Jason Ross

Cade Horton went from 34 IP in 2024 to 147 last year (over split levels). Wiggins had 78 IP last year. I think if you asked the Cubs and got a fully honest answer, they'd tell you they probably didn't want to get to 147 IP last year for Horton but necessity required it. I would think Wiggins is probably in the 120-130 IP range, but the Cubs may push it if they have to.

Yeah, I think there's a real chance it's 80-grade. I try my best to save those types of things, but if he's hitting 98mph and with the IVB he's got, it's an insane pitch.

Big MiLB rule changes coming. Link here to FanGraphs article. Things that specifically affect the Cubs' system include: 1. Starting Pitcher Reentry. In Arizona Complex League, Florida Complex League, and Dominican Summer League games, the starting pitcher will be permitted to re-enter a game after being removed, subject to the following restrictions: Only the starting pitcher may reenter the game after being removed. The removed starting pitcher may only reenter the game at the beginning of the inning following removal and may only reenter the game once. To be eligible for re-entry, the starting pitcher must throw at least 25 pitches in the inning during which he is removed. 2. Check Swing and ABS International League. All games played in the International League will use the ABS Challenge system and follow the same rules that have been adopted at the Major League level for the 2026 season (i.e., each team will start the game with two challenges, successful challenges will be retained, teams will receive an extra challenge if they have no challenges remaining in extra innings, etc.). As noted in the section above, MLB will monitor gameplay and decide if changes to the ABS Challenge system will be tested later in the season. Players in the International League will not be permitted to challenge check-swings, but, beginning with the series that starts on May 5, 2026, umpires will be instructed to call swings/no-swings based on the 45-degree threshold described above. Prior to May 5th, umpires will call check-swings as they have in recent seasons. Positioning of Second Base. To encourage more action on the bases, in the International League second base will be placed entirely within the perimeter of the infield diamond during the second half. This change will decrease the distance between first base and second base, and the distance between second base and third base, by approximately 9”, i.e., double the change achieved by increasing the size of the bases from 15” inches to 18.” MLB will work with the groundskeepers in the International League to move second base prior to the start of the second half of the 2026 season.

