Homestand Report: Cubs Welcome in the Lugnuts

At a very crucial time in the first-half playoff chase, the South Bend Cubs (26-25) welcome in a struggling Lansing Lugnuts (23-28) outfit to Four Winds Field.

The Lugnuts are the High-A affiliate of the Oakland A's and have gone just 4-8 in their last 12 games, dropping their last two series at Fort Wayne and back home against Cedar Rapids. Last Thursday Craig Conklin's side lost a game 24-5, allowing the most runs of any team in a Midwest League game this season. It's been a rough year on the mound for the group as collectively their ERA is 4.83, the worst in the league, and that has led to a run differential of -68, also worst in the league.

But Lansing really helped out South Bend with a victory on Sunday over the Kernels, knocking off Brian Dinkelman's side 3-2 after scoring to take the lead in the eighth inning. That allowed Lance Rymel's group to remain just three games back of Cedar Rapids in the West Division.

The Cubs meanwhile have alternated losses and wins over their last seven games. The pitching continues to dominate with the league's second best ERA at 3.46, but the offense has been more hit-or-miss. During the Cubs 5-game losing streak they scored only eight runs, but at Parkview Field this past week twice they erupted for 11 runs, scoring six in the eighth inning on both occasions.

This series will mark the third in a row against against an East Division opponent for South Bend. Last time these two sides met it was a rather momentous occasion for both sides. During the last homestand of the 2022 season, the Cubs clinched a playoff spot on Saturday night, but then the Lugnuts tossed a no-hitter the following evening.

Players to watch on Lansing...

C, Daniel Susac: Susac is trying to follow in his older brother Andrew’s footsteps and make it to the big leagues. Andrew was a second round pick in 2011 and his little brother Daniel went 19^th overall to the Oakland Athletics in 2022. At the University of Arizona he was crowned the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and he was an All-American in both season with the Wildcats. His Arizona bio has one of the longest lists of accolades you’re ever going to a see. As a freshman he batted .335 with 12 homers and 65 RBIs, then as a sophomore he hit .366 with 12 homers and 61 RBIs. His bat is incredibly consistent and in his first full season Susac is thriving at the plate. Currently he sits fifth in batting average in the MWL (.294), ninth in OPS (.905), and 10^th in slugging (.447), while having the sixth most hits in the league (50). Susac has great power and size to go with a killer arm, and he shows great athleticism for a catcher.

SS, Max Muncy: The 25^th overall pick from the 2021 MLB Draft is the second highest rated A’s prospect on this Lugnuts roster. He clocks in at number six, two spots behind Susac. Last year in his first full pro season he spent the first 81 games of his season in Low-A Stockton before a call up to High-A with Lansing for his final 42 games on the season. On the year he launched an impressive 19 home runs and drove in 71, finishing with a .758 OPS. This year he’s been in the Midwest League since opening day and his numbers are quite similar to what he did in a similar sample size in 2022. MLB.com writes, “Muncy shares no relation to his namesake who stars for the Dodgers, though he does carry some pop of his own. The right-handed hitter continues to grow into his power and can drive the ball to all fields. He does have a tendency to get overly aggressive at times, which can lead to some swing-and-miss, though a refining of his overall approach should come as he gains more experience.”

RHP, Jack Perkins: Perkins is a 23-year-old who grew up just about 90 minutes due south of South Bend in Kokomo. The right-hander was selected in the 39^th round out of Kokomo High School but elected to go play college ball at Louisville. In two years pitching for the Cardinals, Perkins mostly came out of the bullpen and struggled with his control, walking 40 batters in 48.1 innings combined between his freshman and sophomore year. He transferred to Indiana and in his lone year with the Hoosiers struck out 91 batters in 83 innings, being used as a starter in 15 of his 16 appearances. He logged six quality starts in 2022 with Indiana and became just the 11^th Hoosier all-time to pick up 90+ strikeouts in a season. In his first year in the MWL the dude has been dealing to the tune of a .188 batting average against (3^rd in the MWL), 1.03 WHIP (4^th ), 2.89 ERA (5^th ), and he’s logged 46.2 innings (6^th).

Players to watch on South Bend...

RHP, Connor Noland: At this point in his first season of pro baseball, Noland is looking like a steal going in the ninth round of last year's MLB Draft. This past week he saw his walkless streak end at 21.1 straight innings, even though he worked six more shutout frames in a no-decision effort. Noland didn’t walk a batter in May and has gone 13 innings straight without allowing a run. Entering his last start the former Arkansas Razorback had a first-pitch strike rate of 67.2% which was third highest on the active roster. He doesn't qualify to be among the league-leaders with his 38.1 innings pitched but his 2.11 ERA is gaudy and his WHIP is a stellar 0.99. Entering this series Noland has walked just eight total batters on the year, compared with 35 strikeouts. Noland works with his college battery mate Casey Opitz behind the plate every time he takes the hill and the duo looks locked in every time they take the field.

OF, Kevin Alcántara: First off, it’s good to see the Cubs number three prospect back in the lineup after missing 3.5 games last week after leaving Tuesday’s game with an apparent knee injury. Steve Pollakov, a Chicago Cubs hitting coordinator, said during batting practice last week that Alcántara, based on what he’d seen, was due to breakout. Well the 20-year-old doubled prior to his injury on Tuesday, picked up three consecutive hits in his return on Saturday, and tallied one more knock on Sunday. South Bend’s centerfielder is riding a seven-game hitting streak, the fourth longest active in the league, in which he’s batting .333. Last year we saw a slow start to one of the Cubs top outfield prospects, Owen Caissie, before he caught fire in May. Alcántara has taken longer to find his grove but hopefully this streak is a harbinger of what is to come for the 6-foot-6 physical freak. One thing to keep an eye on additionally is that over his last 24 games, going back to April 28, Alcántara has only walked one time.

INF, James Triantos: The Chicago Cubs number 11 prospect has done everything you could ask of him in his time with South Bend. Currently he’s in the midst of a 7-game on-base streak in which he’s reaching base at a .484 clip. In his first 20 games with South Bend, Triantos is batting .320 with an .873 OPS, nine walks, and a mere five strikeouts. It took the 20-year-old 32 at-bats before he finally struck out for the first time. On Friday and Saturday he went back-to-back games with multiple hits and multiple RBIs. After tearing his meniscus in the spring and not being assigned to South Bend until May 9, South Bend’s everyday second baseman has somehow looked to be in prime midseason form from the jump.

Schedule…

Tuesday, June 6 - 7:05 ET: TBA vs. RHP Mitch Myers

Wednesday, June 7 - 7:05 ET: RHP Cade Horton vs. LHP Brady Basso

Thursday, June 8 - 7:05 ET: RHP Brandon Birdsell vs. RHP Jake Garland

Friday, June 9 - 7:05 ET: RHP Richard Gallardo vs. RHP Jacob Watters

Saturday, June 10 - 7:05 ET: RHP Manuel Espinoza vs. RHP Jack Perkins

Sunday, June 11 - 2:05 ET: RHP Connor Noland vs RHP Christian Fernandez

Catch the entire six-game series on Sports Radio 960 AM WSBT, online at wsbtradio.com, or on MiLB.com with Brendan King and Max Thoma on the call. You can catch Saturday's game on Marquee Sports Network and Tuesday and Friday's game on My Michiana.