​Two Smokies were honored today. Catcher Owen Ayers was named Southern League Player of the Month for June after posting an extraordinary line in the past month: .451 batting average, .554 on-base percentage, and .824 slugging, including 13 doubles and seven home runs. Ayers led the league in batting average, hits, doubles, home runs, walks, total bases, on-base percentage, and slugging. He ranked second in runs scored with 23 and was fourth in RBI for June with 21. On the pitching side, Smokies right-hander Jace Beck earned Southern League Pitcher of the Month honors, delivering a stellar stretch over five appearances (three starts) in which he went 2-0 with a 0.47 ERA. In 19 innings, Beck fanned 36 batters, issued nine walks, allowed only nine hits for a .138 opponent batting average, and kept opponents off the scoreboard most of the time.
Elsewhere, left-handed pitcher Pierce Coppola received a promotion to High-A South Bend from Low-A Myrtle Beach. Baseball America released its mid-season re-ranking of the 30 farm systems today, showing the Cubs climbing to 16th from a preseason rank of 22. In other minor-league notes, the Iowa Cubs were defeated by the St. Paul Saints (Twins), 7-4. Jordan Wicks started and took the loss after being roughed up for seven runs (six earned) on six hits over three innings. He walked four and hit one, contributing to the early trouble. Relievers Paul Campbell and Jayden Murray each provided three scoreless innings in relief. Left fielder BJ Murray contributed a late surge with a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth, his 12th of the season, while going 1-for-5 at the plate. Right fielder Brett Bateman finished 4-for-4 with a walk, scoring twice. Catcher Moisés Ballesteros went 2-for-5 with two doubles and scored a run. An RBI double by Jonathon Long, who was 1-for-5, also factored into the scoring. Murray’s 416-foot blast highlighted the night’s offense.
In another game, the Knoxville Smokies cruised past the Biloxi Shuckers (Brewers), 9-4. Starter Connor Schultz yielded two solo homers but otherwise limited the Shuckers, earning the win with five innings pitched, three runs on five hits, six strikeouts, and no walks. Tyler Ras secured the save by firing two scoreless innings, allowing one hit while walking one and striking out one. Jefferson Rojas delivered a solo homer in the fifth, his 14th of the season, and finished 2-for-4 with the homer, a double, and a walk, plus a stolen base and two runs scored. Right fielder Alex Ramírez added a three-run homer in the sixth, his 10th, and was 2-for-5 with the homer. He also singled in the eighth, stole second and third, and, after Rojas walked, stole home as part of a double steal. Drew Bowser contributed an RBI single in the sixth and later scored on Ramírez’s homer, going 2-for-4. Left fielder Carter Trice went 2-for-5 with a double and a steal, scoring a run.
In another matchup, the South Bend Cubs outlasted the Cedar Rapids Kernels (Twins) 7-5 in ten innings. Mason McGwire started and delivered a solid outing, allowing just one run on three hits in a strong performance that set the tone for the extra-inning victory. The day’s action included several notable highlights and memorable performances across the Cubs’ minor-league affiliates, underscoring the organization’s depth and prospect development across multiple levels.