Cubs prospects throttle Angels prospects in Spring Breakout Game, 8-3

The Cubs top prospects broke out to a win as the weather finally permitted the team to play a Spring Breakout game.

It took three tries for the Cubs to finally get a Spring Breakout game played, but the baby Cubs made it worth the wait. The Cubs prospects jumped on the Angels prospects early and didn’t let up, cruising to an 8-3 victory.

The big news of the game was the appearance of starting pitcher Cade Horton, who hadn’t graced the mound in a game since last May, except for one inning earlier in Spring Training. Nelson Rada, the Angels #5 prospect according to Baseball America, let off the game with a solid single off Horton and then promptly stole second base. Then Horton faced former top-ten draft pick and the Angels #2 prospect (by BA) Christian Moore and did this.

Horton later confirmed on the broadcast that that was a changeup—a pitch he barely threw a year ago and almost never to a right-handed hitter.

Horton gave up an RBI single to the next batter, Cody Fontenelle (#25th-ranked prospect per BA) but catcher Moises Ballesteros threw him out trying to steal.

Ballesteros’ throw on the first steal was not anywhere near that good. So it was good to see him rebound like that.

Horton retired the next four batters in order and finished the game with one run on two hits over two innings. He struck out three, walked no one and looked good. Here are all three of his strikeouts.

The Cubs did not trail the game for long. Christian Franklin led off the bottom of the first with a walk, he stole second and then Ballesteros singled him in. You can see that in the second half of the video on that post with the caught stealing.

That brought up The Jaguar, Kevin Alcántara. [VIDEO]

Alcántara’s home run made it 3-1. The Cubs would go on to chase the Angels top prospect (per BA) Caden Dana, who didn’t finish the first inning.

Jaxon Wiggins came on to pitch for Horton in the third inning and threw gas. He threw one perfect inning, striking out one.

The Cubs made it 4-1 in the third inning when Cristian Hernández singled home Ben Cowles.

The Angels made the score 5-2 in the fifth inning when Randy De Jesus homered off the Cubs’ Will Sanders. Sanders pitched two innings and allowed the one run on two hits. He struck out two and walked no one.

The Cubs’ prospects blew the game open with a three-run bottom of the seventh. Most of the starters were out of the game at that point, and new first baseman Ethan Hearn clubbed one to right field to make it 6-2. Later in the inning, new catcher Ariel Armas hit a two-run home run to make it 8-2. Here’s both home runs.

If you’re unfamiliar with Armas, he was the Cubs’ fifth-round pick out of San Diego last June. He played 13 games with South Bend and did not hit a home run with them.

The Angels would score a run in garbage time to make it 8-3 when Fontenelle homered off of Jack Neely.

Sam Thoreson, Riley Martin and Frankie Scalzo Jr. each got a scoreless inning in between the Sanders in the fifth inning and Neely in the ninth.

Moises Ballesteros, Kevin Alcántara and James Triantos were all 2 for 4.

The major league Cubs take on the Yomiuri Giants in an exhibition game at the Tokyo Dome at 5 am Chicago time. But the minor leaguers certainly set a high-standard for the major leaguers to live up to this evening.