South Bend Cubs look to carry first-half title momentum into postseason push with No. 4 prospect Josiah Hartshorn
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The South Bend Cubs have already secured their ticket to the Midwest League playoffs. Now, the challenge is making sure their first-half division title is only the beginning.
South Bend clinched its first playoff berth since 2022 with a first-half title on June 13. But after records reset for the second half, the Cubs opened 1-2 and returned home on a two-game losing streak.
The postseason berth is safe. The momentum is not. At the High-A level, success can change quickly. A hot hitter can earn a promotion, a young pitcher’s workload can be managed and a team that has already clinched can lose some of the urgency that carried it through the first half.
South Bend Cubs play-by-play announcer Brendan King said the club’s run differential shows just how dominant it was before the reset.
“It starts with run differential because they lead the league in run differential, and it’s not particularly very close between the Cubs and the rest of the league,” King said. “In the first half, they were just outscoring everyone by such a wide margin. … I just think overwhelmingly this is the best South Bend Cubs team we’ve seen in the last number of years in terms of all phases.”
One of the biggest reasons for that success has been 19-year-old outfielder Josiah Hartshorn. Since arriving in South Bend at the end of May, Hartshorn has quickly become one of the Midwest League’s most productive hitters. In 24 games with the Cubs, the switch-hitter is batting .349 with eight home runs, 31 RBIs and an OPS above 1.100.
Hartshorn, drafted in the sixth round out of Orange Lutheran High School in California last summer, signed with the Cubs for $2 million rather than attending Texas A&M. MLB Pipeline now ranks him as the No. 4 prospect in the Chicago Cubs system.
He was recently named Midwest League Player of the Week after hitting four home runs and driving in 11 runs against Peoria.
Hartshorn said the team’s goal has not changed after clinching the first-half title.
“I honestly just try to keep it light, go have fun every day,” Hartshorn said. “Kind of focus on the fact that it’s just a game and keep the pressure off myself. … Given that we won the first half doesn’t mean we don’t want to win the second half, so I think going out there and trying to win, that’s our main goal and something that’s going to keep us going.”
King, who has called two previous South Bend championship runs, said the Cubs must maintain their standard over the next two months. That means getting length from starting pitchers, avoiding dependence on one hitter and treating each game with the urgency of a playoff matchup.
“You can’t just be happy with the fact that you are in the postseason,” King said. “I think that’s the unique thing about minor league baseball. So, if you can play well in July, play well in August, get into the playoffs looking sharp, again, I think this team has as good a shot as we’ve ever had in South Bend with winning championships in 2019 and ’22. Hopefully we can add 2026 to that.”
South Bend begins a six-game home series against the Quad Cities River Bandits on Wednesday at Four Winds Field.