Cubs Minor League News: Horton shining, Palmer homers, Ramirez raking, more

Horton might be up called up to the majors soon (Photo courtesy: I-Cubs)

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 7 hours ago

Talk about a day when the sky completely fell on the Cubs. Not only did the Chicago Cubs lose to the Brewers on Sunday, but they also lost Shota Imanaga for what looks to be the foreseeable future. You then had the Cubs Minor League system go 0-4 on the afternoon, as wins were not in the cards for the Cubs on Sunday.

This is the definition of a tough day, and given the injury to Imanaga and the length of time he could be out, it will be interesting to see how the team addresses it going forward.

BUFFALO BISON 3 - IOWA CUBS 1

While the offense was nowhere to be found in this one, the pitching certainly showed up for the Cubs as this was a 1-1 game entering the ninth. That was until Jack Neely gave up a pair of runs in what has been a rough season for him, leading to a 3-1 Bison win.

One name to watch as a potential replacement for Imanaga is right-hander Cade Horton, who was back to his dominating self on Sunday. Horton gave the Cubs six innings for the second straight start, allowing one run on two hits and striking out four. He leads all of AAA with a 1.24 ERA and continues to improve from one start to the next.

It took three innings for either team to score, but with Carlos Perez connecting for a solo shot, it was the Cubs in front 1-0.

"THIS IS WHERE THE FUN BEGINS"

Perez with the solo shot!

1-0 I-CUBS pic.twitter.com/QfcMwnicxk
— Iowa Cubs (@IowaCubs) May 4, 2025

That was not only the only run Lazardo Estrada allowed, but the only run the Cubs would score as Buffalo tied things up in the fourth off a sacrifice fly. Following the strong outing from Horton, it was up to the Cubs' bullpen to do their job, and Nate Pearson started things off with his best outing, striking out a pair in a scoreless inning.

That was followed by another strong outing from Michael Fulmer as this game was deadlocked 1-1 entering the ninth. In the ninth, the Bison put the game away as Will Robinson's RBI triple off Neely proved to be the game-winning hit.

Robinson came home on a sacrifice fly later in the inning to close out the 3-1 win. Perez led the Cubs with two hits, with Moises Ballesteros seeing his hitting streak end at 19 games.

ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 6 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 3 (Game 1)

Although the Smokies and Trash Pandas had a busy afternoon with two games taking place, it was a rough day for Knoxville who dropped both games. That included their 6-3 loss in game one, as a four-run inning for Rocket City set the tone.

For the most part, Grant Kipp has been the Smokies' best starter this season, and despite allowing four runs in five innings, all four came in one inning. He walked none and struck out four as he continued to pitch well. All those runs came in the fourth inning, with Sam Brown opening the scoring with a two-run triple to make things 2-0.

Josh Crouch brought home Brown with an RBI single later in the inning, while David Calabrese's homer pushed the Trash Pandas' lead to 4-0. That would be all the offense Rocket City would need as George Klassen struck out five across five innings of one-run baseball. Trailing 6-1 in the seventh after Brown added another RBI with a single in the top of the seventh, the Smokies tried to battle back as Jaylen Palmer connected for a two-run shot, but that was as close as things would get.

JAYLEN PALMER! pic.twitter.com/obeaEO5fxc
— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) May 4, 2025

Game 1 Final. | @zips3mincarwash
Box Score: https://t.co/8f9xQlTYto pic.twitter.com/QqUr3dXI9v
— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) May 4, 2025

ROCKET CITY TRASH PANDAS 8 - KNOXVILLE SMOKIES 2 (Game 2)

Talk about a heartbreaking loss. After the Smokies' pitching held their own and did their part most of the day, a six-run seventh inning broke this game open and proved to be the winning margin in the game two victory.

It was another short yet solid start for Antonio Santos, who gave the Smokies three shutout innings before the bullpen took over late. Once again, it was the fourth inning when the scoring started as an RBI fielder's choice opened the scoring for Rocket City, with Calabrese tacking on an RBI single to push the lead to 2-0.

Given that Joel Hurtado struck out five across 5 1/3 scoreless frames, it looked as if two runs would be enough to win this game until the seventh, when Rocket City broke the game open. That damage came off Zac Leigh, who picked a bad time to have a rough outing, as Denzer Guzman doubled the lead with an RBI double.

That was only the start as Sonny DiChiara unloaded for a Grand Slam to cap off the six-run frame with the Trash Pandas now in front 8-0. Knoxville managed to end the shutout on the two-run Pedro Ramirez double, but that was it, as they fell to the Trash Pandas 8-2. Ramirez led the offense with two hits and two RBIs, with Hayden Cantrelle adding two hits.

The Malmö Oat Milkers fall short in game 2. |@zips3mincarwash
Box Score: https://t.co/knF1xFPa5w pic.twitter.com/NI3rgSKYEj
— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) May 4, 2025

CEDAR RAPIDS KERNELS 9 - SOUTH BEND CUBS 1

Not only was it another rough road series, but another rough day in general, as the Cubs' offense was nowhere to be found. Kenten Egbert is still searching for his first win, allowing four runs in four innings as his first month in High-A has been a nightmare. Even with the Cubs taking a 1-0 lead on a first-inning Carter Trice single, it wouldn't be enough, as that was the only run of the game for the Cubs.

Cedar Rapids didn't waste any time battling back, with Kaelen Culpepper tying things up with a homer in the bottom of the third before the fourth inning. Kevin Maitan's double put the Kernels in front for good, 2-1. That was all the offense they would need as Jeremy Lee struck out four across five strong innings before handing things off to Spencer Bengard, who worked the final four innings.

Leading 2-1 in the fifth, Cedar Rapids began to tee off on both Egbert and the bullpen as they scored five times in the fifth to open up a 7-1 lead. All five runs came on a quartet of RBI singles, with Kyle DeBarge, Brandon Winokur, Khadim Diaw, and Nate Baez doing the damage. Jose Salas capped off the scoring for Cedar Rapids with a two-run double in the eighth as they picked up the 9-1 win.

Ivan Brethowr was one of three Cubs to pick up two hits, joining Reggie Preciado and Trice.