It was a shaky start for the Birds as they lost 13 of the first 21 games in April. While the wins were few in the first half of the season, exciting moments were still provided. The Pelicans turned a triple play on May 7th against the Augusta GreenJackets, Chris Paciolla delivered a walk-off fielder’s choice to secure a victory over the Fredericksburg Nationals in a rare day game at Pelicans Ballpark on May 15th, and Drew Bowser sent a sellout crowd home happy on Father’s Day with a walk-off double on June 16th to beat the Columbia Fireflies. Myrtle Beach finished the first half with a 29-37 record.
The struggles to raise the W flag would continue as the Pelicans endured an eight-game losing streak from June 29th to July 6th in the beginning of the second half. Proving their resiliency, the young prospects rattled off 16 wins in their next 22 games to contend for a second-half title. During this time, Bailey won his 2,391st career game on July 14th to move into third place all-time on the Minor League Baseball manager win list.
On August 15th, Pelicans’ infielder Eriandys Ramon became the first player in franchise history to collect four doubles in one game in an 8-0 win over Columbia.
The second half also saw the arrival of 2024 Cubs’ first-round pick Cam Smith, who etched his name in the history books by hitting a home run in six consecutive games from August 20th to August 25th in Charleston against the RiverDogs, becoming the first Pelican to do so.
Despite the late-season surge, the Pelicans fell short of a playoff spot in the second half as they finished second in the south division with a 33-30 record.
2023 marked the 24th season in franchise history and the Pelicans’ eighth under the Chicago Cubs affiliation. The success continued in Myrtle Beach, as the Birds reached the postseason for the second straight year and topped the Carolina League in the regular season with a 75-55 overall record.
Playing their third season at the Single-A level, the Pelicans Opening Day roster was highlighted by 2022 Cubs’ first round pick Cade Horton, along with top prospects Cristian Hernandez, Moises Ballesteros, and Pedro Ramirez. 20 former Pelicans also returned to the beach, in a group led by Buddy Bailey, who returned as the Birds’ manager for his sixth season.
The Pelicans posted a strong season offensively, leading the league with a team batting average of .253. The lineup also led the league in slugging percentage (.382), OPS (.719), and blasted the most home runs with 104. Eight of their homers were grand slams, setting a new single-season franchise record. Reivaj Garcia claimed the Carolina League batting title at the end of the year, posting a batting average of .306. Felix Stevens belted a team-leading 13 home runs, all hit in the first half, to rank sixth in the league.
After finishing the 2022 season in Myrtle Beach, Ballesteros spent the first half of 2023 with the Pelicans before finishing out in Double-A Tennessee. Through 56 games, the 19-year-old from Venezuela hit eight home runs and finished with a .274 average. The catcher, who also spent time as the designated hitter and first baseman, was named the Buck O’Neil Cubs Minor League Player of the Year at the conclusion of the season.
In the beginning of the season, the Pelicans’ pitching staff was built up of mostly returning players. After being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Wingate in 2022, starting pitcher Brody McCullough dominated through 12 starts with a 2.86 ERA and 74 strikeouts through 50 1/3 innings. Nick Hull and Grant Kipp also impressed in their starts after making their Pelicans debuts in 2022. In the second half, reliever Jose Romero found his groove by allowing just two earned runs across the final two months of the season.
While his stay in Myrtle Beach was short, Horton proved why he was the seventh overall pick in 2022. The right-hander started four games and allowed just two runs across 14 1/3 innings. Horton struck out 21 batters with just four walks in a Pelicans uniform, before finishing his first full season in Double-A Tennessee. The Oklahoma native was named the Vedie Himsl Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year following his campaign.
After striking out a franchise record 1,393 batters in 2022, the Pelicans sat down 1,369 batters in 2023, ranking second in the Carolina League. Despite the high strikeout numbers, the Birds walked the most batters in the Carolina League with 711, a franchise record. The pitching staff kept the ball in the park, giving up just 52 home runs throughout the season, the least in the league.