Toyota Road Report: June 24-29
June 24, 2025 - Midwest League (MWL)
South Bend Cubs News Release
An early road test in the second half awaits the South Bend Cubs this week, as they'll end the month of June with six games against the Cedar Rapids Kernels, the High-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. After those six, the Cubs will play three games in Peoria to complete their nine-game road trip before bringing the Chiefs to Four Winds Field for Independence Day weekend. This week's Toyota Road Report will focus only on the Cedar Rapids series.
Return Trip: Of the three cities the Cubs will visit twice this season, Cedar Rapids is the first they'll check off the list. South Bend played Veterans Memorial Stadium from April 29 to May 4, dropping five of the six available games to the Kernels. The Cubs won their only game on Friday, May 2, scoring two runs in each of the first two innings on the way to an 8-4 victory. South Bend's bullpen did well to protect the lead, as Vince Reilly combined with Evan Taylor and Johzan Oquendo to pitch five innings without an earned run allowed.
The Cubs have not won a regular-season series against the Kernels since 2021. However, they did punch their ticket to the 2022 Midwest League Championship series in Cedar Rapids.
Last Week Against Lake County**:** The Cubs transitioned to the second half by hosting six games against the Lake County Captains last week, going 2-4. Both South Bend victories, a 4-2 defeat on Wednesday and a 5-4 thriller in 10 innings on Friday, featured excellent starting pitching and a come-from-behind effort.
Right-hander Tyler Schlaffer carried the load as Wednesday's starting pitcher, covering seven innings for the third time in his last four starts. The Chicagoland native allowed just one earned run on two hits, keeping the Cubs in the game despite them falling behind 2-0 in the third inning. No. 5 Chicago Cubs prospect Jefferson Rojas delivered the key hit as South Bend flipped the game, hooking a go-ahead double in the fifth inning. Cameron Sisneros, who was making his second High-A start after his June 16 promotion from Myrtle Beach, played a role as well with three hits and two runs batted in.
On Friday, it was right-hander Eriam Rodriguez dealing his second consecutive quality start for South Bend with six innings of three-run baseball. Rojas opened the scoring for the Cubs with a leadoff homer, but Lake County put that in the rearview mirror and took a 3-1 lead at the game's halfway point. Drew Bowser answered back, though, tying the game with a two-run single in the sixth before the Cubs took the lead in the eighth. The Captains would tie it down to their last strike in the ninth, but Bowser brought in the winning run with a walk-off single in the 10th.
Despite the series loss to Lake County, the Cubs do have some recent road success to draw upon as they head to Iowa. South Bend has won seven of its last 10 games away from home, including a 5-1 trip to Fort Wayne two weeks ago.
Kernels Heading Back to the Postseason**:** Cedar Rapids will see mid-September baseball for the third time in the last four seasons, as the Kernels claimed the West division's first-half title on the first half's final day. They did so by sweeping a doubleheader in Beloit to surge past the Quad Cities River Bandits, who led the West division for almost the entire first half. The Kernels would go on to capture a 4-2 series win against the Sky Carp, bringing their overall record to 41-28.
Beating the Kernels in their house will be a tough ask for the Cubs. Cedar Rapids has been the Midwest League's best home-field team since their 2023 championship season, going 24-13 at Veterans Memorial Stadium this season. Those 24 home victories lead the Midwest League.
The Kernels go as their offense goes, ranking second to East division leader West Michigan in on-base percentage and slugging percentage. However, they did just lose No. 4 Twins prospect Kaelem Culpepper, one of their primary weapons, to a Double-A promotion. On the flipside, they even more recently activated No. 14 Minnesota prospect Billy Amick from the injured list, returning a .342 hitter to their lineup. Though Amick doesn't have a homer yet this season, other top Kernel prospects have covered for him, with Brandon Winokur (No. 7 Twins prospect), Kyle DeBarge (No. 12), and Danny De Andrade (No. 25) combining for 23 of them.
It's a weak starting rotation for the Kernels, who are without No. 8 Twins prospect Charlee Soto due to injury. The best arm South Bend will see among the starters is projected Friday guy Jose Olivares, the No. 28 Twins prospect. Right-hander Paulshawn Pasqualotto leads the Kernel Bullpen with six saves and a 1.41 ERA.
South Bend's players to watch...
