Chicago Cubs Weekly Prospect Update: Young Pitchers Continue To Shine In August

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Let's take a look at some of the rising prospects across the minor-league affiliates of the Chicago Cubs organization and see how their respective seasons are going.

Pitchers

Braylon Myers (Myrtle Beach Pelicans) - Myers has been a key part of the Pelicans pitching staff, as shown by his 2.48 ERA and 72 strikeouts. With 65.1 innings on the mound this season, he has only given up 24 walks and 18 earned runs. So far during his first season out of rookie ball, he is doing solid at the Low-A level.
Edwardo Melendez (Myrtle Beach Pelicans) - Another member of Pelicans pitching room, Melendez also has a sub-three ERA, currently sitting at 2.91. He also has 70 strikeouts in 58.2 innings so far in 2026. With 37 walks and 44 hits given up, he has not been doing well in the base runner category. As of now, Melendez also has a WHIP sitting at 1.38.
Brooks Caple (Knoxville Smokies) - In his first season in Double-A including a stint with South Bend, Caple has pitched great this season, only giving up 25 walks and 64 hits in 86.1 innings. With 30 earned runs and only seven home runs against him, Caple has shown he can keep both the bases empty and the ball in the park. He currently has an ERA of 3.13 and a 1.03 WHIP.

Catchers

Justin Stransky (South Bend Cubs) - In Stransky's first full season at the High-A classification, he has 42 hits in 206 at-bats with seven of those being doubles and five hits being home runs. He has made his mark on the base paths with ten stolen bases, which is impressive for a catcher at this level of baseball. With only 40 strikeouts and taking 40 walks shows good plate discipline, but his .320 wOBA is concerning. On defense, Stransky has started 60 games behind the plate and played 61 total, one game as a designated hitter, and he came in during one game to play left field for five innings where he had no opportunities to make a play.
Johan Gomez (DSL Cubs Red) - In his first professional season, the DSL National League All-Star has been having a great offensive display. Like Stransky, Gomez has ten stolen bases, which is great for a lower rookie-ball catcher. He has 100 at-bats this season with 24 of them being hits (three doubles, one triple, three home runs). He has contributed in run scoring in 35 games this season as he has 14 runs and 13 RBIs. He has only been walked six times and has struck out 27 times in 2026, and has a batting average currently at .240 and a wOBA at .333. Gomez has started 30 of the 33 games and played 233.1 innings behind the plate.
Ethan Hearn (Iowa Cubs) - Although Hearn only has eight games played at the Triple-A level, he has a good résumé and reason to be an Iowa Cub. While being a Smoky, he batted .198 in 106 at-bats. With nearly 20% of his Double-A hits being home runs (4 HRs in 21 hits), he knows how to use power on offense. In 33 games, he has scored 12 times and brought 16 runs in, showing his ability to bring runs in. Only taking four walks and having 44 strikeouts is showing concern about his ability to get on base. In his games as an I-Cub, he has three hits in 24 at-bats and one home run. He currently has two strikeouts and no walks. In the season as a whole, he has a .185 batting average and a wOBA of .264, which is poor. On defense, he has played catcher for 13 games (12 started), first base for 13 games (11 started), left field for one whole game, and has been a designated hitter for 12 games.

Infielders

Matt Halbach (South Bend Cubs) - As a second year professional baseball player, the UC San Diego alumnus has played 90 games in High-A in 2026. On the field, he has spent 703.1 innings at third base, nine innings at first base, and has also been a designated hitter for seven games. With eleven errors (all at third) on 201 total chances (193 at third, eight at first), he has a 5.47% error percentage, which is very solid. At the plate, he has had 347 at-bats, and 85 of them were hits (19 doubles, eight home runs). Halbach has taken 38 walks and struck out 77 times, which is displaying good plate discipline along with his .327 wOBA and a .245 batting average.
Ben Cowles (Iowa Cubs) - In his first full season in Iowa, Cowles has 294 at-bats in 83 games this season where he has a low .295 wOBA and a 26% strikeout percentage (77 K's in 294 AB). Out of his 72 hits, 18 of them have been doubles, one was a triple, and five were home runs. Cowles has 39 RBIs and has scored himself 41 times. On defense, he has spent most of his time at shortstop for 527 innings, 101 innings at second base, 34 innings in right field, 25.2 innings at third base, eight innings in left field, and two innings in center field. In all of those positions combined, he has six errors (all at short) on 258 total chances (189 at short, 54 at second, eight at third, and seven in right).
Angel Cepeda (South Bend Cubs) - Across High-A and the ACL Cubs (rehab in June), he has had a solid bat in 50 games. In 183 at-bats, Cepeda has been walked 33 times, showing his plate discipline. With a strikeout percentage around 36% (66 K's in 183 AB), that is too high. However, he has 43 hits on the season, so that means he gets on base at least once or twice every game. He has a .344 wOBA and a batting average at .235, which is decent. On the diamond, he has been a shortstop (391.1 innings) and second baseman (17 innings) this season. With 12 errors (all at short) on 185 total chances (180 at short, five at second), that is a fielding percentage around .935. Cepeda has also spent two games as a designated hitter.

Outfielders

Kade Snell (South Bend Cubs) - In Snell's second season at High-A, he has shown what he can do when he gets on base. In 57 games played, he has 36 runs just by himself along with 44 RBIs. Along with run scoring abilities, he has taken 27 walks and has 54 strikeouts, which is around average. With 213 at-bats, he has 53 hits with nine of them as doubles and with seven being home runs. On the season, he has a .340 wOBA, which is around average a long with a batting average at .249. On the field, he has played all three outfield positions for a total of 488 innings (271 in right, 99 in left, 67 in left). With no errors on 101 total chances (56 in right, 150 in left, 67 in center), this is one of several things that shows why he should be promoted to Knoxville next season.
Ethan Conrad (Myrtle Beach Pelicans) - The first round pick for the Cubs in 2025 has only played 29 games in his first professional season (five in ACL, 24 in Low-A). In 109 at-bats, he has 27 hits with five of them being doubles and five other hits as home runs. With 11 walks and 23 strikeouts, those are solid for the rookie. He has a batting average of .248 and a wOBA of .349, which is another solid for his offense. For the defensive side of his game, he has spent 93.2 innings in center field, 57 innings in left field, and 27 innings in right field. Conrad has one error on 52 total chances, which is a good start for his career. He has also spent seven games this season as a designated hitter.
Luis Leon (DSL Cubs Red) - In his second professional season and second one in the DSL, Leon has played in all three areas of the outfield this season with 116 innings in left field, 41 innings in center field, and three innings in right field. In 2026, he has no errors on 25 total chances with 17 in left, six in center, and two in right. In 25 games, he has 62 at-bats with 17 of them being hits and five of them as doubles. With seven walks and ten strikeouts, he has done a good job in terms of plate discipline and getting on base. Leon's wOBA is at .365 and the batting average is .274, which is solid for the rookie level.

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!

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