Image courtesy of © Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images And then there were two. North Side Baseball's rankings of the top 20 prospects in the Chicago Cubs' farm system (as voted on by our writers) has reached second place, this year featuring starting pitcher Jaxon Wiggins. Be sure to check out all of our previous installments in the series here: Prospects #20-16 Prospects #15-11 Prospect #10 - James Triantos Prospect #9 - Josiah Hartshorn Prospect #8 - Kane Kepley Prospect #7 - Pedro Ramirez Prospect #6 - Ethan Conrad Prospect #5 - Jonathon Long Prospect #4 - Kevin Alcantara Prospect #3 - Jefferson Rojas #3 - Jaxon Wiggins (Iowa Cubs) Jaxon Wiggins was once a controversial draft pick; the Cubs selected the pitcher out of Arkansas in the second round of the 2023 Amateur Draft. The reason people were skeptical at the time was that Wiggins had missed the previous year due to Tommy John surgery, and despite some encouraging reports before he went down in the fall league, his numbers while at college were never good. Since then, Wiggins has exploded through the Cubs' system, and his 2025 season saw the right handed pitcher move from High-A South Bend to Iowa by the end of the year. There was a mysterious shutdown around the trade deadline in which Wiggins took time off (either for injury or rest, it's not entirely clear), but the year was excellent for the former second-round pick. Through all three levels, he posted a 2.19 ERA and a 3.29 xFIP. Better yet, he struck out 31% of batters faced and kept his walks in check, walking 11.5% of hitters. He only logged 78 innings, so you'd like to have seen a little more length out of him, but it was an encouraging year. What to like: The first thing that stands out in Wiggins' profile is that his fastball is already flashing very special characteristics. Capable of running it up to triple digits, and sitting comfortably at 96-98 mph with ease, it's not just a hard fastball — it has great shape too. The heater that the Cubs' prospect features has some of the best induced vertical break (IVB) around. IVB helps us understand the effects, or in this case, the lack of effect, gravity has on a specific pitch. Wiggins' fastball has the ability to cut through the air and not have gravity drag it down. Wiggins' IVB of 19.1 is about the same level as Shota Imanaga's fastball, except he throws it much harder. While I hesitate to say it's an 80-grade offering, this is a pitch that is going to make Wiggins very hard to hit when he gets it up in the zone. A knock on Wiggins coming out of college and into the draft was his inability to throw enough strikes. Baseball America's draft profile mentions his "erratic control." Well, Wiggins has quieted those concerns, showing improved control en route to manageable walk totals. While he looked rusty at times in Iowa coming off a long layoff, he seems to have continued to work on that aspect in the offseason. As Matt Trueblood wrote about recently, his fastball command has been very good this spring while in camp with the Cubs. This is great news for his development; limiting free passes is always a good thing for a pitcher. What to work on: As with all pitchers, availability matters and Wiggins hasn't always been available. Whether it's the TJS he had in college or the timeout he took last year, ensuring that their prized pitching prospect remains on the mound is big priority for the organization. The Cubs have done well over the years keeping players relatively healthy, and with depth at the MLB level, the Cubs shouldn't have to push him along too fast. In the event of an early injury, the team can turn to Colin Rea or Javier Assad with confidence and Justin Steele seems to be well ahead of schedule, too. This will allow Wiggins to build strength on his own timeline. Once he clears all bars of health and continues to build innings, his secondaries are still more of a work-in-progress than his fastball is. As Matt explained in his article, while the fastball command is making progress, the other offerings still need some refinement in the zone. He has a curveball and a changeup that both flash upside, but he hasn't dialed in the location entirely. His command isn't as erratic as it once was, but it'd be best for his starting pitching prospects if he could improve this further. What's next: Jaxon Wiggins is going to head to Iowa to start the year and will undoubtedly be the pitcher to watch, not only in Triple-A, but in the entire system. The upside here is immense; think a Nick Pivetta who throws 98 mph. He has the makings and foundations of a top-of-the-rotation guy, but with enough warts that he may not get there. Ensuring that the endurance, stamina, health and control of his secondaries progress will help make sure that he gets as close to his optimal outcome as possible. It feels very likely that as long as he's healthy, he's going to make his debut in Chicago sometime in 2026. While we'd all love to see him as a starting option, the Cubs have a ton of depth built up this year, so he may make his initial appearances out of the bullpen. That's okay; depth is a good thing, and this will allow the Cubs to control his innings while not having to put him on a leash. If the North Siders are as good as we hope, they could even get him some late-season starts if they're running away with the division in that case. And with Shota Imanaga, Matthew Boyd, Colin Rea, and Jameson Taillon all possible departures at the end of the year, a 2027 rotation spot seems prime for the taking. The Cubs don't need to rush Wiggins, and that's a good thing. There's still many outcomes for their top-ranked-arm, but so far, he's clearing hurdles and showing he's a capable learner. There is some major upside with the 24-year-old, something the team is sorely lacking down on the farm, so there's probably some undue pressure on him to lead the line and break out fully this year. That's a tough bill to live up to, but he has so far shown he's up to the task. View full article

Haha, don't think the name, think the production. A 3+ win 3b is a good thing! And that's not entirely his ceiling, but more along the lines of a reasonable outcome. He doesn't really have 20 home run power as of today, he isn't a speed demon and isn't a star defender, though at 3b should be fine. It's going to be hard to find wins with a profile of Rojas beyond three wins. If he adds some pop, for example, we can start talking about reasonable outcomes that stretch beyond that, but he isn't a slam dunk top-100 type right now and expecting more than that today feels more "rose colored glasses" than objectivity, if we are being honest with ourselves.

