MWL South Bend Cubs

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August 28, 2023 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release


For the second time this season, the South Bend Cubs are packing their bags to Fort Wayne. In a match-up set against their in-state rival, the Cubs and TinCaps will get together at Parkview Field in the final away series for South Bend in 2023.

As of Sunday afternoon from their series against the Cedar Rapids Kernels concluding, the Cubs have officially been eliminated from playoff contention. But this week offers an opportunity for South Bend to knock their longtime rival out of playoff contention. The TinCaps are only 1.5 games back of first place in the Midwest League East Division, and that spot is held by the West Michigan Whitecaps.

Fort Wayne is tied up with Lake County 1.5 games behind, and the Dayton Dragons are still in it as well 3.5 games back of the pace. Dayton is really scuffling though. The Dragons have lost four in a row, are only 3-7 in their last 10 games, and have a .500 second half record.

The TinCaps have been really good in the second half, but their roster has just been gutted with end of season promotions away from Parkview Field. That includes the San Diego Padres top prospect, Ethan Salas. We just saw his brother, Jose, at Four Winds Field with the Kernels. But Ethan is just on a different level. He's only 17-years-old, and just got promoted to Double-A.

It's not like Salas was with Fort Wayne for a long time either. He played nine games with the TinCaps. Good morning, good afternoon, and goodnight. Salas is one of many departures for Fort Wayne, since the last time we saw them in South Bend this Summer. In fact, the top half of that lineup we saw in South Bend back in June is gone. That includes Jackson Merrill, Jakob Marsee, Marcos Castańon, and Joshua Mears is on the Injured List.

If Fort Wayne wants a playoff spot, they'll have to use a team of brand new players, and get through a South Bend roster that is extremely cohesive and familiar with one another. Guys like Matt Shaw and Josh Rivera are new, but Kevin Alcántara, James Triantos, Yohendrick Pinango, and Christian Franklin know exactly what to expect from Fort Wayne.

On the mound, it'll be another round for the six-man rotation of Tyler Santana, Connor Noland, Grant Kipp, Brody McCullough, Luis Devers, and Michael Arias. Each right-hander has given the Cubs a consistent opportunity for W's when they have been on the bump. Also doing an outstanding job in a piggyback role has been Nick Hull.

Since his promotion from Low-A Myrtle Beach, Hull has been an innings eater for the Cubs and has gone three to four frames consistently while putting up zeroes.

Last 12 of the season are ahead. After the Fort Wayne series, South Bend heads home to face the Quad Cities River Bandits for the remaining six home games at Four Winds Field. Let's enjoy the tail-end of the season and get some W's along the way!

Players to watch on Fort Wayne...

Kervin Pichardo, SS: Here's a weird, random South Bend Cubs connection! Pichardo, the 21-year-old from The Bronx, was traded from the Philadelphia Phillies to the San Diego Padres for former South Bend Cubs and Chicago Cubs righty James Norwood. That trade also involved the Phillies sending the Padres cash, and Pichardo has now arrived to Fort Wayne for the first time. He's had a little bit of a reserve style getting to the 260, however. Last season, Pichardo played 51 games and hit .182 at Low-A Lake Elsinore, and then got a 29 game run with Triple-A El Paso to close the season. He hit remarkably better at Triple-A than Single-A with a better average at .213 and more home runs with four. This season, he started the campaign with Fort Wayne, went to Double-A San Antonio for a 15 game stretch, and then was returned to Fort Wayne. With the TinCaps, he has hit .247 for the year, but has been the TinCaps hottest hitter over the last five games, going 5/13 with only one strikeout and two walks. Pichardo will have to be one of the guys that plays well for the TinCaps if they want to continue this playoff race with West Michigan and Lake County.

Cole Paplham, RHP: The TinCaps lineup wasn't the only thing that changed from the last time we saw them in June. Their bullpen also has a brand new style to it. That includes new closer Cole Paplham. In four games with Fort Wayne, Paplham has not given up a run, and has two saves. The Green Bay native is pitching in his first pro campaign out of New Orleans, and with A- Lake Elsinore at the start of the year, posted a 4.29 ERA and eight saves with them. 25 strikeouts in 21 innings for a Low-A closer is pretty lethal, and he has not given up a home run all year. And Paplham is by every sorts of the imagination as closer. He has not thrown more than an inning and any of his 26 appearances this season. The guy goes out there to record three outs. That's clearly the strategy of the Padres organization, and so far, he has matched those expectations. We'll see how he looks at Parkview Field this week.

