Matt Shaw – Pic by Danny Parker/Four Seam Images via AP

Opening Week

All of us at North Side Bound are pretty excited about this week as the minor league baseball season will open on four fronts! Iowa is already playing while Tennessee, South Bend, and Myrtle Beach debut on Friday the fifth. Mesa is about a month away and we are ready to go! Over the next four days, we will be making some predictions for our hitter, starting pitcher, reliever, and breakout players of the year. We’re excited to get those out to you and to begin the season. I will be in Davenport next weekend to see two of the three games and I’m excited as they have my camera well by the dugout fixed from last year. Byron, I will see you there!

Out on the Plains of Nebraska…

Simply put, the bats are working for the Iowa Cubs so far.

On Opening night, PCA went 2-for-4 with a triple and Owen Caissie went 3-for-4 with 1 walk. Alexander Canario went yard while going 2-for-4 and Smash Mervis went 2-for-4. On Saturday afternoon, Caissie kept it going with a 3-for-4 day and another walk. His OPS after 2 games is 1.800!

Unfortunately, the I-Cubs have been walked off in extras in both games.

Dinger of the Week

Yeah, Canario does not belong in Iowa with that oompf.

Transactions Aplenty

With the major league squad breaking camp and starting their season, there were transactions everywhere at the beginning of the week. Here are the ones we have so far.

Ben Brown to Chicago. Not sure how long he will be there. He and Wesneski could be trading off for a while.

Hayden Wesneski and Alexander Canario were optioned to Iowa, Joe Hudson was moved to Iowa, Pablo Aliendo, Caleb Knight, and Bradlee Beesley moved from Iowa to Tennessee. Casey Opitz and Yohendrick Pinango moved from Tennessee South Bend, Carter Trice moved from Tennessee to Myrtle Beach. Miguel Pabon was moved from to the IL. Christian Olivo, Andy Garriola, and Jacob Wetzel moved South Bend to Myrtle Beach. Jairo Diaz, Adan Sanchez, and Leonel Espinoza moved from Myrtle Beach to Mesa, and Eligio Paredes moved REHAB group to Mesa (Extended Spring Training).

As well, a few players were promoted. Josh Rivera moved from South Bend to Tennessee, and Rafael Morel moved from Myrtle Beach to South Bend. Pitcher Joel Sierra was added to Myrtle Beach from Mesa.

The IL list grew this week with David Peralta, Brennen Davis, Ethan Roberts, Burl Carraway, outfielder Edward Vargas, and pitcher Ethan Flanagan all being placed. 

Max Bain’s Cubs career is over. He posted a tweet on Friday morning thanking everyone for his time as a Cub. Max was a great interview and a fun person to talk to about anything. He’s a good guy and I’m going to miss him. I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors as does everybody here at North Side Bound. 

The Cubs also released Joel Machado, Juan Mora, Ke’Shun Collier, Christian More, and Liam Spence. Good luck to all of them.

Stat of the Week

Other News

There was not a lot this week. Baseball America published an article about players that impress the scouts the most. They did not list one for every team like MLB Pipeline would do, but Matt Shaw got some love from the BA staff.

Kohl Franklin is now on MLB Pipeline’s top 30 list after Michael Busch graduated.

Game Action in Arizona

Jack Patterson got in a game this week. According to Rich Biesterfield, Jack looked pretty good throwing an inning of work. Whether he breaks camp with a club is still undetermined, but if he does, it’s going to be quite the comeback. 

In addition, Jaxon Wiggins and Brody McCullough both through live batting practice this week. That puts him one step closer to game action. Both will start the year in extended spring training, probably on the IL. The question is for what affiliate they will be on the IL.

Upcoming Coverage from North Side Bound

While the minor league season has technically started with Iowa, there will not be a breakdown post tomorrow. The first one is going to come on April 8. The Cubs On Deck podcast will  continue to fall on Tuesdays and I will continue to keep up with all transactions every Tuesday, just not this week.

As for MiLB game coverage this season, we’re not quite sure how that’s going to shake out just yet. We may try a few things and see how they work.

Jam of the Week

When I began to play guitar, the first songbook I got was the Beatles, of course. And then I got a John Mellencamp songbook (then John Cougar) to learn. That was over 40 years ago. But I’ve always remained a big fan of John. He had a good run there in the 80s and he’s made some nice records since, including Life, Death, Love, and Freedom, as well as what might be my favorite albums of his, Freedom’s Road. I don’t know what it is about that record, but there are some good songs on there that I love including “My Aeroplane,” “Rodeo Clown,” “Freedom’s Road,” “Ghost Towns Along the Highway,” and this atmospheric gem, “Rural Route.” As someone who grew up and still lives out in the boonies, it’s a record that fits right in with everyday life out here, it ups and downs, its grit, and its tragedies and hopes.