Ruoff Mortgage Homestand Preview: June 3-8

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MWL South Bend Cubs

Ruoff Mortgage Homestand Preview: June 3-8

June 2, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release


The South Bend Cubs will play each of their next 18 games against Midwest League East division teams, beginning this week at Four Winds Field. Before taking on Fort Wayne and Lake County, they'll host the Great Lakes Loons for six games. The Loons, the High-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers, split with South Bend at the end of last August. No. 18 Cubs prospect Pedro Ramirez headlined that series with a walk-off grand slam in the Friday game.

State of the Cubs: The South Bend Cubs are coming off their best road series of the season, as they went 2-4 against Midwest League West division leader Quad Cities. Now at 14-37 and 18 games back of the River Bandits, the Cubs have been mathematically eliminated from contention for a first-half division title. However, they can still compete for a second-half championship beginning on June 20.

After a 10-4 loss on Tuesday, Cubs starting pitching gave them a chance in each of the final five games at Quad Cities. Midwest League Pitcher of the Week Tyler Schlaffer completed eight dominant innings with eight strikeouts on Wednesday. Lefty Evan Aschenbeck followed on Thursday with his third consecutive quality start and first High-A win. Friday starter Erian Rodriguez covered five innings, setting up Ryan Gallagher for his fourth consecutive six-inning start on Saturday. Kenten Egbert closed the book on Sunday with a season-high total of 6.2 innings pitched.

To win each of their two games in Davenport, the Cubs bounced back from 10-inning, walk-off losses that had occurred on the previous night. In Thursday's 8-6 win, South Bend pulled away with a five-run sixth inning before clinging to the lead through a Quad Cities rally in the ninth. Right-hander Brayden Risedorph pushed the win across the finish line with his first Midwest League save. On Saturday, the Cubs used a four-run fifth inning to spark a 4-1 victory, as center fielder Carter Trice picked up a pair of hits and runs batted in.

No. 6 Cubs prospect Jefferson Rojas put together another quality week at the plate for South Bend, going 7 for 22 with four extra-base hits. He now ranks top-10 in the Midwest League for batting average and slugging percentage, and he enters the Great Lakes series with a seven-game hit streak. No. 11 Cubs prospect Cristian Hernandez drove in six runs during the week, and Reginald Preciado crushed his second home run of the year.

Great Lakes Still Getting Wins: It's been an impressive run of success spanning more than half a decade for the Great Lakes Loons. They have finished every season since 2019 with a winning record, capturing a Midwest League East division title in 2023. This year, the Loons have played well at 27-24, but the West Michigan Whitecaps have been so good in the East division that Great Lakes is looking up at a nine-game distance to first place.

The Loons' strength lies in their offense, which ranks second in the league with 45 home runs. Great Lakes leads the Midwest League in walks, both on offense and as a pitching staff, so ending up on the right side of the free pass will be critical for the Cubs this week.

Individually, the Loons are led by the two best prospects on their team. Josue De Paula has some of the Midwest League's best plate discipline and leads the Loons with eight home runs. Zyhir Hope has been equally impactful, hitting .301 with 35 runs batted in on the shoulders of 21 extra-base hits. Hope began his professional career in the Chicago Cubs' organization but ended up in the Dodgers' system as part of the Michael Busch trade two offseasons ago.

Look for Patrick Copen, another top-30 Dodgers prospect, to lead the Great Lakes rotation. In 48 innings pitched across 10 starts, the right-hander has 77 strikeouts. Nobody else in the Midwest League has more than 53. With a 2.25 ERA and a minuscule .135 opponents' batting average to boot, Copen will present the Cubs with a challenge unlike anything they've seen in 2025.

South Bend's players to watch...

Tyler Schlaffer, RHP: Turning 24 years old back on May 24 might have unleashed something in Schlaffer, who is now South Bend's Wednesday starting pitcher with the arrival of Brooks Caple. After grinding through a rough month leading up to his birthday, Schlaffer tapped into a new level of effectiveness in his start last Wednesday at Quad Cities. He became the first South Bend Cub since 2015's Mark Leal to throw eight innings, allowing only one unearned run while striking out eight. The best part of Schlaffer's outing was his finish, as he retired 17 consecutive River Bandits to conclude his start.

Evan Aschenbeck, LHP: Around this time a year ago, Aschenbeck was leading Texas A&M to the College World Series final as the nation's best reliever. Now, he's settling into a groove again as South Bend's Thursday starting pitcher. Since fully joining the Cubs' rotation on May 14 in Lansing, Aschenbeck has delivered three consecutive quality starts, most recently striking out a career-high eight on six innings of two-run baseball in Davenport. Aschenbeck's command of the zone has driven his success, as he walked just two batters across 18.1 innings over the course of his last three outings.

Vince Reilly, RHP: With all of the recent success in South Bend's rotation, it's easy to lose sight of Cub relief pitchers quietly putting up zeros. But Vince Reilly has been difficult, if not impossible, to ignore. After completing an impressive April that featured a team-leading total of three saves, he took a step forward in May, pitching to 1.04 earned run average across nine trips to the mound. Reilly has conceded an earned run in merely one of his last 10 appearances, making him one of South Bend's most reliable bullpen options regardless of leverage.

Top prospects in the series...

South Bend: INF Jefferson Rojas (Cubs No. 6, MLB No. 78), INF Cristian Hernandez (Cubs No. 11)

Great Lakes: OF Josue De Paula (Dodgers No. 2, MLB No. 33), OF Zyhir Hope (Dodgers No. 3, MLB No. 45), OF Kendall George (Dodgers No. 13), RHP Eriq Swan (Dodgers No. 17), OF Mike Sirota (Dodgers No. 19), 1B/3B Logan Wagner (Dodgers No. 24), RHP Patrick Copen (Dodgers No. 29)

Schedule and probables...

Tuesday, June 3 - 7:05 PM ET: RHP Brooks Caple vs. TBA

Wednesday, June 4 - 7:05 PM ET: RHP Tyler Schlaffer vs. TBA

Thursday, June 5 - 7:05 PM ET: LHP Evan Aschenbeck vs. TBA

Friday, June 6 - 7:05 PM ET: RHP Erian Rodriguez vs. TBA

Saturday, June 7 - 7:05 PM ET: RHP Ryan Gallagher vs. TBA

Sunday, June 8 - 2:05 PM ET: RHP Kenten Egbert vs. TBA

Check out the South Bend Cubs Statistics



Midwest League Stories from June 2, 2025


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