Not too many Cubs prospect updates this time of year outside of the Arizona Fall League, but the tabs had finally accumulated past a tipping point, so I have a healthy dose to share today …
Shall we start with some batting practice videos from top draft pick Ethan Conrad:Watching @cubs 2025 1st round draft pick @ethanconrad23 take BP on the field this morning. Sweet swing and he drove one of these pitches off the batter’s eye! #Cubs #CubsProspects @WatchMarquee pic.twitter.com/npoIMFiHV2
Some good looking swings from @Cubs 2025 1st round draft pick @ethanconrad23 this morning. #Cubs #CubsProspects pic.twitter.com/MEygyblwLk
— Rich Biesterfeld (@biest22) October 21, 2025 These are apparently “wow”-inducing batting practice sessions. Conrad, who missed most of the 2025 season after shoulder surgery, seems to be just about full-go for a normal offseason, and then Spring Training. Because of the missed time, it’s hard to say exactly where and when Conrad will make his pro debut in 2026, but the offensive upside is massive. Conrad was available where he was in the draft because of the injury, so that’s the risk. But, yeah, if he’s fully healthy and no worse for the wear, this was a guy very much on the ascent at the start of the 2025 collegiate season. No surprise, then, that Conrad is picked at Baseball America as the Cubs’ possible big breakout prospect in 2026. Among the comments:“Conrad has strong bat-to-ball skills with potential for above-average power. He played center field at Wake Forest but could move to the corner outfield long term. Conrad is an above-average runner and a good athlete with a strong 6-foot-3, 220-pound frame.
If Conrad can return to full health, there’s potential for a big 2026 season. The 21-year-old combines an above-average hit tool with above-average power, making for talented all-around player who could play his way into the Top 100 Prospects list conversation early next year.”
Cubs pitching prospect Jostin Florentino enjoyed a break out in 2025 in his first Stateside action, rising from complex ball to Low-A and posting dominant results along the way. The 20-year-old righty also came in for mention at Baseball America as the single-biggest fastball increaser in all of minor league baseball this season, adding a whopping 5.1 mph! The rather whopping caveat* there is that he went from 84.9 mph to 90.0 mph, which is still well below average. He was still physically developing this past season, so you could reasonably hope to see some further gains from here.Florentino went the whole 9 yards !! pic.twitter.com/qjYENS3p5l
— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) July 19, 2025Cubs prospect Jostin Florentino has one of the best sliders in the minors. But he's the only prospect to gain over 5 mph on his fastball this season. More details: t.co/DOVEDVglWR pic.twitter.com/WKh9qLXuBk
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) October 21, 2025 *The other big caveat for the BA fastball risers thing? No other Cubs prospect raised his fastball velocity by even 2.0 mph this past season. Florentino’s slider also came in for heavy praise: “One of the more intriguing lower-level pop-up arms this season is Jostin Florentino of the Cubs. Over 10 starts with Low-A Myrtle Beach, Florentino pitched to a 1.96 ERA with a 26.9% strikeout rate. His slider was a big reason for his success this season, and it grades out very highly on our internal model. The pitch shows below-average velocity in the mid 70s, but gets outlier spin traits, averaging between 2700-3000 rpm with an average 18-20 inches of sweep. Florentino’s impressive combination of movement and spin is enough to overcome the lack of velocity for now. It’s a truly unique pitch with an outlier HAA of -4.5 degrees, which helps it drive excellent whiff and chase rates.” MLB Pipeline picked one stat to spotlight from each farm system this year, and for the Cubs, it was Owen Caissie’s 139 wRC+: “Caissie was just 21 when he started the 2024 season in Triple-A and he more than held his own (.847 OPS, 115 wRC+). Sometimes a young player can stall out when having to go back to repeat a level. Instead, Caissie got better, blasting 22 homers in 99 games, resulting in a .551 SLG and .937 OPS. All of that contributed to the jump in wRC+, not to mention his first jump to Chicago.” For a variety of reasons, it was easy to lose sight of Caissie’s impressive offensive performance this year at Triple-A. It’s still TBD on how or if he contributes to the big league team in 2026, but it’s good to have him around in the even of an Ian Happ or Seiya Suzuki injury, and if they depart after next season. MLB has sent a memo obtained by BA announcing a new scouting dead period for amateur players from October 15 to January 15 for high school players, and November 15 to January 15 for college players. There can be zero scouting of baseball activities during that time, or evaluation of players using data/video collected during that time. Per BA’s article on the memo, the league hopes the dead period will “reduce the incentive for amateur players to perform at maximum effort year-round by designating a period in the calendar, during which time clubs are prohibited from evaluating amateur players, to ensure appropriate rest, recovery and development for players.” Seems like a good idea. Players, by the way, can continue to train during those times, of course, and teams can evaluate the players in non-baseball-activity ways (in-home visits, off-field info, watching them play other sports, etc.). Josh Norris mentioned in a recent chat that Owen Ayers’ catching skills are among the “louder” ones in the AFL, which is great to hear for an older (24) prospect who has limited pro experience (drafted last year, injured part of this past season) and whom you’d like to see rise rapidly next year.Don’t run on Owen Ayers?The @Cubs prospect throws out 2 runners stealing in back-to-back innings pic.twitter.com/8eSC7icb2i
— MLB's Arizona Fall League (@MLBazFallLeague) October 21, 2025Cubs catching prospect Owen Ayers has thrown out a batter in each of the first two innings today. Quick operation behind the plate. #PLiveAFL pic.twitter.com/UbTzn8l2lB
— Jacob_Maxwell (@Jacob_Maxwell14) October 21, 2025Hence then, the article about chicago cubs prospect notes conrad florentino caissie ayers 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.
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