Cubs Minor League News: Assad impressive, Schlaffer throws gem, Long and Perez raking |
Dustin Riese
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- Wednesday, April 16 2025
With the Cubs still out West for another two days, most of the focus shifts to the Cubs' Minor League system, as they will be the center of attention late. This is especially the case when it comes to AAA, as some expected moves are coming from Iowa to try and stabilize the pen.
What those moves are remains to be seen, but this is why the Cubs invest as much time as they do into finding talent: They want to have an influx of internal options ready and available. Returning to baseball action, all four teams were in action Tuesday, and the Cubs posted a 1-3 record.
This was one of those nights where the offense was tough to come by for the Cubs, as the pitching stood out. Win or not, that has to be an encouraging sign when you look at how things have gone throughout the organization, as Javier Assad was on the mound to begin his rehab. Expected to make at least three starts in the minors, Assad got off to a good start by going 3 1/3 innings, allowing one run and striking out four. He did his best to keep the Saints off base as a third-inning single from Reese McGuire put the Cubs in front 1-0 and backed Assad. McGuire RBI SINGLE! Unfortunately, that would be the only run of the game for Iowa as Zebby Matthews struck out seven across five innings of one-run ball before handing things off to Travis Adams to close things out. Both of the Saint Paul runs came in the fourth inning, and it came on one swing from Carson McCusker as his RBI double put Saint Paul in front 2-1 and would be the game's final run. Along with Assad making his season debut, the Cubs also saw Tyson Miller make his first rehab appearance as he struck out two across a scoreless frame. Iowa had six hits in the loss, with Jonathon Long and Carlos Perez picking up two. Final. pic.twitter.com/ollgzzFXth
It was the beginning of a new era for the Smokies as they christened their brand new ballpark with an impressive 7,000-person sellout. After playing their first two weeks on the road, the long ball provided the Smokies with some home cooking as a pair of two-run homers proved to be just enough in the 5-4 win. Fresh off a great start his last time out, Grant Kipp continued to impress as the right-hander gave the Smokies five innings of one-run, six-strikeout baseball. Kipp walked one, allowed three hits, and has his ERA sitting at 0.90 for the season. As good as Kipp has been this season, it's always good to pitch with the lead, and with Pablo Aliendo delivering a first-inning sacrifice fly, it was the Smokies on top 1-0. Knoxville would never trail as they used the long ball to extend the lead and break things open late. BJ Murray Jr provided the first of two homers for the home teams as his two-run blast was the first-ever homer in this park and made things 3-0. Chattanooga managed to pull within 3-1 in the fourth off an RBI groundout, but the two-run single from Hector Rodriguez in the seventh brought things back to even 3-3. As if two homers weren't enough, why not make it two as Casey Opitz uncorked another homer in the bottom of the seventh to not only put the Smokies back in front 5-3 but also proved to be the winning run. Chattanooga did manage to pull within one late on another RBI grounder, but that was it, as AJ Puckett came in to secure the save with a perfect ninth inning. Knoxville picked up seven hits in the win, six coming from Jordan Nwogu, Brett Bateman, and Murray Jr, who each had two. Opitz had the other hit with his homer. Joining Kipp on that mound with strong performances were Ben Leeper and Frank Scalzo Jr., who combined to toss 2 1/3 scoreless frames to keep their ERAs at 0.00. First win at Covenant Health Park in the books! | @zipscarwash
Like their parent club, the Chicago Cubs, South Bend saw their game with West Michigan go into extras with things tied at one. However, the Cubs were coming away on the losing end this time, falling to West Michigan on a walk-off sacrifice fly 2-1. As was the case most of the night, the pitching stood out as Tyler Schlaffer came out and shoved, going five innings and striking out eight. He did allow an earned run, but apart from that, his outing was about as strong as you could've hoped for. Schlaffer was given an early lead with the Cubs striking first on a first-inning wild pitch, but that was it, as the South Bend offense was silenced the rest of the way. That's hard to believe when the West Michigan staff walked more batters than they struck out, but to their credit, they did a great job of limiting the damage and keeping things close. With the Cubs still leading 1-0 in the fourth, Josue Briceno changed all that as he touched up Schlaffer for a solo shot to pull even 1-1. That was the only run he would allow, as it was up to the bullpen to keep things close. For the most part, they did their job as Johzan Oquendo and Vince Reilly combined for four innings, allowing just one hit and striking out four as this game was ticketed for extras. In the extra frame, the Cubs saw their luck run out as Max Clark came through with a walk-off sacrifice fly to lift the Whitecaps 2-1. South Bend had seven hits in the loss, with Brian Kalmer leading the way with two hits and two walks. Opening Day is off to a great start! pic.twitter.com/WN2njV3IXA
Not only was there plenty of Minor League action to keep tabs on, but there was some matinee baseball action as the Pelicans and Greenjackets faced off for some afternoon fun. Fun may not be the word of choice used by the Pelicans, as they were held to three hits in a 4-1 loss. Hayden Frank got the start for the Pelicans and put together a great effort on the mound, going five innings and allowing one run while striking out six. They needed that type of effort from him as Luke Sinnard struck out seven of the 12 Greenjacket strikeouts in only three innings. With things tied 0-0 in the fourth, the Pelicans broke through first as the scorching hot Leonel Espinoza came through with his second homer of the season to make this a 1-0 game. Unfortunately, that was the only run of the game for Myrtle Beach, who saw their lead evaporate in the bottom of the fourth off the Nick Montgomery RBI fielder's choice. Augusta managed to grab the lead for good in the sixth with an RBI forceout, leading to the winning run ahead of the Isaiah Drake single, which pushed the lead to 3-1. They would tack on another run in the seventh off the John Gil double to close out the scoring as Augusta takes game one 4-1. Espinoza had one of the three Pelicans hits, joining Christopher Paciolla and Eriandys Ramon.SAINT PAUL SAINTS 2 - IOWA CUBS 1
1-0 I-CUBS! pic.twitter.com/VN9WvwbrJ7
KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 5 - CHATTANOOGA LOOKOUTS 4
Box Score: https://t.co/YoBBBz9oFg pic.twitter.com/x7R8kUarudWEST MICHIGAN WHITECAPS 2 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1 (F/10)
AUGUSTA GREEN JACKETS 4 - MYRTLE BEACH PELICANS 1