Austin Krob, LHP: The Cubs are scheduled to see two lefties in the stating rotation this week for Fort Wayne. That list includes the former TCU Horned Frog Austin Krob. At 23-years-old, Krob is a polished college arm who was a 12th round pick of the Padres last year. He's already ranked as a top-30 prospect for San Diego as well, with a 4-3 record and 3.28 ERA in nine starts with the TinCaps. He did pitch in 12 games at Low-A to begin this season, and had a quick cup of coffee with minimal action after being drafted last year. A 2.34 Low-A ERA is impressive, but what's more impressive is his command. He has trusted his stuff since coming to Fort Wayne, walking only 17 batters in just over 46 innings. He has won back-to-back starts, after losing his first two starts of August. The wins are over Dayton and Great Lakes, where Krob went a combined 11.1 innings with just two earned runs allowed. He walked an uncharacteristic four in that start against Dayton, but didn't give up a single free pass at Great Lakes. He picked up seven and eight strikeouts, respectively, in the two outings. MLB.com writes, "He's gotten more strikeouts than the typical ground-baller too, thanks to an 83-85 mph slider with good sweep and a mid-80s fading changeup. Krob also mixes in an upper-70s curveball for a different look, but it isn't as sharp."

Players to watch on South Bend...

Tyler Santana, RHP: He has been Mr. Reliable wherever the Cubs have needed him in 2023. Tyler Santana truly has done it all this year. Starting, long-inning relief, short relief, closing, you say it, Santana can bring it. In his latest trip into the rotation, Santana has primarily started on Tuesday's, and he has given South Bend excellent chances to win every time he has been out there. In his last five outings, three have bene starts and he's got a 1.69 ERA in that time. In 16 innings during that period, he's surrendered only three runs, with three walks and 11 strikeouts. Batters are hitting only .169. The 25-year-old from Miami has been with South Bend all the way back since April 8 when he got the win at Quad Cities in three hitless and scoreless innings. And after posting five innings of one-run baseball against Cedar Rapids last week, earning the W, Santana will look to set the tone versus Fort Wayne. He has combined for nine innings and only one run given up in his last two outings. Really good stuff.

Matt Shaw, INF: It's getting to be a gimme-putt whenever we do one of these reports every week that Matt Shaw is going to be part of it. The Chicago Cubs first-round pick out of Maryland is doing everything and more of what we expected when he arrived here in South Bend. I've said it a lot on the broadcasts that when Nico Hoerner was here from my first year, the type of play that Shaw has performed was exactly what we had in mind for Nico. Unfortunately, Hoerner got hurt and only played four games. Shaw has been healthy, and swinging an absolute missile of a bat. Here's what you need to know. The guy is batting .393. It's just been exceptional. He's now up to 20 games with that average. Four home runs, including his first multi-homer game in the 18-2 pounding of the Kernels on Friday. Four doubles, three triples, 18 rBI, only 12 strikeouts, seven stolen bases, .655 slugging, and a 1.082 OPS. It's almost video game-esque. He has also looked great in the field whether that's at shortstop or second base. To be fair, we don't know how long he is going to be here. He is good enough to be at Double-A, and probably Triple-A for that matter. If one thing is for sure, we're glad to have him while he's here.

Ed Howard, INF: From one first round pick to another, Ed Howard had himself a strong series against Cedar Rapids. That included five total base hits in four games, and a three hit and three RBI night against the Kernels on August 22. That was a great night for Ed, and it finished off with his first ever Gatorade cooler dump in the postgame interview. What I loved most about that night for Howard was that the first two at-bats were against a lefty, and both base hits versus the southpaw were pushed into right field. The final hit was against a righty, and that was floated out into the left-center field gap. Howard has congruently risen step by step and day by day since coming back to the Cubs. You have to keep in mind that he's playing after a remarkably scary injury, and pair that with two years after he missed an entire season due to COVID. And Ed's still only 21. Take away two years from a 21-year-old, and you do the math. Howard is doing great. He's on as strong path, and if one thing is for sure, his glove has not lost a single touch of where it was early last season. He's silky smooth as ever. He's the only shortstop I've had in my four years in South Bend who did not have a transition period playing defense in the cold to begin a year. And that holds a strong piece of memory in my mind. Howard continues to grind away at picking up as many at-bat's this season as he possibly can, in the hopes for a complete and full 2024 season for him. That's what this is all about; Get yourself back and running to where you feel like yourself 100%, and come out ready to dominate in 2024. These last 12 games are massive for Ed. If he finds success in Fort Wayne and then against Quad Cities, that is such a fun storyline for the off-season. Howard finished strong in 2023, and he's ready to continue his comeback tour with a massive year in 2024.

Schedule...

Tuesday, August 29 - 6:35 PM ET: RHP Tyler Santana vs. RHP Edwuin Bencomo

Wednesday, August 30 - 6:35 PM ET: RHP Connor Noland vs. RHP Henry Baez

Thursday, August 31 - 6:35 PM ET: RHP Grant Kipp vs. LHP Miguel Cienfuegos

Friday, September 1 - 7:05 PM ET: RHP Brody McCullough vs. RHP Dylan Lesko

Saturday, September 2 - 6:35 PM ET: RHP Luis Devers vs. LHP Austin Krob

Sunday, September 3 - 6:05 PM ET: RHP Michael Arias vs RHP Victor Lizarraga

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

Check out the South Bend Cubs Statistics



Midwest League Stories from August 28, 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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