2023 Season in Review: South Bend Cubs |
Coming off their 2022 Midwest League Championship to give them two titles in the past four seasons, there were a lot of expectations in South Bend for 2023. Those expectations stemmed from Myrtle Beach's success in 2022, as many of those players moved to High-A. Like with any expectations, it all comes down to whether you meet those expectations, and the Cubs didn't, as they finished with an organization-worst 57-73 mark to land them in fourth place.
Record aside, things were not all that bad, at least not during the first half of the season, as the Cubs were in a position to win the first-half division title with just 10 games to go. Then came their five-game losing streak to end the first half as they dropped eight of their last 10 to miss out on the division title. They were never able to recover from there, as many players moved on to AA during the second half of the season, which led to Lance Rymel having his worst season as a professional manager. However, despite the bad comes a lot of good, and the Cubs had plenty of good moments throughout the season. Starting with the pitching where you had Cade Horton, among others, dazzling through the system, you have to look at Brandon Birdsell as someone who emerged as a potential arm in the near future. Birdsell emerged as the Ace of this staff before Horton's arrival and again after he left for AA. Armed with a 94-96 MPH heater, Birdsell has a similar delivery to that of Rowan Wick, which helps generate a ton of spin on his breaking ball. Although his 4-8 record wasn't great, including 3-5 in High-A, his 2.35 ERA tells you differently as wins and losses continue to be one of the more meaningless stats in baseball. While Birdsell had a lot of the attention, Connor Noland was another pitcher who stepped up this season, even though his numbers don't look great.
With Luis Devers returning from the IL and failing to match the 2022 form and having Michael Arias struggle after his Myrtle Beach promotion, the Cubs were counting on Noland a lot last season, and for the most part, he delivered. Sure, a 1-8 record is nothing to get excited about, but his 4.08 ERA shows that he was in most games while also eating a ton of innings.
Given the number of players getting promoted through the system, guys like Nick Hull and Grant Kipp made their way up from Myrtle Beach, as did Brody McCullough, who is now on the Cubs top 30 prospect list. Like Birdsell, McCullough was the Ace of the Myrtle Beach staff for a while, but did go through some bumps with South Bend. Still, he fought back and finished his 2023 campaign with a 5-5 record and a solid 3.55 ERA. He will be counted on next season as the Ace of this staff.
While the pitching was inconsistent at times this season, the Cubs offense was supposed to carry this team, but for whatever reason, it didn't happen frequently enough. James Triantos and Kevin Alcantara were two of the biggest names in South Bend this season, and both of them delivered on the big stage. For Triantos, he is showing that he can be a complete hitter as he hit a .287 this season with four homers and 48 RBIs. He also added 16 stolen bases as his power should come.
Alcantara, AKA the Jaguar, had an up-and-down season, but all that matters is that he finished the season as one of the organization's best hitters. A top 10 prospect in the Cubs system, Alcantara split time between High-A and AA, but most of his time was spent in High-A. For the season, Alcantara hit .284 with 13 homers and 71 RBIs while adding 15 SB. 2024 will be a massive year for him as he hopes for more power to come.
South Bend was also helped offensively by two newcomers during the second half of the season as Moises Ballesteros and Felix Stevens made their way up from Myrtle Beach. All the 19-year-old Ballesteros has done since arriving in the Cubs organization is hit, and this season was no exception as he combined to hit .285 with 14 homers and 64 RBIs. Not bad for a player without an actual position right now, as his outstanding eye continues to impress.
Stevens was the one player who opened a ton of eyes this season, and had it not been for Pete Crow-Armstrong or Owen Caissie, he would have landed the hitter of the year. Comparable to Jorge Soler in terms of his size, Stevens was impressive from day one this season, hitting .263 and leading the entire Cubs organization with 27 homers. That is more than anyone on the Cubs MLB roster, although Christopher Morel had the most as he combined for 37 across the MLB and AAA this season.
Those were the main offensive threats all season long for the Cubs, but two more players stole the headlines during the second half of the season, and both are not expected back. Christian Franklin is one of those players, as he will now embark on his Arizona Fall League journey. After dealing with injuries throughout the first half, Franklin bounced back in a big way to close out the season with a .254 average, adding 12 homers as his power potential was on full display.
That is great and all, but Matt Shaw's surprise and sudden emergence was the talk of the Cubs minor league system.
Shaw was the Cubs first first-round pick in the 2023 draft, and all he did was hit to the point where he reached AA in less than two months. Across his first taste as a professional hitter, Shaw combined to hit .357 with eight homers, 28 RBIs, and 15 steals. In 20 games with South Bend, Shaw hit a ridiculous .393 and has now put himself in the top 100 prospects in baseball and the top five in the Cubs system.
Although the overall results were not what South Bend was hoping for in 2023, there were still plenty of great moments from this team that will help them in the years to come. Several players developed their games further to take them to the next level while other players put themselves on the map. Looking at how rosters could shake up next season, South Bend should not only be in the playoffs, but you could make the case that they will be one of the more talented and dangerous clubs in all of High-A.
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