More Cubs prospect notes for you with the draft fast approaching …
Speaking of which, Kiley McDaniel, Jeff Passan, and David Schoenfield did something of a unique re-draft over at ESPN, combining the 2023, 2024, and 2025 classes into a single re-draft, using the benefit of hindsight. Out of the 60 picks they made, three were former Cubs picks: Cam Smith at number 30, Matt Shaw at 43, Zyhir Hope at 53, and Josiah Hartshorn at 58. Not a bad showing for a club that doesn’t benefit from extra picks and didn’t have a pick higher than the middle of the first round. We had to wait almost a year to see Ethan Conrad get into game action after the Cubs made him their first round pick last year, but it didn’t take long for him to show he was good to go up to Low-A. After a week at the Complex Level to get his feet under him, Conrad is ripping line drives all over the place. If he’s healthy, it’s time for Low-A Myrtle Beach. The Cubs can make it a belated birthday present for the 22-year-old who celebrated earlier this week. Josiah Hartshorn has had his first honest-to-goodness slump as a professional, hitting just .152/.266/.242/37 wRC+ from June 16 through July 5, with a strikeout rate approaching 30%. Even High-A pitchers will figure out how to get a young hitter out eventually, and it’s good from a developmental perspective for Hartshorn to have to work through it. We’ll see if last night was the start of him doing that, with no strikeouts, a walk, a single, and this:A little insurance from Josiah Hartshorn!The @Cubs' No. 2 prospect (MLB No. 77) launches an extra-inning jack, his 15th of the season and 10th for the High-A @SBCubs: pic.twitter.com/CFLFRszTlO
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 8, 2026 On January 27, the Cubs signed 23-year-old outfield prospect Alex Ramirez to a minor league deal and sent him to Double-A. On January 27, the Cubs this past offseason signed 23-year-old outfield prospect Alexander Ramirez to a minor league deal and sent him to Double-A. No, I am not repeating myself. They were two different players, signed the same day at the same age to the same level, playing the same position and having the same name. I will forgive all of us who’d conflated the two together in their head, and because Alexander Ramirez came with massive strikeout issues and lasted just one day with the Knoxville Smokies, my brain had not switched over to realizing Alex Ramirez was an entirely different player who was still at Knoxville, and who has seemingly taken a significant step forward in the Cubs organization (his first new organization post-Mets). He is a guy to actually be following:Three-run thunder courtesy of Alex Ramirez ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/lGc6ENFbsO
— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) July 8, 2026 Speaking of outfielders at Double-A that I’ve been remiss in not highlighting yet this year, Carter Trice just keeps doing his thing: .262/.344/.451/114 wRC+, good peripherals, playing all three outfield spots. The 23-year-old former catcher has big league reserve upside, which obviously has value. Relatedly, Brett Bateman – the well-gloved, speedy outfielder at Iowa – continues to hit: .297/.430/.402/122 wRC+. There’s not a ton of power there, but it’s the most he’s shown so far in his career, and he’s walking more than he’s striking out. Pretty good chance the Cubs will add the 24-year-old to the 40-man roster after the season to protect him from the Rule 5 Draft. He has “useful bench player relatively soon” written all over him. Juan Tomas was a big-time IFA name last year for the Cubs, and he’s starting to put it together as an 18-year-old in the Arizona Complex League – since June 15, he’s hitting .380/.500/.600/171 wRC+, with a 19.4% BB rate and 21.0% K rate. Jeury Ramirez is another 18-year-old in Arizona after spending last year in the DSL, but he was not on my radar until now:Name to Know….Jeury RamirezSince June 1 pic.twitter.com/Oc6bDaNryg
— Todd ⚾️?? (@CubsCentral08) July 8, 2026 You can actually go all the way back to May 23 and Ramirez is hitting .365/.435/.649/154 wRC+ with great peripherals. Radar? On it now. Owen Ayers and Jefferson Rojas, just because:Some incredible nuggets from @AramLeighton8 on @The_CallUpPod that reinforce Owen Ayers’ unbelievable season so far:– .900 OPS vs. Breaking Balls– .900 OPS vs. Spin– Hitting .377 against FBs (1.230 OPS)– 1.000 OPS from both sides of the plateInsane pic.twitter.com/iUL7hoY2GW
— Northside Soundtrack (@CHC_DataDrive) July 8, 2026#Cubs No. 1 prospect Jefferson Rojas goes DEEP ? pic.twitter.com/VgTOMGx4pa
— Knoxville Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) July 8, 2026 It’s pretty wild to see how much Michael Carico keeps walking:Michael Carico walks in his first plate appearance of the day for South Bend.He entered the day with a 28.5% walk rate this season in 53 games. He’s walking more than TWICE as much as the average hitter. I’ve never seen something like this.
— Greg Huss (@OutOfTheVines) July 8, 2026 Plate discipline is great, but at some point it borders on a passivity that eats you up when the pitchers get more polished. If the monster walk rate comes with big power numbers and a decent strikeout rate, there’s no issue whatsoever. For now, though, Carico is striking out a whole lot and isn’t hitting for quite enough power to make you think this is a net positive. He’s probably going to have to swing more often going forward, but I don’t want to forget that this is a guy who has barely had a chance to get his pro feet under him because of injuries. Patience, ironically, is the order of the day. Speaking of guys recently promoted to High-A after dominating at Low-A (despite an elevated strikeout rate):Catcher Logan Poteet enters the Cubs' Top 30 Prospects list as Pedro Ramírez graduates.More on the 2025 Draft pick with a .925 OPS this season: t.co/ESdBkM1rjq pic.twitter.com/5XvLhyAPb4
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 6, 2026 With Logan Poteet on the Pipeline list, we get a nice scouting report from them:“A right-handed hitter, Poteet looks to do damage by launching balls to his pull side. He hits balls hard when he connects but tends to crush fastballs and struggle against breaking balls and changeups. He projects to provide enough offense to serve as a big league backup but probably not enough to hold down a regular role.
Poteet gets the job done behind the plate as a receiver, framer and blocker. He has plus arm strength and is one of the better all-around defenders among Chicago’s catching prospects. Like many backstops, he’s a well-below-average runner who offers no value on the bases.”
A plus glove future backup with power? That’d be a fantastic outcome for a 17th round pick. There’s a long road yet between here and there, but if one of Poteet or Ariel Armas (or maybe Justin Stransky) emerges as a credible future big league back-up catcher, that’d be a huge win. Another catcher to note:Welcome to affiliated ball Jose Silva! His 1st HR comes just a week after being called up to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, and less than a year since being signed as a UDFA last summer!Newly converted catcher, just 19 years old. t.co/cJoO1FtFUu pic.twitter.com/oFuXzN8VPS
— Northside Soundtrack (@CHC_DataDrive) July 8, 2026 What a scouting win that would be if Jose Silva becomes a guy. He raked in the ACL in his pro debut at 19, and he’s now up at Myrtle Beach. A general note: man, the Cubs’ farm system really is so, so, so healthy … on the positional side. It’s really strong, and I feel good about what the Cubs have coming – both in impact and in depth – in the years ahead. But obviously that says something about the pitching, eh? It’ll be a focus this weekend.Hence then, the article about cubs prospect notes conrad hartshorn ramirez trice bateman tomas carico poteet silva more was published today ( ) and is available on Bleacher Nation ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Cubs Prospect Notes: Conrad, Hartshorn, Ramirez, Trice, Bateman, Tomas, Carico, Poteet, Silva, More )
Also on site :