Chicago Cubs Around the Farm 4/19/23: Cade Horton Shoves, One-Run Games Across the Board

Caleb Kilian looked confident and comfortable on the mound for Iowa for the first time in a while. Kilian, my 15th-ranked Cubs prospect, has been struggling immensely with his command dating back to last season, and that issue reared its head in his first start of the 2023 season when Kilian picked up a Biggest Yikes award.

Here, though, Kilian gets a well-deserved Biggest Yes award. He set a tone for this game that the bullpen picked up on after he departed, and — perhaps most importantly — Kilian didn't surrender a single walk. Before the command issues started, Kilian was known for his pinpoint accuracy, and we've been waiting for him to get back to that.

Well, in this one, Kilian gave up just three hits — a single on a ground ball to third base, a single on a line drive to the left side of the infield, and another single on a ground ball to third. Kilian managed the game, took care of business, and hopefully gained back some confidence.

Biggest Yikes: Christopher Morel — 1/4, 2 SO, 4 LOB, CS

Morel is still ready to go to Chicago and take over for Edwin Rios. That doesn't change just because he picks up Biggest Yikes here. Still, you expect more from a guy who is knocking on the door of carving out an MLB role.

Morel struck out in half of his at-bats, left runners in scoring position, and was caught stealing on his only attempt of the game. It wasn't like he was terrible or anything, but Morel should be better.

Double-A Tennessee: 4-5 Loss to Chattanooga Lookouts

Biggest Yes: Walker Powell — 4.0 IP, 0 H, 2 BB, R, 0 ER, 4 SO

Daniel Palencia started this game but was removed after just two innings. Hopefully, he is okay and any injury is not too big of an obstacle for him. After Palencia left, Powell came into the game and did Powell things. For four innings, he was cruising.

Now, he did give up one run, but it was due to a fielding error by Luis Verdugo after Powell had walked a batter who then stole second. Powell stayed in control outside of that and held his own as the Smokies tried to work back into this game. Powell, 26, is my 28th-ranked Cubs prospect, and I want him to ascend to Iowa sooner rather than later to see if the Cubs have something legit with him out of the bullpen. With the way he's performing, that promotion could definitely happen soon.

Biggest Yikes: Bryce Ball — 1/5, 4 SO, 4 LOB

Bryce Ball's 2023 season has officially entered "uh oh" territory. The giant first baseman and DH has earned three Biggest Yikes awards already through 11 games, and he just cannot figure it out at the plate. He's now batting .129 with a .229 OBP and a .290 slugging percentage. Things are not looking good for the 24-year-old who really started to show some promise with his hit tool in 2022 to add to his raw power. Now, however, Ball is just floundering.

High-A South Bend: 4-3 Victory Over Great Lakes Loons

Biggest Yes: Fabian Pertuz — 2/4, BB, 2 R, 3 SB (6)

If you are an avid reader of the Around the Farm series, you'll likely recognize Pertuz's name. However, you likely recognize it as the name of the guy with the second-most Biggest Yikes awards in series history with six. This time, though, Pertuz gets his second-career Biggest Yes award! Hooray!

Pertuz, never one for producing much power, is making a habit of getting on base and stealing more of them. So far this season, the 22-year-old is hitting .294 and has stolen six bags. The two runs Pertuz helped manufacture in this one were all the Cubs needed to push them over the top to pick up a win.

Biggest Yikes: Kevin Made — 1/3, 2 BB, 3B, 2 SO, 2 LOB, 3 E

If you just look at Kevin Made's stat line at the plate, you'd be correct in assuming that it is wild to give Biggest Yikes to him for this showing. However, wild is just about the only way to describe Made's defensive performance in this one, which is really where he earns his farm system-high eighth Biggest Yikes award.

Made, positively regarded for his defensive tools, made three errors (two fielding and one throwing) in this game. That's not going to cut it for a guy who is going to advance through the minor leagues primarily on the strength of his glove.

Low-A Myrtle Beach: 1-2 Loss to Augusta Greenjackets

Biggest Yes: Cade Horton — 4.0 IP, 0 H, 3 BB, 0 ER, 7 SO

Cade Horton couldn't be touched on the mound and continues his 100 percent rate of winning Biggest Yes when he starts a game. Last time around, Horton gave up a couple of hits but no walks. This time, Horton surrendered a few walks, but no one could hit him.

When you watch this guy pitch, it doesn't feel like you're watching a 21-year-old who was just drafted. He looks polished and poised on the mound as he tears through opposing hitters. Currently, I have Horton as my 10th-best Cubs prospect. If he has another game like this next time out, that's going to have to go up.

Biggest Yikes: Rafael Morel — 0/3, 2 SO

Not a great day to be a Morel playing in the Cubs' minor-league system. Admittedly, this is a tough one to give Morel as there were several Pelicans' players who had sub-par performances without necessarily being egregiously bad. Still, Morel struck out in 67 percent of his at-bats, which is more than any other Myrtle Beach player. Thus, he gets the Biggest Yikes in this one.