Things to Read
- It was a fairly simple Rule 5 Draft for the Cubs last week, as they didn’t have anyone poached from them in either the Major or minor league phases. It was surprising to see them pass in the MLB portion, especially considering the number of 40-man roster slots available. On the minor league phase, they selected three players: RHP Adam Stone (NYY), RHP Zane Mills (STL), and 3B Devin Ortiz (SD). Major League production is always a long shot for MiLB picks, but I’d say Zane Mills is the likeliest of the bunch given his pedigree (originally a 4th rounder) and proximity (spent time in AAA last year). The Bleacher Nation crew gave us a write-up:
- Adam Stone really is the most intriguing player selected, though. It’s been an absolutely insane journey for him up to this point. He logged only 32 innings at Harvard thanks to Tommy John #1 and the Ivy League cancelling the 2021 campaign due to COVID. After going undrafted, he threw 20 innings in 2023 and then nothing until a brief stint in this year’s Arizona Fall League, thanks to a shoulder injury and Tommy John #2. But he clearly has the talent (played for Team USA alongside Paul Skenes in 2021) and smarts (graduated from Harvard with a psychology degree).
- Throughout a minor league season, I typically take to social media to sporadically post stat leaderboards among players in the Cubs system. Now, in this weird transition period from the 2025 season to the 2026 season, I wanted to take a moment to post those final leaderboards. You can find the Top 5 in a variety of pitching and hitting categories right here at the site.
- Not to be overly dramatic, but I think the Cubs retaining Tyler Zombro and promoting him to this role could impact the Cubs organization in a major way for years to come.
- Some great stuff here from Patrick Mooney, particularly on Jaxon Wiggins, who the front office compares directly to Cade Horton in terms of 2025/2026 impact in the bigs. I’ve said that Wiggins is on a similar trajectory, with June or July being the timeline I’ve kept in mind for a potential MLB debut.
- Super unique situation happening down in the minor leagues as it relates to access to data. I think it’s a good thing that all teams will have access to the same in-game data, creating an even playing field (of sorts). I can also understand teams that have already invested a greater amount of time and money in their prospects being frustrated by this. Selfishly, I just hope it means public Statcast data will be here in 2026 for ALL minor league ballparks.
Things to Watch
- No Cubs On Deck podcast episode this week but on Saturday night, Brendan Miller joined me on a live stream over at the YouTube channel. There was plenty of prospect content, especially at the front end of the show.
Things Worth Some Attention
- Pour one out for Burl Carraway. He just never could get it going, whether it was injuries, the yips, or just an inability to find the strike zone.
- The signing of Bryant Ciriaco isn’t yet official on the Cubs transaction logs, but it appears this is the deal that the Cubs had queued up when they traded Nico Zeglin for IFA money last week. Previously connected to the Reds and then the Yankees in the 2026 class, the Cubs jumped the market to sign him on the final days of the 2025 class.
- Cubs continue to win the Michael Busch for Zyhir Hope/Jackson Ferris trade!
- In addition to Owen Caissie getting valuable experience playing for Canada in the World Baseball Classic, Jonathon Long will do the same — playing for Chinese Taipei.
- Old friend Riley Thompson will continue to do his thing in the KBO. Happy to see him succeed like we knew he would over there!
Out of the Vines 