Pelican Power And A Carolina Staff Day: Cubs Prospect Briefing
By Reed Kubiak ·
Lovich Finally Gets To Swing Hard
Eli Lovich (A, OF, Rank: 40) has been more about potential than results since he signed, so a 6-for-16 week with two doubles, two homers, and a 1.250 OPS really stands out at Myrtle Beach. Lovich showcases real bat speed and leverage on his pull side. His swing length and approach means you’re always watching those strikeouts alongside the extra-base hits. This week, he tallied four strikeouts and no walks in 16 trips so that risk is still front and center. Lovich is deep on the Cubs prospect list and he'll need more weeks like this to climb significantly higher.
With five homers in 33 games for Myrtle Beach, and considering last year’s .232/.307/.325 debut, you can see the early signs of the projection emerging. The hit tool risk remains evident in the K/BB mix, but if he continues to post weeks with slugging in the .800 range, the quad-A projection starts to feel conservative.
Hartshorn Starts To Look Like The Middle-Order Version
Josiah Hartshorn (A, OF, Rank: 5) spent the week doing a more polished version of what Lovich just teased. Hartshorn went 6-for-15 with four doubles, a walk, a sac fly, and four RBIs, good for a .400/.444/.667 line and a tidy three strikeouts in 18 plate appearances. That is almost a one-week snapshot of his season: the combined line now sits at .277/.425/.468 with 10 doubles, a triple, five homers, and 35 walks against 27 strikeouts in 181 trips. The carrying tools from his report, zone control and real power from both sides, are showing up without him having to chase ISO at the expense of contact.
Hartshorn is doing this as a 19-year-old who just got his first taste of South Bend and did not blink, doubling and driving in two in his one High-A game while keeping the approach intact. For a profile that always hinged on the bat being good enough to live in a corner, this is the precise trajectory you want: damage contact, mature OBP, and the K rate staying manageable as the velo and spin climb. He'll need to keep displaying power to be a true everyday guy in a corner OF spot, but the bat to ball skills and zone control are raising his floor.
Wing’s Pelicans Debut And A Knoxville Staff Day
Kaleb Wing (A, RHP, Rank: 18) made sure his first full-season line in the states looked like the scouting report. In 3.2 innings for Myrtle Beach he allowed one hit, no walks, and no runs, punching out six. That sits on top of a small but noisy season line that now reads 16 innings, 24 strikeouts, two walks, a 5.06 ERA, and a 0.94 WHIP when you fold in his rookie-ball starts. Those are strong peripherals, so let's give the ERA a pass for now. The stuff doesn't jump out on paper: a low-to-mid-90s fastball, a mid-70s curveball that has proven to be effective, and feel for both a slider and changeup.
At Double-A Knoxville, it was more about stacking competent outings than any one blowup line, but the trio of Grant Kipp (AA, RHP, Rank: 33), Tyler Schlaffer (AA, RHP, Rank: 39), and Jefferson Rojas (AA, SS, Rank: 2) all kept their arrows pointed in the right direction. Kipp and Schlaffer each worked 4+ innings, both giving up one run with six strikeouts apiece. For Kipp, sitting at 4.46 ERA, 42 Ks, and 13 walks in 34.1 Double-A innings, another six-punchout, one-run turn reinforces that the three-pitch mix can carry games as long as the walk rate stays closer to this week’s version than his 4.7 BB/9 baseline. For Schlaffer, who entered the week with a 5.46 ERA, 34 strikeouts, and 18 walks in 28 innings, matching the whiffs while trimming the free passes is exactly the kind of incremental progress he needs to keep a back-end starter projection on the table.
Quick Hits
Brett Bateman (AAA, OF, Rank: 30) went 8-for-20 with a double, two walks, four strikeouts, and two sac flies for a .400/.417/.450 line over six games, bumping his Iowa season to .263/.419/.347.
Juan Cabada (R, SS, Rank: 17) posted a .294/.368/.647 week with two homers, six RBIs, and a 2:4 BB:K in 19 plate appearances, nudging his complex-season line to .283/.387/.434 with 9 walks and 10 strikeouts. Cabada is an 18-year-old whose report lives on hit tool and approach, getting early game power along with a double-digit walk rate is a mature foundation.
Jefferson Rojas (AA, SS, Rank: 2) turned in a .313/.421/.563 line with a homer, double, three walks, and only two strikeouts in 19 plate appearances, pulling his Double-A slash to .242/.333/.419 with five homers. After last year’s early Double-A stumble, this kind of week, where the walk rate and impact contact both show up, is exactly the stabilizer his trajectory needed.
Ty Southisene (A+, SS, Rank: 25) kept doing the “table-setter with annoying at-bats” thing, going 5-for-18 with three walks, two HBPs, only two strikeouts, and a .278/.435/.278 line, which pushes his combined 2026 slash to .307/.413/.393 with 20 steals in 40 games; the power still has not arrived, but the OBP, speed, and microscopic K rate are turning the utility/2B projection into a real leadoff-candidate track.
Ethan Flanagan (A+, LHP, Rank: 11) logged 4.1 scoreless innings with three hits, no walks, and three strikeouts, and now sits at a 3.86 ERA with 34 Ks and 10 walks in 30.1 South Bend innings. The 17th round lefty threw 42-of-63 pitches for strikes including 12 whiffs. He also had a 63% groundball rate, limiting the opposition to just the 3 singles
Dominick Reid (A, RHP, Rank: 17) delivered one of his most impressive performances in his young professional career on Wednesday for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, the Cubs' Low-A affiliate. The 22-year-old right-hander pitched five innings, yielding just one run while striking out a career-high nine batters. Previously, his strikeout best was six, achieved in two outings earlier in May. Reid, who was drafted in the third round in 2025, continues to show progress with each start. His performance this May has been particularly noteworthy, maintaining a 2.16 ERA over five starts.
Moves
Pedro Ramirez (MLB, 2B, Rank: 3) recently earned a promotion to the majors after an impressive start to his season in Triple-A. At 22 years old, his slash line of .312/.395/.547, alongside driving in 40 runs and hitting 9 homers over 43 games, showcased his offensive prowess, even though he's not primarily known for his power. Ramirez's performance at this level has caught the attention of many, and while he's just beginning his MLB journey, his potential suggests he could develop into a key player for his team in the future.