Each of the past two years, I’ve created a series of posts on social media highlighting every single prospect that appears in an MLB Spring Training game. For each player, I answer the question:
“What does the 2026 season have in store for this guy?”
In 2024, a total of 69 prospects appeared in big league games. Last year, that number was just 47. While I’ll still be providing a thread for this year’s prospects on Twitter and Bluesky, I’m adding the ol’ blog to the festivities this go-round.
The hope is that I can provide just a smidge more info for each prospect here than I can at the character-restricted social media sites.
Check back over the next month or so, and hopefully you (and I) can learn a thing or two about a few dozen minor leaguers.
Jonathon Long
While a second MiLB Player of the Year Award seems unlikely as the Cubs look to spread the love, Long will be battling every single day in Iowa to be the Next Man Up in Chicago when an injury happens. Three key development milestones:
- Be less passive at the plate, pouncing on mistake pitches in the zone.
- Add more pull-side power, which would allow him to tap into more over-the-fence power — something necessary if he really is only a first baseman.
- PLEASE add some positional flexibility. Get some run at third base or left field. That would provide more value in general, but also put less pressure on his bat (see bullet point #2).
Connor Schultz
Signed out of Indy Ball for the 2024 season, Schultz had a mini-breakout in 2025 working as both a starting pitcher and reliever. He generates tons of whiffs (14.6% swinging strike rate) and walks very few (5.6% walk rate). He’ll likely bump around both Knoxville and Iowa this year, hoping to prove 2025 wasn’t a fluke. If he does that successfully, he can cement himself as 2027 MLB depth in whatever role the team needs — either the bullpen or the rotation. I view Schultz similarly to Jonny Long entering last season: is what we saw last year legit and if so, how good can he be?
Pedro Ramirez
Pedro earned a 40-man spot and Top 10 prospect status this offseason despite both stats and movements that don’t particularly stand out. He’s still just 21 years old, but age matters far less as a 40-man-rostered player than it does a lower-level prospect. He’ll likely be given a starting 2B/3B job in Iowa to open the campaign but I would also assume he’s likely finish there as well. I picture him as being in a pretty stiff competition with fellow newly-rostered James Triantos for the course of their time in the org, as I envision them both as bench bats in the bigs. With a good 2026, the hope is he enters 2027 as that MLB bench bat.
BJ Murray Jr
2022: 115 BASH
2023: 113 BASH
2024: 92 BASH
2025: 115 BASH
I would pay money to watch an ESPN 30-for-30 style documentary on what happened to BJ in 2024. He’s been wildly consistent with his approach and production during his entire career — except for that season. He’ll be back to Iowa this year (he spent a portion of 2024 there) after spending the last three seasons at Double-A. BJ is a very good minor league hitter. This year, he’ll need to prove that he can be a good MLB hitter. He play solid defense at both first and third base, but the hitting profile isn’t a common one that you see in the Majors, so it’s all about that.
Grant Kipp
Kipp is of the guys I’ve been most high on, and my updated prospect rankings reflect that. I think he’d be just fine starting the year in Iowa and immediately acting as Chicago bullpen depth. Instead, I think he’ll be in Knoxville working out of the rotation. He features crazy amounts of spin (3,000+ RPM on his curveball, 2,800+ on the slider) and can fill a variety of roles this year & in the future: starter, multi-inning reliever, single-inning reliever.
Jefferson Rojas
This front office and coaching staff just really like this Rojas. He first appeared in a big league Spring Training game at age-18 and now he’s in big league camp at 20. The hope is he’ll replicate 2025 in 2026, just a level higher: reassigned to the level he ended the year and struggled at last season (Double-A in this case), dominate, then a cup of coffee at the next level (Iowa). With Cristian Hernández now out of the organization, there’s not a whole lot of competition for reps at shortstop, so I think Rojas will log a TON of games there this year to see how good he can be there before potentially sliding over to second base in future seasons.