Image courtesy of © Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images North Side Baseball's top-20 Chicago Cubs prospects list for the 2026 season is nearing it's conclusion. Today, we'll be focusing on our bronze medalist, Jefferson Rojas. Be sure to check out all of our previous installments in the series here: Prospects #20-16 Prospects #15-11 Prospect #10 - James Triantos Prospect #9 - Josiah Hartshorn Prospect #8 - Kane Kepley Prospect #7 - Pedro Ramirez Prospect #6 - Ethan Conrad Prospect #5 - Jonathon Long Prospect #4 - Kevin Alcantara #3 - Jefferson Rojas (Tennessee Smokies, Double-A) Jefferson Rojas feels like he has always been on the precipice of a breakout without ever truly busting through the glass ceiling, and 2025 had a similar vibe. At first, it looked like perhaps we were seeing the coming out party we had all hoped for, as Rojas was an absolute monster at High-A South Bend. Over 299 plate appearances, the Cubs' prospect slashed .278/.379/.492, which was 45% above average. This showed significant development for the 20-year-old, who somewhat struggled with an 88 wRC+ over his first 419 PA's at the same level the year prior. Things derailed when Rojas got to Tennessee however, which really limited the idea that he truly had broken through. Going homer-less in his first 172 plate appearances, Rojas looked a bit outmatched at Double-A. Much like his first go at High-A, these were productive struggles for a player who was younger than league average, but still, if you were hoping that the year was going to be all sunshine and rainbows, his first look at a higher level likely dampened that outlook. What to like: First off, Rojas has always been very young for his level of competition. Getting to High-A by age 19 and Double-A by age 20 puts him on a much quicker pace than most of his peers. Ethan Conrad, our sixth-ranked prospect, was playing at Wake Forrest at 20 years old, which is a step-below the level of competition in Double-A. Rojas has been cutting his teeth against some really quality opponents. As a player, Rojas has shown a pretty solid ability to keep his strikeouts in check while keeping his walks up. Even struggling in Tennessee last year, the shortstop didn't eclipse a 20% strikeout rate and maintained an 11.6% walk rate. Rojas has a pretty good approach at the plate that maximizes his contact ability without getting so aggressive that he still isn't getting on base. So, despite his 58 wRC+ in Double-A, he maintained an OBP nearly .100 points above his batting average. Rojas, outside of Tennessee, showed improved power last year. His 11 home runs in just under 300 PA's was a career high at any level, and his .214 ISO was double that of his last go at High-A as well. This is great news for his future; hitting the ball with authority is never a bad thing. But it's also good because it shows adaptability; yes, he struggled when he was 19 at High-A, but then he came back out and destroyed the level. If you're worried about him heading into Double-A because of his poor first look, this gives you reason to believe he'll overcome that small setback. What to work on: As much as I want to chalk up his struggles at Double-A to just the idea of productive struggles, a 58 wRC+ is never a good thing on it's own. I'm willing to consider context, but for a prospect who defensively isn't likely to stick at shortstop (which I'll explore more later), he's going to have to hit better than that in 2026. Defensively, Rojas probably won't stick long term at short. As Baseball America describes in his scouting report, Rojas has "average hands and footwork". This probably will not be enough to allow him to stick at a premium position as he begins to fill out as an adult. While this isn't an immediate disqualifier, it means that his bat will have to do more talking to ensure he can stick at a position like third base down the line. The biggest knock on Rojas might be that there isn't a standout tool in his bag. He has a good hit tool, shows the ability to hit double-digit home runs, and he's probably going to be fine at either second or third, but there isn't anything that wows you. Not every player needs a carrying tool, but it can be a concern that without one, he could just be a "jack-of-all-trades" type. It means that he can't really have one aspect dip too far away from average, but so far, this hasn't been an issue, thankfully. What's next: Jefferson Rojas will go back to Double-A and look to improve on his first go at the level. There's reason to be optimistic that last year will be of the "speed bump" variety in Tennessee. First, Rojas showed marked improvement from year one to year two at High-A and repeating that should shock no one. More importantly, however, Rojas has been killing the baseball in spring training. While I'm not in the "spring statistics are meaningful" camp myself, I do think there's reason to believe in this data; he's changed his pre-pitch set up for the better. Compare below a home run he hit this spring to the video posted above. Notice that he is less upright and that his hands have more separation from his body before he launches into his swing. This seems to have loosened him up a bit and given him extra whip through the zone. He's also made most of his hard contact against players who have sniffed MLB relevancy; for someone like Alex Bregman, that would be meaningless, but for someone who hasn't yet seen Triple-A, we can't ignore that fact. A successful year for Rojas likely sees him rocket through Double-A like he did in South Bend last year and end up in Iowa. There's little in the way of blocking him at that level on the infield, so he could continue to get reps at short even if he's unlikely to be a solution for the big-league Cubs there. I also wouldn't be surprised if the roller coaster experience continues; kill the level you repeat, struggle against the newest competition. Getting to Iowa by age 21`, regardless of his outcomes against Triple-A pitching, would put him on track to break through with the Cubs by his 22nd birthday, which is no small feat. Longer term, he probably fits comfortably as a third baseman with 15 (or so) home runs in his bat while also making a good deal of contact. While not a 1:1 comparison, former Cub Zach McKinstry's 2025 campaign feels like a good outcome for Jefferson: a 3.2 fWAR season that was built with a 112 wRC+, 12 home runs, 9% walk rate, and a 21.7% strikeout rate. What do you think of Jefferson Rojas? Are you optimistic about his mechanical changes? What do you think his upside is? Let us know in the comment section below! View full article

