2026 Midseason Top Prospect List Updates

[Bertz]

13 minutes ago, squally1313 said:

That list put Hartshorn as a 1B, which is likely eventually but seems a little premature, no?

I really like Longenhagen but it's striking to read his stuff because he's very critical on the specifics and then you look at the overall grade and it's like the 8th best prospect in baseball.  Huge departure from every other outlet.  Reminds me of this PFT as Werner Herzog

[CaliforniaRaisin]

43 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I really like Longenhagen but it's striking to read his stuff because he's very critical on the specifics and then you look at the overall grade and it's like the 8th best prospect in baseball.  Huge departure from every other outlet.  Reminds me of this PFT as Werner Herzog

This was such a great bit that truly encapsulates that stupid Silver Lake Trader Joe's parking lot. 

"Wow, how many stars was that?"
"5"

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

First I've seen anyone that high on Cabada. Surprising considering how little he actually got to play in AZ.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Greg Huss's top 30: https://outofthevines.com/2026/07/27/top-30-cubs-prospects-my-midseason-update/

He doesn't rank prospects who haven't played in full season ball.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

Fangraphs did a post-draft/TDL update:

49. Josiah Hartshorn
56. Pedro Ramírez 
96. Owen Ayers
106. Jaxon Wiggins

[Funky-daddy]

48 minutes ago, CaliforniaRaisin said:

Fangraphs did a post-draft/TDL update:

49. Josiah Hartshorn
56. Pedro Ramírez 
96. Owen Ayers
106. Jaxon Wiggins

Interesting. Sort of expected Ayers to be higher based on all the smoke around him the last couple of days 

[CaliforniaRaisin]

BA updates:

27 - Hartshorn
99 - Kepley

No Ayers.

Former Cubs prospects:

39 - Hope
96 - Rojas
97 - Cruz, somehow (he has a 63 OPS+ in 345 high-A PAs)

[Post Count Padder]

FG ranked all the traded prospects. There were 95 of them overall. Rojas comes in 5th with a 50 FV, Long at 49 with a 40 FV. The other 4 guys (McGwire, Beck, Bateman, Southisene) out of the top 50 with a 35 FV or lower. They called the latter two "very Toronto" and don't seem high on McGwire.

[CaliforniaRaisin]

 

[Funky-daddy]

Do they have Kepley at 2? Can’t open it 

[Irrelevant Dude]

20 minutes ago, Funky-daddy said:

Do they have Kepley at 2? Can’t open it 

They do.

[Bertz]

I have been hard on Kepley but if he keeps things up at AA it's a lot harder to pick nits

[Jason Ross]

29 minutes ago, Bertz said:

I have been hard on Kepley but if he keeps things up at AA it's a lot harder to pick nits

Zumach had suggested that perhaps it wasn't that the Cubs were scared Kepley would get exposed at Double-A but that that they were actually high on Kepley and didn't want him to jump to Double-A and put up impressive numbers/data. 

[Tangled Up in Plaid]

22 minutes ago, Jason Ross said:

but that that they were actually high on Kepley and didn't want him to jump to Double-A and put up impressive numbers/data. 

How does that hurt the Cubs? Because more teams would have asked for him at the deadline?

[CaliforniaRaisin]

21 minutes ago, Tangled Up in Plaid said:

How does that hurt the Cubs? Because more teams would have asked for him at the deadline?

Yep

[CaliforniaRaisin]

2 hours ago, Funky-daddy said:

Do they have Kepley at 2? Can’t open it 

1. Josiah Hartshorn
2. Kane Kepley
3. Owen Ayers
4. Jaxon Wiggins
5, Ethan Conrad
6. Cade Townsend
7. Caden Sorrell
8. Kaleb Wing
9. Juan Cabada
10. Myles Bailey
11. James Triantos
12, Brooks Caple
13. Carson Jasa
14. Kevin Valdez
15. Will Sanders
16. Dylan Blomker
17, Pierce Coppola
18. Isaac Morton
19. Riley Martin
20. Jostin Florentino
21. Jaims Martínez
22. Enrique Oropeza
23. Juan Tómas
24, Brandon Birdsell
25, Dominick Reid
26, Nick Dean
27. Luis Martínez-Gómez
28. Jubrayker Salaya
29. Ángel Cepeda
30. Johan Geraldo

[craig]

Birdsell is there at 24.  It seems a long time for him.  Has anybody heard any updates on his rehab?  Like, he's been seen throwing in Mesa, all is well?  Or has he maybe had some setbacks?  

[We Got The Whole 9]

If Kepley somehow has regular playing time available when he reaches the Majors im offering him a Albies/Lara  extension without question.