Greg Huss

Mid-Week Buzz: Prospects in Mesa But Not On Our TVs For Spring Training

Photo of Juan Cabada by Rich Biesterfeld

Things to Read

  • The International Free Agency period for 2026 opened up last Thursday, which gave us a flurry of signings to pay attention to. I typically steer clear of DSL players, opting to focus on the full-season ball guys instead, but this is always a fun day and I wanted to give the newest Cubs some love!
International Free Agency Opens as the Cubs Take a New Approach
  • Lots of incredible stuff in here but this stood out to me the most: Of the 1,794 players that have been ranked on a Baseball America Top 100 list from 1990-2022, only 158 failed to reach the majors.

We're preparing to release our 37th annual preseason Top 100 list. But how good is the list at identifying future stars? We take a look at the data:

— Baseball America (@baseballamerica.com) 2026-01-20T17:00:07.020Z
  • While on the surface this doesn’t appear to have a minor league twist, you know I’ll always find one! Marquee showing fewer than 10 Spring Training games is bad for what it represents for the network, but it’s also lost opportunity to watch the many, many prospects that get into big league games play alongside long-time MLBers. Dozens of guys from all across the system get in these games and for most fans, it’s the first time they are hearing prospects’ names and watching them take the field. More eyeballs on more of your players is a good thing, and unfortunately we’ll be losing plenty of opportunities for it.
  • After seeing Jaxon Wiggins appear on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 Right-Handed Pitchers list last week, the Cubs have seen two more of their prospects find themselves on positional rankings: Jonathon Long at No. 7 for first base and Moises Ballesteros at No. 6 for catcher.

Things to Watch

  • Jackson Kirkpatrick was a SUPER interesting guy and a great interview. Signed out of Tread last year (that’s Cubs pitching guru Tyler Zombro’s old stomping grounds), Kirkpatrick is arguably the Cubs’ 2nd best pitching prospect behind Riley Martin.
  • 2025 14th round pick, Kaemyn Franklin, threw off the mound for the first time since his surgery. Remember, he was an overslot signing out of high school (and also Kohl’s brother).

Things Worth Some Attention

  • I talked about this a few weeks ago, but I had suspicions that the Cubs were still going to hit the market pretty hard for minor league free agents to fill the roster in Iowa, especially on the hitting side. While Justin Dean is a waiver claim as opposed to a signing, he checks the box just the same.

The Cubs claiming Justin Dean off waivers from the Giants feels more like a guy they legitimately want to carry, as opposed to someone they try to sneak off the 40-man later.He’s got options and will compete with Kevin Alcántara for the last bench spot in Chicago, with the other in Iowa.

— Greg Huss (@outofthevines.bsky.social) 2026-01-15T02:22:00.449Z
  • Cubs minor league hitting coach Steven Pollakov spends lots of time down in the Dominican so it was cool to see him at the team’s signing event for all the new IFA guys.
  • A reminder that while he’s a great follow all year long, the next month or so is prime time Rich Biesterfeld season. I’ve now worked with Rich for multiple years and he’s one of the best guys you’d ever meet. He’s also your eyes down in Mesa and gives you a first look at all the prospects arriving in camp (including the camp that’s happening right now). I’ll end this week’s Buzz by sharing all the pics Rich has already snapped of prospects at the Complex.

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