Ariel Armas
Ariel ARMas has the arm behind the plate in the entire organization (MLB included). He’ll look to build off a strong second half as he gets assigned up a level to Knoxville. A strong offensive season puts him squarely on top 15 prospect watch. A poor season and he quickly becomes another defense-first org guy like many of the catchers we’ve seen in this organization over the past five years or so.
Brett Bateman
Bateman’s assignment to Iowa is likely dependent on the opt-out situation for Dylan Carlson and Chas McCormick if they don’t make the Chicago roster as well as whether or not Justin Dean survives the spring without getting DFA’d. Whether it’s there or to start the year in Knoxville, I think the speedy Bateman logs plenty of at-bats once again this season and mans center field several times a week. We’re watching basically only one thing: slug. He doesn’t need to become something he isn’t and hit 10+ home runs, but he hasn’t posted an ISO north of .052 over the course of a full pro season. As guys before him have found out (Darius Hill being the most recent), you can’t survive in Triple-A without striking a little fear into opposing pitchers.
James Triantos
I like that we could see some 2B/CF positional flexibility from him this year. It’s a similar situation as Pedro Ramirez, where he has a tight window to carve out a role as a MLB bench bat/utilityman. He won’t have much time to prove he can do it, meaning this year in Iowa is super critical. But also, the margins are small when comparing a real good Triple-A player and a contributor off the MLB bench.
Development watch: swing less. Both at pitches out and IN the zone. Because he makes SO much contact (an incredible ability, truly), he offers at too many pitcher’s pitches, providing weak contact. It’s the Albert Almora effect.
Haydn McGeary
We’re likely looking at a fourth straight year spending time at Double-A for Haydn after back-to-back rough seasons. 2024 was overall poor production, coming off a 2023 season where a lot of us got ultra excited about what the big power hitter could be. 2025 then saw him face injury challenges, limiting him to fewer than 100 plate appearances. It’s really gotta all come back together this season for the 26 year old. It’s not impossible, but would be a wild breakout if it happens. Without it, he’s spot in the org is gonna get awfully tricky.
Connor Noland
Connor finds himself as something like the tenth starting pitcher on the Cubs organizational depth chart. That seems distant but is super critical to the health of a big league team. We know exactly who he is: a strike-thrower and innings-eater that has a little funk and could be up this season for a couple starts if need be. In this house, we love Connor Noland.
Jordan Nwogu
Another guy destined for a fourth year in Double-A, Jordan actually performed well there last year (106 OPS+). It’s gonna take the long-awaited breakout in the power department for him to stick around in the org past this season as he becomes a minor league free agent this upcoming offseason.
Zane Mills
MiLB Rule 5 guys are the prospects I know the least about and because of that, I have little expectations for Mills. Bespectacled like another Mills Cubs fans are familiar with, I’ve got him slated for Knoxville this season, working out of the pen. If he performs well in the first 2 months, he’ll take an Iowa spot from one of the many veterans that signed a minor league deal with a contract opt-out on June 1st.
Parker Chavers
We might see Chavers bounce around between Knoxville and Iowa this season depending on which affiliate is in need of outfield depth at any given time. He hits minor league free agency after this year so showing some promise against right-handed pitchers while continuing to showcase his defense/baserunning skills will be critical to his next contract.
Hayden Cantrelle
Cantrelle has turned himself into a high-quality MiLB Rule 5 pick. He plays both infield and outfield, runs the bases well, and can punish a hanging breaking ball while also switch hitting. There is LOTS of value from Hayden this year playing in Iowa. He’ll make a really good “break in case of emergency” MLB option.
Ryan Jensen
He’s back. The former first round pick returned to the Cubs organization at the end of last season. He continues his trend of high strikeouts and high walks last year in Triple-A with the Twins and this spring seems like direct competition for him to earn an Iowa bullpen spot. He’ll need to lower the walks a pretty extreme amount to get to MLB this season, but the slider will be the pitch that stands out when he gets there.
