The Cubs are over .500 after nine games, thanks (once again) to their dynamic middle infield. This team will have to win many close and difficult games to make noise in the NL, and for the first time this year, they did so.

We’ve reached the top five in our countdown of the Cubs’ top 20 prospects, as voted on by the North Side Baseball community, which means each player from here onward gets their own full post and deeper breakdown.

Our community has voted on the top 20 prospects in the Chicago Cubs farm system, and in our rollout of all 20, we’ve now reached the top 10. This is where the Cubs’ depth starts to give way to real star-caliber upside, mixed with some proximity to the majors.

When Hayden Wesneski came up to the Cubs at the end of the 2022 season, he showed mid-rotation starting potential. To finish converting that potential into real success and production, though, he needed to make a couple of changes. He’s made them. Now, the question is how much it cost him to do so.

In modern, high-level soccer, teams are not only constrained in the number of substitutions they can make in a game, but also in the timing of those moves. It’s an off-the-wall idea, but MLB should test out a version of the same limitations in the minor leagues.

Michael Fulmer collected a two-inning save for the Cubs Friday. Little by little, we’re starting to get an idea of what the Cubs think they have in the bullpen, and how they want to utilize it all.

The least coherent Cubs podcast on the internet rumbles on, interested in the return of baseball but not confined by it.

We’re back, with the second batch of prospects in our countdown of the top 20 youngsters on the Cubs’ farm. This group might have more risk than the bunch just below them, but the upside is higher, too.

Welcome to North Side Baseball’s top 20 Cubs prospects list for 2023. We’ll count down to the top of the tops over the next week and a half, including scouting reports and stats from 2022 for all 20 guys.

It's that time of year again: When the draft is only a few months around the corner and the ever-nerdy draft-lovers are excited by the words "bonus pools" and "draft slots."

That's right. Major League Baseball released this information on Tuesday night and we can't wait to talk about it at North Side Baseball.

The Cubs signed Eric Hosmer to be a positive veteran influence and a part of their defensive phalanx. Less than a week into the season, though, we already have cause to wonder how long that experiment will last.

The Cubs fell to the Reds on Monday night, opening up their road schedule for 2023 by falling to 1-3 overall. It was one of those games that could tilt either way, and losing it was another tough pill to swallow.

Nobody said Dansby Swanson couldn’t hit. But juxtaposing him with the other three shortstops in this year’s free agent class, it’s easy to see how one could arrive at the perception of him that pervaded over the winter.

Opening Day was a delight, because it showed you exactly what you can expect wins to look like for this iteration of the Cubs: manufacturing runs, capitalizing on a few breaks via aggressiveness on the bases, solid pitching, and outstanding defense. Since then, they’ve laid down just as clear a blueprint for their losses.

One of the best and most intriguing stories to emerge from the Cubs’ spring was the emergence of Javier Assad as a potential bullpen weapon. That experiment got off to a rough start on Saturday, but it can still end well. The young righty just needs to make some adjustments.

The Cubs collapsed after late June 2021, and the rebuild that dare not speak its name began right then. That makes this the third season of the project, and if we’re that far into it, losses like Saturday’s can’t be treated as excusable moral victories. With an assist from Jed Hoyer, David Ross blew it.

Though Jed Hoyer kicked off the offseason by stating an intention to build a powerful offense, the Cubs ended up with exactly the opposite identity. Their victories will come via pitching, defense, and timely, aggressive offense. On Thursday, we saw what that looks like.

Marcus Stroman was strong on the mound on Opening Day. Dansby Swanson came up big with the glove and the bat in his Cubs debut. The Cubs used one big inning and some Brewers misplays to take a 4-0 Opening Day win.