What I’m Reading

• A few days ago, I went back and took a look at my most recent *official* prospect lists. Way back in early March, I did my Top 20 Bats and Top 20 Arms for Cubs Insider. Reading those lists now is almost comedic because of the changes that have occurred in this system over the last few months. Preseason 2021 prospect lists were a bit of a crapshoot because of the lost 2020 minors campaign. Add in the fact that we have seen a draft, countless injuries, more pro debuts than I can count, and the biggest sell-off in franchise history and you’re looking at two nearly unreadable prospect lists (so go read them again)!

What I’m Watching

• Ed Howard: smooth like silk.

• Owen Caissie’s first full-season tank was everything we ever hoped it would be. Plus a bat drop for good measure!

• Alexander Canario thighs crush coconuts and his bat crushes hanging breaking balls.

• Lance Brozdowski has been making his rounds through the Cubs minor leagues and his interviews with some of the players have been next-level stuff. So insightful and he and the players do an incredible job of making sense of very complicated facets of the game.

• Alfonso Rivas is doing Alfonso Rivas things… but now it’s in the majors!

What I’m Tweeting

• After a surprisingly strong season from Ryan Reynolds, the former Texas Longhorn has been released by the Cubs. Here’s to hoping he latches on with another affiliated organization!

• Erick Castillo is a catching prospect in Triple-A Iowa. Erick Castillo has been around for a LONG time.

• Thanks to COVID issues on the Tennessee Smokies, a boatload of dudes were called up from High-A and have since made their debuts in the upper minors. We will also choose to ignore the fact that I meant *Anderson* Espinoza, not Alexander. Hey, give me a break – it was my first time mixing up the names in two months!

• Tell me you’re a liar and you predicted this group as being some of the best performers in the system in the year our lord 2021.

• I found this stat and was honestly surprised myself. It’s easy to forget that some of the very best prospects in the Cubs system are going out and playing against older competition day in and day out. For some, it sheds light on their struggles. For some, it highlights just how incredible they have been this year.

What’s Catching My Eye

• Max Bain and Nelson Velazquez were named Cubs pitcher and hitter of the month for August. The journey Max has taken is straight out of a Disney movie and the fact that Nelly was promoted to Double-A and proceeded to put up even better stats than his previous level is mind boggling.

• Jordan Wicks made his Cubs debut, throwing an inning for the South Bend Cubs. He went strikeout, flyout, flyout and called it a night.

• Also making his South Bend debut was DJ Herz. Statistically, it felt like DJ could have been promoted months ago, but instead he brought his ridiculous numbers with him from the beach to the Midwest in September. The dude is a top 10 prospect in the Cubs system, no doubt.