Chicago Cubs 2026 Top Prospect Rankings: #11-15

While the Chicago Cubs' minor-league depth has taken a hit with recent graduations and trades, there are still a handful of interesting prospects to be found outside the top 10 names on our list. You can find Part 1 (prospects #16-20) right here.

#15: Will Sanders (Triple-A)

Will Sanders may not be the most exciting prospect in the Cubs' system, but sometimes players like him can fly under the radar because the things they do well don't immediately stand out. Our 15th-ranked prospect is not a stuff monster, nor does he induce a ton of swing-and-miss. What he does offer is steady pitchability and a kitchen-sink approach. Baseball America's scouting report has Sanders sitting 92-94 mph (touching 97) on his fastball, but with below-average shape. Sanders also throws a splitter, a slider, and a curveball. 

The Cubs pitcher of whom Sanders most reminds me is Colin Rea. That's not a bad thing—quite the opposite, really. Rea doesn't overwhelm hitters with stuff, but confuses them by throwing enough pitches that separate themselves to stay one step ahead of his opposition. That's probably the path forward for Sanders: continuing to refine a deep repertoire of good-enough offerings and moving between long relief and the rotation as needed. Those types of arms can be your saving grace in the dog days of a 162-game season. By the end of last season, Cubs fans were clamoring for more Colin Rea. As the team stumbled down the stretch with pitching fatigue and injuries, Rea was ever available, steady and capable. While Sanders may not excite anyone, if he can continue to grow in a similar fashion, he can carve out a long and valuable career. 

#14: Kaleb Wing (Scotts Valley High School)

Kaleb Wing is a different type of pitcher than we've seen the Cubs draft recently: an over-slot, high-upside prep arm. Lanky and projectable, the right-handed pitcher has both stuff and pedigree. He's already hitting 94-96 mph (though sitting 90-92 on average) on the gun as a teenager, and his father pitched in the White Sox organization. 

Wing saw his draft stock soar in the lead up to the draft—enough to impress the Cubs' brass, who gave him a $1.5 million signing bonus. According to BA, Wing already throws four pitches. It'll be interesting to see how the Cubs continue to develop that arsenal.

Wing has yet to make his professional debut, but should see time with Myrtle Beach in 2026. He's probably a year or two away from reaching the upper tier of Cubs prospect lists, but it's clear that the organization likes the pitcher a lot.

#13: Angel Cepeda (Myrtle Beach)

Angel Cepeda had an uneven season with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, but ended the campaign the way you'd hope to see a prospect do so: on fire. Cepeda is another former six-figure international free-agent signing and had a strong year overall, posting a 116 wRC+ in his stop at Low-A, but those numbers bury the lede. Over his final 132 plate appearances, Cepeda posted a blistering 157 wRC+, with a .331 batting average, four home runs, six doubles and two triples. 

Perhaps the best part of that torrid stretch was that the right-handed hitter saw a significant reduction in strikeouts, dropping from a 33.7% strikeout rate before the warm-up to a 26.6% rate after. One of the biggest green-flag indicators a hitter can wave is to make more contact, and Cepeda was able to do that as a 19-year-old in a very tough hitting environment. 

Obviously, there are still things to work on, but Cepeda offers a bit of a projectable frame and the kind of bat that could survive at third base. While he's played a lot of shortstop, it's likely that the 6-foot-1 teenager will eventually have to move off the position as he adds weight. He uses a pretty simple setup at the plate, so if his pitch recognition skills continue to get better, he shouldn't have many flaws mechanically. It shouldn't surprise anyone if, at the end of the season, Cepeda jumps into a lot of internal top-five rankings.

#12: Cole Mathis (Low-A)

Cole Mathis was supposed to be one of the fastest movers from the 2024 Cubs draft class, but sadly, that has not been the case. Mathis had some of the best batted-ball data from his class, and had already shown success in the Cape Cod League with wooden bats, so the hope was that as he transitioned from a two-way player at the College of Charleston, he would take off immediately in pro ball. 

Instead, 2025 was a year where Mathis struggled with injury (as he came off Tommy John surgery) and to be productive in the lineup. While he did post a 121 wRC+ during his time in Myrtle Beach, his .221 batting average left a lot to be desired. Also, when put in the context that Low-A is usually a level college hitters cruise through (Kane Kepley,. the Cubs' 2025 second-round pick whose bat was not considered his calling card, posted a 180 wRC+ there), Mathis just didn't crush the level like you'd have thought he could. This caused Mathis to get some run during the Arizona Fall League, where he posted a more encouraging .280/.439/.400 line—though that was still somewhat lacking in the power department.

The hope with Mathis is that the elbow injury and recovery sapped his power, because the approach was clearly there. Mathis walked 13% of the time at Myrtle Beach and had 15 free passes while in the AFL. If he can show the power that his batted ball data in college suggested he may be able to produce, he can be someone who refills his prospect balloon with helium in the 2026 campaign, If he doesn't show that, however, he'll have to hope his glove improves rapidly at the hot corner.

#11: Brandon Birdsell (Triple-A)

Brandon Birdsell entered the 2025 season with hopes of making his MLB debut, but those were quickly dashed. Despite being a non-roster invitee to camp, he was placed on the 60-day IL before he ever really got going. He was eventually able to get back on the mound in June, pitching a few times in the Complex league and then moving his way up to Iowa, making his season debut at Triple-A in mid-July. Things seemed back on track for the righty, but was again shutdown after a start on August 7. By the end of the month, the team announced the devastating news: Tommy John surgery was on tap for the Cubs' pitching prospect. 

Injury is nothing new to the right handed pitcher, as in 2021, a rotator cuff injury dropped his draft status and Birdsell opted to return to Texas Tech for another year. Prior to this, the righty had Tommy John once prior, requiring the surgery as a sophomore in high school. A long injury history is never a great thing and all of these were reasons the talented pitcher was even available to be selected by the Cubs to begin with.

For 2026, it's pretty unlikely we'll see him take a mound. While it's unknown whether or not he required a full UCL reconstruction or a a brace (similar to Justin Steele), it's probable that 2026 will be a full-on rehab season for the 25-year-old, with the prevailing hope that he can rebound in 2027. Coming back from a second TJS puts his future in doubt; he was never an overpowering guy, but always got results that were better than you'd expect due to a funky delivery. He was a fun, under-the-radar type, but his future now is pretty murky. If he can bounce back with authority, he won't be so old that it'd be impossible for the organization to find a pathway to the majors for him. But he'll have a lot to prove once healthy.

What do you think of this batch of prospects? Which on is your favorite? Do you think someone missed the cut? Let us know in the comment section below!

Interested in learning more about the Chicago Cubs' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!