three games of the six-game series.

Starter Daniel Palencia was brilliant in his first game off the injured list, retiring all nine batters he faced in his three innings of work. He struck out seven of the nine hitters.

Jarrod Wright wasn’t quite so good and took the loss. Wright allowed seven runs, six earned, on six hits over 2.1 innings. Wright walked three and struck out one.

The weather really hurt South Bend today, as they had runners on the corners and one out in the top of the eighth when the game was delayed and eventually called by rain.

Catcher Pablo Aliendo hit a solo home run in the seventh inning, his sixth on the season. Aliendo was 2 for 3 with two runs batted in.

Center fielder Jordan Nwogu had three RBI today. Two of them came on a sixth-inning double and the other one was when he reached on an error in the eighth. Nwogu went 1 for 3.

Left fielder Owen Caissie was 2 for 4 with a double. He scored one run.

Third baseman Luis Verdugo went 2 for 4 and scored twice.

Myrtle Beach Pelicans

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans were scratched by the Lynchburg Hillcats (Guardians), 3-2. The Hillcats won the series, four games to two. It was the first six-game series the Pelicans have lost all season.

Starting pitcher Chase Watkins got tagged for a home run by the second hitter of the game and the Hillcats never gave up that lead. Watkins finished with a line of one run on two hits over 3.2 innings. He walked five and struck out four.

Left fielder Parker Chavers hit a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth inning. It was Chavers first homer all year. Chavers went 2 for 5 with a triple and the homer. He tripled with two out in the ninth, but was stranded there.