As we bid adieu to 2025, now seems like a perfect time for the classic (and a bit cheesy) look back at the year that was. One of the best ways to do that when talking prospects is by reviewing the guys that improved their stock the most over the course of the season.

Shockingly, there’s no math equation that I’m using here — I’m not looking at ‘25 OPS minus ‘24 OPS or even the guys who jumped up the most slots on my prospect rankings. This is very vibe-based. Who do I feel better about now than I did at the turn of the calendar into 2025?

Jaxon Wiggins

It feels both weird and obvious to include Wiggins, arguably the team’s top prospect, on this list. He wasn’t the top prospect last year and this year he might be! …Duh!

But let’s not forget the conversations we were having about this kid last offseason. We were simply hoping he could put it together, typically grouping him into conversations with Will Sanders, hoping one of them could be almost as good as Brandon Birdsell.

Instead, Wiggins drastically improved his command and consistency on the mound, still featuring an electric fastball-slider combination but now also throwing the great changeup and good curveball far more often. He’s a complete pitcher, and his come-up can’t be overstated.

Jonathon Long

If you’re an absolute prospect nerd, bear with me here — I know you’ve long believed in Jonny Long.

But 2025 was the year Long legitimized himself, both in the eyes of Cubs fans and national prospect writers. This time last year, he was coming off half a season of strong results in Double-A after posting merely average numbers in High-A to begin the 2024 campaign.

This year, he proved that the second half of that season was the real version of Jonny Long, all the way to a Cubs minor league Player of the Year award, posting numbers a level higher in Triple-A. It’s led to spot as a no-doubt top 10 prospect in the org.

Angel Cepeda

If you’re looking for true “stock up” guys, there might not be a better example in the system than 20-year-old Angel Cepeda. Entering 2025, he was part of a huge mix of teenage shortstops worth keeping an eye on with hopes that one or two would break out.

12 months later, and I’ve got Cepeda ranked as a top 10 prospect in the system. He rode out the growing pains of a first half of full-season ball in a pitchers’ league and ballpark and turned it on in the second half. He is now head and shoulders above the rest of the young infielders in the system (non-Jefferson Rojas category).

Jostin Florentino

I’m the guy who tracks the pitch mix of South Bend middle relievers. I rank prospects down into the 80s (even if I don’t post it publicly). I create metrics specifically to track the progress of Cubs prospects. I’m a giant nerd.

But folks, I knew absolutely nothing about Jostin Florentino before he debuted in Myrtle Beach on June 7th. I had heard his name a couple times, but couldn’t have told you when he signed or even if he was a starter or a reliever. To say he didn’t crack my prospect lists would be the understatement of the year.

And now, Florentino is sitting at home this offseason with an award on his mantle as Cubs minor league Pitcher of the Year. It’s simply an incredible story.

Grant Kipp

I mentioned above that I rank prospects all the way down into the 80s. It’s not something I do every year and it’s less exact than what I post publicly when I finalize my Top 30s or Top 40s. But last January, I had Grant Kipp ranked as the 68th best prospect in the system. Now, thanks in part to a strong season in Knoxville, one that saw even better underlying metrics than traditional stats, and in part because of the spinniest slider in the system, Kipp is a top 15 guy with a chance to impact the big league club in 2026.

Owen Ayers

I’ve oddly had my eye on Owen Ayers for a while, liking his gap-to-gap approach at the plate and athleticism behind it. But Ayers was a relative unknown entering 2025. He made a name for himself though, and got plenty of pub along the way as he went from a guy looking good and posting decent numbers in Myrtle Beach to quite possibly the best performer in the Arizona Fall League.

Along the way, Ayers went from a 19th round pick to arguably the 19th best prospect in the system.