Devin Ortiz
Another MiLB Rule 5 pick this offseason, he’ll actually be given PLENTY of at-bats in Knoxville this year given the extreme lack of position player options at that level. Mainly a corner infielder, if he performs well, he could hold onto a starting job when guys start getting promoted from South Bend. There would likely either need to be some extreme chaos in Iowa or an outrageous offensive showing from Ortiz in order to see him bumped up a level.
Jack Neely
It’s a real tough spot for Jack this season. Very rarely does a relief pitcher remain on the 40-man roster for two full seasons without making an MLB appearance. After a poor season last year, that just means he’ll need to use his terrific slider and hopefully an improved heater to stand out in Iowa and get promoted to Chicago before the end of the year.
Casey Opitz
- Elite clubhouse presence
- Great defense behind the plate
- Unfortunately one of the worst bats in the system
He’ll be the third catcher in either Knoxville or Iowa tasked with making the pitchers on each team better. Given the extreme lack of Cubs catching prospects, there’s a chance he’s actually catcher #2 at those places.
Andy Garriola
Garriola was one of my breakout picks this time last year but has taken a step back since then. He saw power leave while the walk rate also dropped quite a bit. The bright spot was that he improved his strikeout rate by quite a bit — better than league-average last year. He’ll play the outfield in Knoxville at age-26. That roster will skew very old and veteran-laden and Andy will look to stand out among that group.
Leonel Espinoza
Leo is just one year removed from a tremendous 2024 campaign (albeit in a small-ish sample size of fewer than 250 plate appearances). There’s a poor man’s Ramon Laureano profile in here with an ability to really hit lefties and play solid defenses at all three outfield spots while doing so in a compact frame. For now, he’ll be competing for outfield at-bats on a somewhat crowded South Bend roster.
Karson Simas
The Cubs were in dire need of middle infield help in Knoxville this year so they brought in Simas on a minor league deal. It’s a lot like the Jaylen Palmer addition last year — he’ll hold it down in Double-A until depth improves. Once guys get bumped up from South Bend, he can then be used at other levels, including Iowa, as needed.
Evan Taylor
It was a really, really good season from Evan last year between High-A and Double-A. In his second organization as a pro (drafted by Miami in the 9th round in 2022), I expect him to be one of the high leverage arms in Knoxville to begin the year. He’ll need to limit the walks (12.2% BB in 2025) a bit more but he’s a midseason Iowa promotion candidate — again, dependent on the opt-out situation among the vets in Iowa (typically there are several June 1st opt-outs).
Charlie Barnes
The 30-year-old has been a starting pitcher his whole career and been around the block… several time over. He’s registered 9 MLB games, 83 MiLB games, and 94 KBO games). Given his career usage as a starter — 95% of his career outings dating back to college — the Cubs could use him one of two ways this season:
- Depth starter and innings eater in Iowa, which is always extremely useful to an organization
- Make tweaks in conversion to the bullpen, with the hope that a pitch or two takes off and he becomes useful in the Chicago pen later in the year
Zac Leigh
It’s Zac’s minor league free agent year and he’s 28 years old having only logged 13 unsuccessful AAA innings so far (in 2024). It feels like the stuff has ticked down from where it was a few years ago. If he is assigned back to Double-A, it’ll be his fifth go-round there. Here’s to good health and fewer walks!
Riley Martin
Earned a 40-man spot thanks in part to his 2025 2nd half that saw increased velo, same system-best curveball, and improved control. If he doesn’t that again to start this year, he’ll log serious MLB innings. Big question: do the Cubs try to stretch him out?
Yenrri Rojas
Mini-breakout last year saw him log AA innings to end season. He needs to generate way more whiffs and in turn more strikeouts. He’ll likely start the year in the Double-A rotation and I’d be thrilled with even a slight step back in production (besides the whiffs)
Kane Kepley
The most electric and polarizing player in the system, he’ll still be a better baseball player than 80% of his opponents if assigned to High-A. I’m more focused on his slug once he reaches AA. Like with Bateman earlier in this thread, it’s critical to his development
Luis Rujano
The stuff is good, not great. The results last year, both on the surface and under the hood, were great outside of his extremely high walk right. If he uses a 2nd go-round in AA to tame those free passes, he’s firmly in the mix of 2027 Chicago bullpen options.