Brayden Risedorph, RHP: The Chicago Cubs used their 20th-round pick on Risedorph in last summer's draft, and it has turned into incredible value for their Minor League affiliates. Risedorph, a native Hoosier from Kendallville and an Indiana University alumnus, made his professional debut with Single-A Myrtle Beach to start this season, conceding just one earned run across 15 innings. He's been even better since his May 20 promotion to South Bend, posting 7.2 scoreless frames with 10 strikeouts at the High-A level. In the Cubs' most recent victory on Friday, Risedorph set the table for a walk-off by striking out the side in the top of the 10th inning, claiming his first pro victory in the process.
Jefferson Rojas, INF: This week, Rojas is returning to the place that jump-started his second season in the South Bend pinstripes. During the April-May series in Cedar Rapids, the No. 5 Cubs prospect started all six games, going 9-for-24 with two home runs, eight runs batted in, and three stolen bases. Since that series began on April 29, Rojas has hit .306 with a .517 slugging percentage and .924 OPS across 40 games. He added to those totals with his first leadoff homer of the season on Friday and ended the Lake County series by playing third base for the first time as a South Bend Cub on Sunday.
Carter Trice, OF/1B: Speaking of leadoff bombs, Trice has three of those in what has been a diabolical month of June. Since the month began, he's slashing .304/.494/.714 with seven home runs and nine stolen bases, setting the South Bend Cubs' record for June home runs and becoming the first South Bend slugger to reach double-digit home runs. Only two players in the entire Cubs' Minor League system have a higher OPS than Trice's .902, which ranks fourth in the Midwest League. They are Iowa's Carlos Pérez, who is 12 years older than Trice, and South Bend teammate Cameron Sisneros. Trice carries an 18-game on-base streak into Cedar Rapids and is one of five Minor Leaguers with at least 10 home runs, 35 walks, and 15 stolen bases this season.
Top prospects in the series...
South Bend: INF Jefferson Rojas (Cubs No. 5, MLB No. 72), INF Cristian Hernandez (Cubs No. 10), RHP Ryan Gallagher (Cubs No. 18)
Cedar Rapids: SS Brandon Winokur (Twins No. 7), RHP Charlee Soto (Twins No. 8), SS/2B Kyle DeBarge (Twins No. 12), 3B Billy Amick (Twins No. 14), 3B/SS Rayne Doncon (Twins No. 15), SS Danny De Andrade (Twins No. 25), RHP Jose Olivares (Twins No. 28), C Khadim Diaw (Twins No. 29)
Schedule and probables...
Tuesday, June 24 - 7:35 PM ET: RHP Brooks Caple vs. RHP Ty Langenberg
Wednesday, June 25 - 1:05 PM ET: RHP Tyler Schlaffer vs. RHP Chase Chaney
Thursday, June 26 - 7:35 PM ET: LHP Evan Aschenbeck vs. RHP Tanner Hall
Friday, June 27 - 7:35 PM ET: RHP Erian Rodriguez vs RHP Jose Olivares
Saturday, June 28 - 7:35 PM ET: RHP Ryan Gallagher vs. RHP Cole Peschl
Sunday, June 29 - 2:05 PM ET: TBA vs. RHP Alejandro Hidalgo
Midwest League Stories from June 24, 2025
- Nevin Homers Twice But Loons Pitching Walks 16 in 8-7 Walk-Off Loss to TinCaps - Great Lakes Loons
- Captains' Ninth Inning Rally Falls Just Short in 3-2 Defeat to West Michigan - Lake County Captains
- Comeback Rattlers Deliver at Home - Wisconsin Timber Rattlers
- Sky Carp Claim Opener on Tuesday - Peoria Chiefs
- Five-Run Sixth Inning Propels South Bend to Victory over Cedar Rapids, 10-6 - Cedar Rapids Kernels
- Miller's Two Homers Propel Carp to Win - Beloit Sky Carp
- Peck, Clark Play Longball in 3-2 Win - West Michigan Whitecaps
- Nuts Reinstate Outfielder Butler - Lansing Lugnuts
- Nuts Welcome Prospect Tandem Lin and Sha - Lansing Lugnuts
- TinCaps Game Information: June 24 vs. Great Lakes Loons (Dodgers Affiliate) - Fort Wayne TinCaps
- Dayton Dragons GameDay Notes for Tuesday (7:05 PM at Lansing) - Dayton Dragons
- Toyota Road Report: June 24-29 - South Bend Cubs
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