Feature photo of Kohl Franklin by Rebecca Snyder

I’m a little out of practice as I’ve only ever constructed a few of these Mid-Week Buzz articles *during* the season. As I write this before digging into the week that was, I’m assuming we’ll be pretty heavy on the highlights section of this piece. Enjoy!

What I’m Reading

• I already had a hunch, but BA’s JJ Cooper and Josh Norris confirm that the South Bend Cubs have three of the eight youngest players in the Midwest League in Owen Caissie, Ed Howard, and Yohendrick Pinango.

• We’ve got a new feature here at NSB as we venture into running this site with actual baseball games going on and Jimmy’s going to be covering his favorite game of the week down on the farm.

• There might not be a lot of affiliate shuffling up to this point, but we have seen plenty of guys added to the injured list in the early going and it explains why we aren’t seeing certain players playing full-season ball yet.

What I’m Watching

• So I went a little viral this weekend with Jeff Passan, Jomboy, and others sharing the video I grabbed of CD Pelham doing THIS. I love getting these guys some buzz, even if it’s not for doing actual pitching things. I guarantee there’s some kid out there that saw this, went into MLB The Show, and cranked Pelham’s fielding and reaction ratings up to 99.

• If Christopher Morel is the most exciting player in the system, Cam Sanders is the most exciting pitcher. He’s an electric factory every time he takes the mound.

• Oh wait, DJ Herz might be up there, too.

• Reggie Preciado with an elite play, Felix Stevens with an even better celly.

• Speaking of celebrations. THIS is exactly what I think of when I picture Ethan Roberts. A devastating slider followed by emotions just escaping him in a black-out sort of way.

• There’s something about Yonathan Perlaza moonshots that are especially aesthetically pleasing.

• We’re gonna celebrate a play that wasn’t actually technically a play, just because it was so damn athletic from Bryce Windham.

What We’re Tweeting

• These lineups actually need to be updated already, as the Myrtle Beach lineup got even more potent recently as Kevin Alcántara has been added to the roster after a brief delay.

• I know the young Pelicans will be worth tuning in for every night, but considering the looks of the South Bend rotation/piggybackers, I might find myself watching the first half of South Bend games and the second half of Myrtle Beach games.

• Homegrown pitching has officially arrived to Chicago, and it’s not gonna slow down any time soon.

• We were all incredibly hyped up for Kohl Franklin to make his first appearance in 2.5 years and he did not disappoint.

• Nelson Maldonado is so much more advanced than Double-A pitching. He’s there in Tennessee because of a backlog of players, but pretty soon the Cubs are gonna need to challenge him with a promotion.

What’s Catching My Eye

• For Ben Leeper, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

• Donnie Dewees also hit a grand slam this week. Welcome back to baseball, Donnie!

• This tweet from Bryan really epitomizes what we’ve seen from Ed Howard is the *very* early going. A much improved approach at the dish from the kid who, as mentioned above, is still much younger than the guys he’s playing against.