(Sorted alphabetically) PITCHERS

#20 Juan Bello: The 19-year-old pitched in the Arizona Complex League last season in four games with three starts. Bello threw just 4 1/3 innings last year, but tossed 31 1/3 innings in 2022 in the Dominican Summer League, with an ERA of 4.02, being used mainly...

March 28, 2024 by Sam Weiderhaft Experiencing spring training has become my favorite annual tradition. Reconnecting with old friends and catching up with the players who have established themselves in the Cubs’ organization always makes for a fulfilling trip. For the second year in a row, Hunter Horenstein and I...

September 5, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft At the Single-A level, plate discipline is hard to come by. With this being the first stop for many players in professional baseball, seeing the advanced levels of pitching typically calls for adjustments for young hitters. For Brett Bateman, it hasn’t changed a thing....

August 22, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft August is a busy month in Single-A. After the draft concludes in July, players will typically spend some time at the complex in Arizona before being sent to an affiliate. Going from college, to the draft, to professional baseball in the span of two...

August 8, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft At just 16 years old, Reivaj Garcia took the field for the Arizona Complex League Cubs in 2018. He was the youngest player in all of Minor League Baseball at the time. He held a batting average over .300 in the 40 games he...

July 18, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft Not many players, especially international signings, get the call up to Myrtle Beach without getting a good amount of playing experience in the United States. For Jefferson Rojas, it was just one game in the Arizona Complex League before joining the Pelicans on June...

July 13, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft At the Single-A level of Minor League Baseball, the presence of certain roles within a pitching staff is often limited. Typically, in a Major League setting, there are starters, setup pitchers, long relievers, middle relievers, and closers. Organizations are still trying to find those...

June 27, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft The summer of 2022 will always be remembered by Grant Kipp. There were three big life events that happened. One, he graduated from Yale, one of the United States’ premier academic institutions. Two, he got the opportunity to pitch in the Cape Cod Baseball...

May 16, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft There’s not a ton of flash when Nick Hull takes the mound for the Pelicans. The right-hander provides a consistent pitch mix, great command skills, and an even-keeled attitude on the mound. And he’s getting results. The seventh-round selection by the Cubs last year...

May 8, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft “He’s really, really strong.” That’s what Pelicans hitting coach Roberto Vaz said about the 2019 International Free Agent signing out of Cuba, Felix Stevens. “It’s not surprising how hard he can hit the ball.” Stevens has spent bits of the last three seasons in...

April 18, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft It was days before the start of the 2022 season. Christian Franklin had just come off his first taste of professional baseball, playing 20 games at the tail end of the 2021 season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans after being drafted by the Cubs...

April 11, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft “Hey, that was a lot of fun, do you guys have more events?” That was a message that broadcaster Tyler Maun sent to the WBSC (World Baseball Softball Confederation) a year after broadcasting the Premier 12 baseball tournament in 2015. Two weeks later, he...

By Sam Weiderhaft (Sorted alphabetically) PITCHERS

#19 Jack Aldrich: A 2021 draft pick by the Kansas City Royals, Aldrich was signed as a free agent by the Cubs in 2023. He pitched in 23 games out of the bullpen for the Single-A Columbia Fireflies in 2022, including two at Pelicans...

March 22, 2023 by Sam Weiderhaft I had never been to MLB Spring Training. I’ve been a baseball fan my whole life and had always dreamt of making a trip to Arizona to see the stars of the game prepare for their seasons. When the Pelicans asked Hunter Horenstein and...

September 5, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft As the Pelicans gear up for their first playoff appearance since 2017, the late-season roster moves have taken place with a handful of games to go. Players who have impressed have received promotions, and the 2022 draft picks are making their way up to...

August 23, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft Being a catcher comes with many responsibilities. From being the team captain, to calling pitches, to throwing out runners trying to steal, many aspects are looked at when evaluating a team’s backstop. Hitting can often be overlooked with catchers because the defensive duties take...

August 8, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft Baseball is the sport of the summer. Every night, there’s a game going on from early April to September. Players can be fatigued both mentally and physically as the season goes on with the number of games. In his second season with the Pelicans,...

August 1, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft The 2022 Pelicans pitching staff has been nothing short of incredible. Their 3.43 team ERA ranks third in Minor League Baseball, and they have the most strikeouts in the Carolina League at 1,050. With these performances, promotions to the higher levels have been frequent....

July 11, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft At the beginning of every Minor League Baseball season, there’s a potential for “breakout” seasons. A player who isn’t expected to catch the eyes of fans, but ends up doing so. Being at the Single-A level, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans have the potential to...

June 27, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft The first half of the 2022 season for the Myrtle Beach Pelicans was historic. They led Minor League Baseball in wins with 47, tallied the biggest run differential at +149, and took home the Carolina League South Division title to make their first playoff...

June 13, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft On May 4, 2022, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans destroyed the Salem Red Sox in a score that looked like it would be seen on the bottom line of an NFL Sunday. 24-6 was the final in Virginia, as the Pelicans scored the most runs...

May 30, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft When BJ Murray was three years old, his dad put a bat in his hand. He got comfortable on the right side of the plate and never turned back. “I’ve been playing ever since, as long as I can remember,” Murray said. Before he...

May 9, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft 2021 was a rollercoaster of a year that only went up for James Triantos. He won Virginia’s 6A State Championship with James Madison High School by pitching a one-hitter and hitting a solo homer in the championship game. He made an early stop at...

April 25, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft The 2022 season could not start any better for a minor league relief pitcher. Riley Martin, the sixth-round pick by the Chicago Cubs in the 2021 MLB Draft out of Quincy University, has been unhittable in his first three outings of the season for...

April 11, 2022 by Sam Weiderhaft Growing up on the south side of Chicago, Tyler Schlaffer aspired to be pitching for the team on the north side one day. "It's been my dream to pitch at Wrigley Field," Schlaffer told the Chicago Tribune in 2019 shortly after being selected by...