I’ve spent this whole week at Huntington Park in Downtown Columbus, Ohio watching the Iowa Cubs do their thing. It has been a really nice change of pace, considering Iowa is admittedly the last team on my typical pecking order on any given night. Being someone who covers prospects religiously, a Triple-A roster that is loaded up with Major and Minor League veterans doesn’t draw my attention as often as a young Pelicans roster.

With that being said, there are more than a handful of guys playing for the I-Cubs right now that are indeed considered prospects. Watching them go through their pre-game routines and perform on the field has allowed me to get a vibe as to which guys might be legit and will soon make an impact on the big league squad.

This week for The Friday Five, I’m going to touch on those rare Iowa Cubs prospects and give you a taste of a few guys that you might not even need to tune in to MiLB TV to watch after the trade deadline!

Justin Steele | LHP

I’ll kick things off here with a guy that has already seen time in Chicago but not enough to exceed rookie limits. Steele was arguably one of the best relievers on the Cubs’ roster in the first half, but since returning from injury he has been transitioning back to the rotation, a position that he is extremely familiar with during his time in the minors.

He is now featuring a deadly slider to go alongside his mid-90s fastball and those two pitches are what he utilized in the pen. But he was known for his curveball while coming up through the minors and now with a three-pitch mix, a transition back to the rotation might end up working out extremely well.

Cory Abbott | RHP

I’ll stick with the theme of starting pitchers that have already tasted Chicago this season. Much like Steele, Cory Abbott was a starter his entire minor league career prior to being transitioned to the bullpen up in Chicago – albeit in a smaller sample size than his lefty teammate.

With Abbott, you get a fastball with some life on it, his signature slutter (part slider, part cutter), plenty of strikeouts, but the more-than-occasional home run. His desire to work up and down in the zone rather than side to side is what allows hitters to generate more fly balls than the average pitcher tends to allow.

But for me, it’s all about the make-up with Abbott. I love him in the rotation because of his bulldog mentality. Even if he gives up a three-spot in the first inning, he will find a way to get through six strong innings.

Ben Leeper | RHP

Maybe the best story in the system this year, Leeper has gone from undrafted free agent to knocking on the door to Chicago in just his first full season. He works as a single inning reliever, occasionally going a bit longer, and there is a lot about the former Oklahoma State Cowboy that reminds me of Craig Kimbrel.

That’s not to say I would ever compare a 24-year-old to a first ballot Hall of Famer, but between his stature (6-foot-0, 195 pounds), his red hair and beard, and his fastball-slider mix, Leeper has potential closer written all over him. I finally got my first look at him on Thursday afternoon when he threw just five pitches, the last of which ended with a walk-off home run. But he has still been the best reliever in the system this year and is in the running for Cubs MiLB Pitcher of the Year.

Manny Rodriguez | RHP

As Leeper has taken off, I feel like people have been quick to sleep on Manny Rodriguez and his electric stuff out of the Iowa bullpen. Man-Rod is built like an absolute tank, standing just 5-foot-11 but equipped with biceps that are the size of my thighs.

Manny also features a two-pitch mix, armed with a fastball that touched triple-digits in the Futures Game and a hammer curveball that is one of the best in the system. He is a strikeout artist, dispatching of 32.1% of the batters he faces this year and since getting the call up to Iowa, he hasn’t allowed a run to cross the plate.

Rodriguez is already on the 40-man roster so he is an extremely safe bet to end up on the Major League roster sometime in the next month or so.

Alfonso Rivas | 1B

Talk about a guy that has drifted under the radar. Rivas continues to do his thing as one of the lone Iowa regulars in the hitting department that has yet to exceed rookie limits in the bigs. He is a first baseman by trade, but doesn’t operate as you would expect a typical first baseman would.

Offensively, his hit tool is one of the best in the system and his plate approach is terrific at both limiting strikeouts and generating plenty of walks. The power lags behind right now, but you don’t expect a ton of pop from his 5-foot-11 frame. With that being said, the power has been more present this year than I expected, cranking out three homers and five doubles in just over 100 plate appearances.

Defensively, Rivas is really solid at first base. He has really good athleticism and agility and can save his fair share of throwing errors. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get more run in left field in the coming weeks with the new first base addition in Frank Schwindel and I think that ability to be versatile will go a long way in his future on a big league roster, especially considering the hitting profile he deploys.