No hitter is truly impossible to get out, but Kane Kepley is doing his best to refute that theory.
One day after reaching base four times and swiping three bases, the Cubs' No. 6 prospect collected his first four-hit game as a pro and scored a career-best five runs to spearhead High-A South Bend's 25-6 romp over Wisconsin on Thursday night at Neuroscience Group Field.
Perched in his customary leadoff spot, Kepley singled four times, swiped four more bases, walked twice and drove in a pair of runs. The 22-year-old has been almost unstoppable this month, slashing .372/.525/.558 with 10 RBIs and an absurd 13/2 BB/K ratio in 11 games.
Kepley has reached safely in 27 of his 29 contests, pushing his OBP to an almost unfathomable .486, which leads all High-A players and ranks fifth in the Minors.
COMPLETE CUBS PROSPECT COVERAGE
While South Bend didn't start to erupt offensively until the middle innings, the North Carolina product made a menace of himself in the batter's box and on the basepaths throughout.
Kepley flied out to start the game but reached safely in his final six plate appearances, highlighted by a pair of RBI singles during the Cubs' nine-run eighth inning. His four-hit game bumped his average up 26 points to .284, its highest level since his fifth game of the season on April 12.
Despite having just 57 games under his belt as a pro, Kepley continues to walk at a prodigious clip, picking up 60 free passes (while striking out 32 times), including a Midwest League-best 35 free passes this year. Already pacing the circuit in stolen bases after he swiped three on Wednesday, Kepley has been successful on 23 of his 24 attempts on the basepaths in 2026.
More from MLB Pipeline:
• Top 100 prospects | Stats | Video | Podcast | Complete coverage
With a game built on speed, contact and the ability to avoid the strikeout -- the Cubs' 2025 second-rounder had a K rate of 7 percent during his lone season at UNC in 2025 -- Kepley figures to be a stalwart atop any lineup he's in. The 5-foot-8, 180-pounder has shown little-to-no issue adapting his game to the pros, running a 11.6 percent K rate in his first 277 plate appearances.
Kepley enjoyed a strong debut after going 56th overall in last year's Draft, slashing .299/.481/.433 with a 25/18 BB/K ratio and 16 steals in 28 games for Single-A Myrtle Beach.
His experience at the collegiate level -- first with Liberty before transferring to UNC -- coupled with his penchant for making smart swing decisions and getting on base could make for a quick rise up the Minor League ladder.