Spring Training is around the corner, which means MORE CUBS PROSPECT STUFF. It’s not just about the big league team, you know ….
Although the Cubs placed just two prospects on ESPN’s top-100 list (Moises Ballesteros and Jaxon Wiggins, the same as most top-100s in this cycle), Kiley McDaniel included two others in the “next 100” list. Jefferson Rojas, it turns out, just barely missed the top-100 (107), while the other Cubs prospect in that next group is a mild surprise: 3B/2B switch-hitter Pedro Ramirez. That’s fun. Although he’s never been a flashy name in the system, Ramirez has consistently hit his way up the ladder (with a little less power than you’d want, but always young for his level), while running the bases well and playing good defense (he won a minor league Gold Glove at third base last year, in fact). He has yet to play at Triple-A, but the Cubs didn’t want to risk losing him in the Rule 5 Draft and added him to the 40-man roster in the fall. Clearly, there’s big league belief there, but I think the variance in possible outcomes is still pretty wide for the 21-year-old. I expect he’ll open the year at Iowa, and we’ll just have to see how he fares against more polished pitching and defense (that is to say, his production thus far in the minors has been heavily BABIP-and-walk-reliant; and Triple-A is where you see both of those start to get seriously squeezed if there’s not enough power). *IF* Pedro Ramirez could show big league potential this year while raking at Iowa, it could help provide the Cubs a little more cover going into the offseason with Nico Hoerner hitting free agency. No, I don’t know that it’s realistic for Ramirez to blow up so much that the Cubs are choosing him as their starting second basemen in 2027 over Hoerner or Matt Shaw, but you would like to know you have a big-league-caliber option there. (This applies to James Triantos, too, in a hoped-for bounce-back season, while he adds even more versatility in the outfield.) Another top-100 is out at CBS, where the Cubs land Moises Ballesteros at number 60 and nothing else. Baseball America picked a trio of Cubs prospects as possible 2026 breakout candidates, with catcher Owen Ayers unsurprisingly one of them (he’s gotten a lot of love there going back to the fall, and was the breakout player of the year in the AFL). The other two selections were 2025 draft picks who have yet to make their pro debut, third round righty Dominick Reid, and above-slot sixth round slugging outfielder Josiah Hartshorn. The latter is almost a total black box on what we’ll see this year, given the obvious physical talent and development, a history of injuries in high school that limited his exposure, and the high-risk-high-reward nature of his power. Among BA’s comments:“Hartshorn is a physical switch-hitting slugger with average height, present strength and physicality, leaving little room for projection. His lefthanded swing is long, starting with a high leg lift trigger that gets deep into his back leg. It’s possible his swing was out of sync due to the injuries he dealt with as a prep. His lefty swing makes use of a scissor kick in his lower half. Hartshorn shows average bat-to-ball skills with an advanced—and at times passive—plate approach. He shows good bat speed from both sides of the plate with present strength. He’ll need to add some more loft to his swings in order to get to more consistent game power as a professional. Hartshorn will need to maintain his body as he gets older to maintain his average athleticism. He’s an average runner who likely is more of a fringe-average runner at peak. Hartshorn is likely destined for the corner outfield, where his above-average arm will play.”
First day of on-field Batting Practice for the minor leaguers on Friday. Should be fun watching @ethanconrad23 swing the lumber this season! #Cubs #CubsProspects pic.twitter.com/ztg7ZWfMe0
— Rich Biesterfeld (@biest22) January 23, 2026Pre-Spring Training; 1-31-2026 Cubs Camp Up next in the cage is #EthanConrad – Cubs 2025 1st rd. draft pick.@MiLB @cubprospects @realcubsinsider @Cubs @BleacherNation @brendan_cubs pic.twitter.com/TarMPzXpbj
— Ray R. Rardin II (@AZProspectWatch) January 31, 2026Pre-Spring Training; 1-31-2026 Cubs Camp Different angle of #EthanConrad – Cubs 2025 1st rd. draft pick.@MiLB @cubprospects @realcubsinsider @Cubs @BleacherNation @brendan_cubs pic.twitter.com/hkszEAxyz7
— Ray R. Rardin II (@AZProspectWatch) January 31, 2026 Some of the Cubs prospects who’ll presumably be coming up to the Arizona Complex League this year after extended Spring Training:Every year, it seems the Cubs bring up a couple DSL standouts to the mini camps prior to spring training. This year, it's Juan Cabada and Juan Tomás. pic.twitter.com/veYgdz3sCH
— John Antonoff (@baseballinfocus) January 25, 2026The Cubs have called up infielder Juan Cabada from the DSL and he's in camp in Arizona! Cabada is listed at 2B/3B and is ranked as the team's #12 prospect. #Cubs pic.twitter.com/CDFkX8xNs1
— Rich Biesterfeld (@biest22) January 14, 2026Another call-up from the DSL for the Cubs is SS Juan Tomas. He is listed as the Cubs #14 prospect. #Cubs pic.twitter.com/ZvJ0RHI8BI
— Rich Biesterfeld (@biest22) January 14, 2026 Cubs 14th round pick Kaemyn Franklin should look a little familiar – he’s the younger brother of Kohl Franklin – and he’s coming back from surgery (pre-draft):Beyond blessed to get back on the mound for the first time in 1l months today…Feeling great and excited for what's to come! pic.twitter.com/TdW46uvLgS
— Kaemyn Franklin (@Kaemyn_) January 17, 2026 How cool would it be if Kohl, who is incredibly talented but just hasn’t been able to stay on the mound, comes back from his own missed year at the same time, breaks out, and the Cubs suddenly have two Franklin brother pitching prospects with upside in the system?I always enjoy seeing @kohlrf on the field – he usually smiling and enjoying whatever activity he's involved with! Hoping for a healthy breakout season in 2026 for Kohl! #Cubs #CubsProspects pic.twitter.com/b1vrtlBkgH
— Rich Biesterfeld (@biest22) January 23, 2026 Greg interviewed Owen Ayers if you missed it:?Owen Ayers Interview?• From 19th round pick to Top 20 prospect• How he improved ahead of an incredible breakout Arizona Fall League performance• Mini scouting reports on his pitchers?: t.co/x1CGgMZLtr?: t.co/6DrER7AUM6?: t.co/cdRsNR0sqD pic.twitter.com/deilZFxzwC
— Greg Huss (@OutOfTheVines) January 27, 2026 I know it was a theme all fall, but I just can’t wait to see what his 2026 season looks like. The potential to be a very good defensive catcher who can also hit a little bit is there, but his age/level/injury/etc. trajectory (older 2024 draft pick, catcher convert, big-numbers-but-injury at Low-A, but then huge AFL) is so unique that it’s hard to project him to reach that potential. An immediate blow-up in the first half of 2026, though? If you start thinking about sending him to Double-A Knoxville by the second half? Then you really can start dreaming about a big league future. You’re not even realistically hoping for a big league starter here – but a high-quality back-up catcher? To have for several prime years? That has huge value if you can develop it internally, and I do think that’s possible for Ayers. Stray final thought: pretty much the entire Myrtle Beach roster put together huge second halves relative to their first halves, and I will be fascinated to see the extent to which that was just a small-sample thing for some of these guys, and the extent to which it was real development that shows up when they reach High-A South Bend. My guess is we’re going to get a sense for a little bit of that storyline as early as minor league camp, because you generally do get reports about who had a great offseason of work, who made real changes last year that carried through, etc.Hence then, the article about cubs prospect notes ramirez hartshorn wing franklin 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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