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July 11, 2022 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release


A fierce rivalry is quickly developing on social media (okay, on the field too) between the Peoria Chiefs and South Bend Cubs. After all, it is Cubs vs. Cardinals Midwest League style.

As the Cubs get ready to head to Peoria for the next six days, it's no secret that South Bend has had more success against the Chiefs this year than any other Midwest League team. The Cubs have won 11 of the 12 games the two clubs have played, with all of them coming at Four Winds Field. This will be the first time that South Bend makes the voyage to Dozer Park this season, and they'll hope for the same success there.

The venom between the two ball-clubs started when the Cubs swept the Chiefs in six-games from May 3-8. That series also featured a doubleheader, but South Bend was strong for the whole week. The Chiefs returned again to the 574 from June 21-26. Peoria won the series opener of that stanza, but the Cubs did not stay down for long, winning the next five in a row.

Does this week in Central Illinois spell the same time of recipe for the Cubs?

They just got done with a back-and-forth key series against the Milwaukee Brewers affiliate, the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. With their Sunday afternoon victory, the Cubs split the series versus Wisconsin three-games apiece. That positions South Bend back to a tie for first place in the Midwest League West Division. On the Wisconsin side, they were right in the middle of a large 12-game road trip. They will now head to Grand Rapid to take on the West Michigan Whitecaps. At the moment, West Michigan has the best record in the East Division.

So, if the Cubs can continue to play their best baseball over the Chiefs, and if they get some help this week from their friends to the north in West Michigan, it's not out of the question that the Cubs can grab that division lead.

Still, you know that Peoria will be out for revenge, and their roster looks slightly different from the last time that Lance Rymel's crew saw them.

Players to watch on Peoria...

Tyler Reichenborn, OF: Reichenborn had one of the more impressive streaks we have seen around the Midwest League, or all of Minor League Baseball, this season. For a full calendar month, from June 2, to July 2, he was on base everyday. That added up to 26 straight games finding a way on base. Remarkably, he is still only a .217 hitter, even with that streak. During the big stretch, he hit over .260, so it still wasn't as hot as what a full hitting streak would have been. But Reichenborn has shown the ability to work some of the best at-bats in all of the Midwest League. He also is slated in Patrick Anderson's lineup nearly everyday in the two-spot. Plus, he plays a very reliable corner outfield. All things considered, if this guy is seeing the ball as well as the last time South Bend saw him, which was right in the middle of that monstrous on-base run, it will be tough to get him out anytime he steps up.

Brady Whalen, INF: This one threw me for a loop. Welcome back to the Midwest League... Brady Whalen? This name may ring a bell for South Bend Cubs fans, because Whalen STARTED the 2019 Midwest League All-Star Game for the West Division at first base. Yes, all the way back to when the Cubs hosted the stars of tomorrow at Four Winds Field, which included the likes of Wander Franco, Shane McLanahan, Jerar Encarnacion, his Peoria teammate and now Cardinals infielder Nolan Gorman, and others, Whalen was in that group. And he is now just getting back to High-A. From what we can see, Whalen only played 67 games in 2021, but did not deal with anything serious from an injury standpoint. He started this season back at Low-A Palm Beach in the Florida State League, and is just getting back to Peoria right now. Whalen has played eight games with the Chiefs and has hit .242 with two homers. It's not like he's that young of a guy either. Whalen was drafted out of high school by St. Louis and is now 24-years-old. Whatever happened, Peoria is lucky because their lineup gets a huge boost.

Nathanael Heredia, LHP: Right here is where the big fierce drama started between the Cubs and Chiefs last time they met at Four Winds Field. Heredia has been great out of the Chiefs bullpen all year long, posting a 3.21 ERA in 26 games. Batters are only hitting .211 off of the tall lefty. Heredia gets pretty emotional and intense on the mound, and the last time he pitched against the Cubs, he made a visible notion to South Bend's dugout, the Cubs did not like it, and there were some words exchanged. That same game, Heredia took the loss and allowed the game's only run on June 25 as South Bend beat Peoria 1-0. Will we see the same time of emotion coming up this week? That's to be determined.

Players to watch on South Bend...

Jordan Wicks, LHP: As expected with the South Bend rotation, Peoria is going to get a double dose of Jordan Wicks coming up this week. Wicks, the Chicago Cubs 2021 first-round pick, has been exceptional as of late, and in his last two starts he has really shown provided all of the national attention at the time of the draft. The 22-year-old has looked ultra composed on the mound, and has sort of featured that "killer" mentality in which he is taking no prisoners on the bump. Good command of the fastball, plus the breaking stuff and his vanishing changeup. The last two weeks may have been the most impactful of his season, and now you start to wonder that if he pitches well this week, will Double-A Tennessee be calling soon? Wicks' last two starts on June 29 against Beloit and July 6 vs Wisconsin have featured a combined 10 IP, with one run allowed, five hits, one walk, and 11 strikeouts.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, CF: In the past, Peoria was a Chicago Cubs affiliate, even having the great Ryne Sandberg as their manager at one point. To that, some of the top young prospects that Chicago has ever seen have passed through Dozer Park. That's still the case this week, expect they have South Bend written across their jersey. PCA is going to play in Peoria for the first time, and there is some monster anticipation when he arrives. People are already talking about catching the top-3 Cubs prospect live and in person. After the first few games against Wisconsin this week, Crow-Armstrong started to just nuke everything that came his way. That featured being on base four times on Sunday, with a home run, two singles, and a walk in that order. The final three games battling the Timber Rattlers featured a combined line of 7/13 at the plate. Is that good? He's hitting .333 in the month of July, his glove has been off the charts in center field, and he's going to try to help the Cubs put together another dominant series against Peoria.

Owen Caissie, OF: Usually standing just to the right of PCA, Caissie had himself a week to remember at Four Winds Field. Of course, the marquee moment was Thursday's walk-off grand slam, just two hours before his 20th birthday to give the Cubs the win. His final swing as a teenager was one that he will never forget for as long as he lives. His first couple games into his 20s weren't too shabby either, Caissie provided a couple base hits over the weekend and drove in a run to help the Cubs finish off the series split. A lot of times, PCA will get the most love for being a skilled defender and his arms strength, but Caissie has shown that regardless of if he's playing left or right field, he can throw runners out trying to take an extra base. It's scary to think about how loaded this outfield in right now. When you consider the usual starters of PCA, Caissie and Yohendrick Pinango, then throw in the available guys off the bench of Jordan Nwogu and Jonathan Sierra. Goodness gracious.

Schedule...

Tuesday, July 12 - 7:35 PM ET: LHP Jordan Wicks vs. TBD

Wednesday, July 13 - 7:35 PM ET: RHP Kohl Franklin vs. TBD

Thursday, July 14 - 7:35 PM ET: LHP DJ Herz vs. TBD

Friday, July 15 - 7:35 PM ET: RHP Manuel Espinoza vs. TBD

Saturday, July 16 - 7:35 PM ET: RHP Daniel Palencia vs. TBD

Sunday, July 17 - 2:35 PM ET: LHP Jordan Wicks vs TBD

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

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Midwest League Stories from July 11, 2022


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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