I am rolling backwards this week.

Let’s get right to the players of the week.

Players of the Week

Hitter of the Week – Matt Mervis has nailed it this week and looks like he is ready for a crack at the majors with the Cubs or someone else. He hit .429 with 4 HRs and 6 RBI. His OPS for the week was 1.573!

Starting Pitcher of the Week – Connor Noland whiffed 8 guys in 4 innings this week while allowing 1 run on4 hits. For most opening weeks, that would do. However, Nick Hull’s 5 scoreless with 5 Ks was pretty impressive. He gets the award this week as he allowed just 2 hits in a dominating start.

Reliever of the Week – Hayden Wesneski went 4.1 piggyback innings and did not allow a run while striking out 4.

After a full week of action for Tennessee, South Bend, and Myrtle Beach, today’s a good day to look at who is getting off to a hot start. It’s always a good thing to remember that this is just a hot start and that’s all it is. For most players. their performances do offer some hope and I’m excited about where things are headed.

There are, however, some players who have not gotten off to a hot start that we thought they would. There’s still plenty of time for them to get it back together, even next week. Sometimes, one opponent can right you.

Let’s look at who is encendido to start the year!

Myrtle Beach

Reggie Preciado hit the cover of the baseball this past week going .444 with a .945 OPS. It was not enough to be the hitter of the week, but he was right there in second place. The 20-year-old is now hitting well now that he’s fully healthy. We are beginning to see glimpses of the supposed top prospect the Cubs acquired four years ago. I was impressed by Nick Dean’s outing this week. I thought he would do really well at this level and he has not disappointed. He went 3.1 IP and struck out 8 but did allow 1 run. I do not expect him to be long for this level, considering his age and experience at Maryland.

The big name to watch coming up looks like it could be either one of the Hernandez brothers along with Andy Garriola, but Jacob Wetzel and Carter Trice are two of the top players when it comes to seeing pitches this year. Wetzel seeing the most pitches the last ten days and Trice is in third place.

South Bend

Outfielder Brett Bateman is my guy and he has been an on-base machine since day one of the season. Currently his OPP is .474. I don’t expect it to get any lower and I don’t expect to see him in South Bend come June. In addition, Yohendrick Pago is off to a good start at South Bend. He’s showing a very judicious eye at the plate. He hasn’t shown a lot of power yet, but he’s not striking out very much. After a first rough couple of games (read as bone chilling cold), he’s now begun hitting.

I will get to See Nick Hull this week in Beloit. I am really excited to see him in person as he came over last summer when I went back to school. This week, he was vicious has he went five scoreless innings, allowed just two hits and looked like he doesn’t belong in South Bend for much longer.

And then there’s this guy who is just 18 for another week or two. Slash line – .314/.351/.543/.894. 18, folks, 18.

The big name to watch in the future for me is Felix Stevens. He had two home runs in his first game back and drove in five in one day. As well, Rafael Morel has been heating up.

Tennessee

You could almost ask the rhetorical question who is not hot for this team! Matt Shaw, Pablo Aliendo, and Moises Ballesteros are all off to greet starts to the season and all three have shown a mix of power and patience. On the mound, 2024 Connor Noland does not resemble 2023 Connor Noland very much. It looks like he’s got a little bump in velocity as he struck out eight in four innings early last week. There are a lot of hitters here, the bullpen has just been nails. Jake Reindl is back and looking healthy and people are getting caught looking for the slider and he’s been sneaking his 90s in there. That should help his health quite a bit because he is on the mound, he’s not going to be much longer. And then there’s Arias and Nunez and Scalzo and Whitney. Vicious.

The big names to watch coming up is seeing which starting pitchers switch it on. Could Birdsell? Could Noland keep it up? What about Matthew Thompson or Gallardo or my dark horse, Manny Espinoza! I love his off speed stuff. And now that he is sitting 93-95, he could be a guy. I don’t know who is going to be starting from week to week.

Iowa

The dynamic duo of Matt Mervis and Luis Vazquez have just been tearing it up for the Cubs. I don’t think you can get much hotter than Mervis was this week. On the mound, Thomas Pannone, Hayden Wesneski and Riley Thompson have all been excellent in their specific roles. It’s a little bit easier for Wesneski to go to the majors right now as he is on the 40 man. For Riley, he’s close to making his way, but the Cubs will have to make a spot for him to get there and the same is true for Pannone, who has been excellent as a starter.

When looking ahead, I wonder how many of these guys will be in Iowa on June 1. They could either wind up in Chicago or be used in a trade at some point. Some could even opt out on that day. We will see.