For the first time in 1,510 days, we’re back to recap the last week(ish) of Cubs prospect news and notes.
Things to Read
- Last week, I looked around and it really hit me that there doesn’t seem to be someone dedicated to blogging about Cubs prospects on a daily basis anymore. I started making a thread talking through it but instead popped over to these pages and fleshed out my thoughts. Ultimately, I liked how it felt and now I’ve put a few different articles out there, including the one you’re reading right now.
- I dug into the failures of the Cubs in the International Free Agent market when it comes to pitchers. The biggest takeaway? The Cubs have produced 6 WAR in the last 12 years, and as our friend Brad has pointed out, an average team should produce around 32 WAR in that same span.
- The Rule 5 Draft is a week from today. If you’re still confused as to why the draft exists and how it works, I don’t blame you. Here’s a primer:
Things to Watch
- Top 30 prospect and this year’s 5th round draft pick, Kade Snell, came on the podcast a couple weeks ago and had plenty of funny stories to tell. One of my favorites was about his freshman year at Auburn when picking up a bat wasn’t exactly an option for him.
- It’s possible that Hayden Cantrelle is the most interesting guy in the entire farm system. What he’s gone through over the past several years is insane and I was lucky enough to hear his story on the most recent edition of the pod.
Things Worth Some Attention
- Your 2025 Minor League Hitter and Pitcher of the Year awards were announced by the Cubs, with Jonathon Long and Jostin Florentino as the deserving winners. Long got votes from 2 of the 3 of us on the pod a month ago with Owen Caissie actually getting a vote from me. Meanwhile, Jaxon Wiggins swept the award on our pod, but Florentino’s numbers were right in line with the Cubs’ top pitching prospect.
- Former Cubs farmhand Adam Laskey landed a new job with the Rockies in what was seemingly Paul DePodesta’s first move as man in charge which is kind of hilarious.
- Brendan Miller has his eye on some potential minor league signings, which we know the Cubs love to dip their toes into.
- Kane Kepley and Brett Bateman are definitely cut from the same cloth (small lefties that play a great CF), and they put up similar numbers in their draft season. The biggest difference is the power output and that is most definitely something we’ll keep an extremely close eye on over the next few years.
- The I-Cubs have a new hitting coach to replace Rick Strickland and Rachel Folden, who both recently left the organization.
- Jaxon Wiggins brought that good good this year.
- I kid in the tweet, but there’s legitimacy to all of this. If there is not Major League Baseball in 2027, there’s a very real possibility (and precedent) that minor league baseball would continue on as usual.
- Cubs minor league development coach Corey Ray has been poached by the Nats to be on their MLB staff.
- Some fun with 2024 vs 2025 Statcast metrics for the two top hitting prospects/important ‘26 MLB contributors, Owen Caissie and Moises Ballesteros.
Out of the Vines 