MWL South Bend Cubs

Homestand Report: Cubs Welcome Kernels

Published on May 1, 2023 under Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release


A fresh new week means a different opponent and this week South Bend welcomes in the Cedar Rapids Kernels (9-11) for their first meeting of the 2023 season.

The Cubs (13-8) won back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday to win their last home series 4-2 over the Chiefs and now look to continue their sharp play into the back-half of this 12-game homestand. The Kernels came out of the gates blistering hot with a 5-0 start but then fell flat on their face with an 8-game losing streak, nearly getting swept in six by Beloit. Brian Dinkelman's squad just split a series 3-3 with West Michigan despite being outscored by 18 run. They were shutout twice (10-0, 4-0) and lost the series finale 13-1.

These two sides met for the final series of the 2023 regular season and then met again the following week in the first round of the playoffs. In a winner-take-all game three finale the Cubs smothered the Kernels with a 9-3 victory and went on to then win the Midwest League Championship.

Entering this series the Cubs are second in the West, 1.5 games behind Beloit and the Kernels are five games back tied in third. Offensively, the Cubs are second in the league in batting average (.246) and OPS (.748), whereas the Kernels are second to last in average (.204) and dead last in OPS (.617). On the pitching side South Bend's 3.33 ERA is second best, with Cedar Rapids staff ranked eighth with a 4.19 ERA.

PLAYERS TO WATCH ON CEDAR RAPIDS...

RHP, Orlando Rodriguez: The Kernels top 2 prospects are both shelved on the IL but Orlando Rodriguez is certainly someone to watch this week. While he's not on any top prospect list, the 27-year-old through his first four outing sports a 1.59 ERA and will make his second start of the campaign on Thursday. Last season the Miami Gardens, FL product was stellar, shining to the tune of a 2.97 ERA in 26 appearances (six starts). It'll be a revenge game when he takes the hill because surely he remembers the last time he faced the Cubs, in game three of the Division Round, and the right-hander recorded just one out, giving up four runs and taking the loss.

SS, Noah Miller: Taken with the 36th overall pick in the 2021 MLB Draft, Noah Miller was off to a torrid start before cooling off last week. The 20-year-old from Ozaukee, Wisconsin tallied four hits against Beloit on April 23 and was batting .306 through the first three series of the year. A 3-for-24 effort last week has slowed him down but he can certainly bust out again at any time. A high-impact defender at short, with a keen eye at the plate, Miller, the younger brother of big-leaguer Owen Miller, is trying to prove in 2023 that he has the bat to continue progressing through to the higher levels of the Twins farm system. MLB Pipeline pegs him the Twins number 14 prospect.

INF, Jose Salas: This should be another familiar name to South Bend fans. Jose Salas was Beloit's everyday shortstop last season down the stretch and a top-10 Marlins prospect. On January 20, 2023 the Twins traded Luis Arraez to the Marlins and in return got Bryon Chourio and Salas. Another 20-year-old infielder, Salas provides great versatility defensively and has started five games at 2B, five at SS, and six at 3B for Cedar Rapids this season. The Twins number nine prospect batted .250 across two levels and swiped 33 bases in 34 tries in 2022. This year though the bat has really struggled, in 16 games his average is a mere .143 and while he's stolen 16 bases, he has been caught six times already. It's a matter of time before Salas finds his stroke in 2023, and the Cubs are hoping it's not this week at Four Winds Field.

PLAYERS TO WATCH ON SOUTH BEND...

OF, Kevin Alcántara: What a week it was for the Cubs number two overall prospect. This morning Marquee Sports Network announced the 20-year-old as the Cubs Minor League Player of the week, after hitting .455, with 10 hits, two HR, and a 1.318 OPS vs the Chiefs. Alcántara started the week with a game-tying homer in the ninth, plus a two-run walk-off single the following inning with two outs. He's seeing the ball as well as anyone in the league right now.

LHP, Luke Little: Little posted a career day last Wednesday, working a career-long five innings and tying a career best with six strikeouts. He didn't allow a run over his last start and has allowed just one this season. The 6-foot-8 left-hander is rocking an ERA of 0.57 and this week has been moved to a bullpen role. With Little coming out of the pen I think all eyes will be on the radar gun to see how hard Little chucks it with the possibility of a shorter workload.

RHP, Richard Gallardo: Gallardo was stellar last week, bookending the series with starts on the rubber. The right-hander from Venezuela tossed five innings and allowed one run Tuesday, then turned around and facing the same team hurled six innings of shutout baseball on Sunday. 11 IP, one run... not too shabby a week. Among qualifying pitchers in the Midwest League, Gallardo is top-10 in ERA (8th, 2.84) and WHIP (7th, 1.03), plus first overall in innings pitched with 25.1 logged so far.

Schedule... (All times are ET)

Tuesday, May 2 - 6:05 PM: RHP Tyler Santana vs. LHP Jordan Carr

Wednesday, May 3 - 11:05 AM: RHP Brandon Birdsell vs. RHP Alejandro Hidalgo

Thursday, May 4 - 7:05 PM: RHP Connor Noland vs RHP Orlando Rodriguez

Friday, May 5 - 7:05 PM: RHP Kohl Franklin vs. RHP Marco Raya

Saturday, May 6 - 4:05 PM: RHP Richard Gallardo vs. LHP Jaylen Nowlin

Sunday, May 7- 2:05 PM ET: RHP Tyler Santana vs RHP Kyle Jones

Catch the entire six-game series on Sports Radio 960-AM WSBT, online at wsbtradio.com, or on MiLB.com with Brendan King and Max Thoma on the call.

Check out the South Bend Cubs Statistics

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Midwest League Stories from May 1, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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