Kade Snell
His cup of coffee in South Bend last year was helpful to learn about what it takes as a pro. He’ll use it (and an offseason where he got stronger) to hit his way from Hi-A to AA. He’s a new version of Cole Roederer — hitting for more pop or playing CF becomes critical
Edgar Alvarez
I think we see Alvarez get the bump to Double-A to play a combo of 1B/3B/OF. Knoxville proved a VERY tough place to hit last year so don’t be scared off by the offensive numbers he posts in what’ll likely be a full season there. Positional flexibility is super key.
Jackson Kirkpatrick
The definition of a pop-up reliever that could fly through the system. He documented his journey on the pod with me this offseason. Features high-90s heat and a huge frame and could start in Knoxville and finish in Iowa. He’ll need to continue to drop BB%.
Angel Cepeda
Biggest helium prospect in Cubs org. He’ll get another aggressive bump to High-A, manning shortstop daily. Cut from same cloth as Jefferson Rojas, but will need to really cut down on the swing-and-miss to be as highly touted. I think we see a full season in SB.
Ty Southisene
- Great defense at 2B
- Doesn’t strike out
- Walks plenty
- Hits for zero power
He’s likely South Bend’s starting second basemen for the entirety of this season. Like with a couple guys above him here, we need to see at least doubles pop develop quickly.
Drew Bowser
I’m not entirely sure where Bowser fits this season. Maybe a bench spot back in South Bend? He’ll be fighting for a spot this spring and throughout the season but the fact that he plays all of 1B/2B/3B is helpful to him logging ABs.
Carter Trice
‘25 in South Bend = good
‘25 in Knoxville = bad
He’ll be back in Knoxville where I wouldn’t mind him logging some innings at 2B in addition to CF. A hot start puts him back in Top 30 prospect territory, but this is a complete Three True Outcome profile.
Tyler Ras
My assumption was that the newly signed reliever would start in South Bend but Zombro indicated to Tommy Birch it might actually be Knoxville. Ideal scenario, control lines up with his 97mph fastball with vert and he ends the year getting high-leverage outs in Iowa.
Walker Powell
Being a bit generous with “prospect” here given this is his age-30 season, but he’s spent his entire career in the Cubs org. Just 55 IP the last 2 years, including time at 4 different levels last year. He’s a player coach and will eat innings in the upper minors.
Vince Reilly
Real rough season from the righty reliever in 2025 leads us into a year where he’ll be competing for one of the last couple spots in either the South Bend or Knoxville bullpen. He got BABIP’d to death a year ago, but it was more about hard contact than bad luck.
Reggie Preciado
He’s posted a sub-.600 OPS in all 4 years he’s played full-season ball and there’s not really room for him to earn a bench spot in High-A again this year. His best shot at a roster: lots of injuries or the Cubs liking his clubhouse presence enough to bump to AA.
Alexey Lumpuy
He might be the main Pelican from last year that gets held back for the beginning of this season. The athleticism and natural skills are things to dream on but his #1 point of emphasis should be cutting down the whiffs. If he does that, we’ve got a Top 20 prospect.
Josiah Hartshorn
He might be a rare case of a HS pick starting in Myrtle the following year. If you’re looking for one player to be optimistic about for a BIG breakout season — here’s your guy. He’ll log 500 PA from a corner OF spot. Ending in South Bend is a major W.
Owen Ayers
South Bend to Knoxville to Iowa this season is a fairly reasonable (but still optimistic) hope for the AFL star. He posted a 114 OPS+ last year — ticking that up to 120 with improved blocking/framing behind the plate makes him a bonafide top 10 prospect in the org.
Out of the Vines 