Yeah, I wish we could see Conrad right now, but I'm okay with them being careful. Shoulders are iffy and I'd prefer to avoid a Mathis situation here. My hope is that he's in SB once things warm up. I suspect he'll be in Myrtle to start, and I bet playing 1b/DH more than we'd like, but for his health, they'll do it. If by mid-May or so he's playing OF and in High-A I'll be happy. I do think his bat is super advanced, so he can probably be slow played and still speed through it, but i thought the same with Cole Mathis, so what do I know?

Image courtesy of Baseball America Today we continue on with breaking down the top-20 prospects (as voted on by North Side Baseball staff) by looking at our sixth-ranked prospect, Ethan Conrad. Don't forget to catch up on our previous pieces before you jump into our next installment! Prospects #20-16 Prospects #15-11 Prospect #10 - James Triantos Prospect #9 - Josiah Hartshorn Prospect #8 - Kane Kepley Prospect #7 - Pedro Ramirez No. 6: Ethan Conrad (Wake Forrest) Ethan Conrad was the Chicago Cubs' first-round pick in the 2025 Amateur Draft. Conrad, most recently at Wake Forest, transferred to the Atlantic Coast baseball power from Marist University. At Marist, the eventual top pick was stellar in his sophomore year, posting a .389/.467/.704 line while smashing nine round trippers in over 220 plate appearances. A shoulder injury would cut Conrad's junior year short, but he was on pace to destroy his previous career highs, already with seven home runs in under 80 PAs. What to like: Ethan Conrad, despite only playing a partial season last year, was looking like an absolute monster at the plate. He had improved across the board, walking more, hitting for more power, and seeing both his SLG and OBP increasing over his previous numbers at Marist. While we should expect a player to get better as he ages up, Conrad did so while taking a massive jump in competition quality. One massive green flag right off the bat? Conrad posted a 92% contact rate in-zone in 2025. A hitters' ability to make consistent contact in the zone is something that continues to translate to higher levels. At times, hitters strikeout rates can be hidden against lower-quality players even if they run low in-zone rates, but Conrad is not one of those. He's both patient and displays a plus hit tool. Add in the power ability and you have the foundations of a hitter who could be very special. Speaking of his power, Conrad posted some impressive batted ball data while at Wake Forrest in his truncated season. He posted a max exit velocity over 109mph on the year, showcasing what kind of damage the left-handed hitter does when he makes contact. Many times players who run ridiculously high contact rates sacrifice power for hits, but not Conrad. As you can see in his profile above, he was at the top of the percentile rankings across the board. Conrad does all of this with a simple and mechanically clean set-up. There's not a lot of moving parts, the leg kick isn't overly exaggerated, he creates good lift, and everything looks very smooth. Other draft prospects have things you'd need to clean up (for example, Josiah Hartshorn's left-handed swing has a few too many moving parts for my liking), but once again, not Conrad. It's very repeatable. Defensively, there's a real reason to think Conrad will end up in a premium position down the road. Baseball America calls him an "above average" runner and raves about his athleticism. It's likely that the Cubs will give him runway to play center field early in his career. Not to be too forward thinking when it comes to the Cubs' new golden goose, but even if he has to move to a corner (if, say, Pete Crow-Armstrong is still manning center) his bat will more than play there, too. What to work on: Health, health and health. Shoulder injuries aren't great, and keeping him healthy and maintained throughout the 2026 season is important. It may force the Cubs to give him some time at first base (which he has played in the past at Marist) or as a DH more often than you'd like, but you'd rather have a healthy Conrad over everything. There's a reason a hitter as good as the 21-year-old was there for the Cubs to pick at 17, and that he eventually signed under slot value. Because of his 2025 season, it's also important to note that when he eventually makes his on-field debut in 2026, he'll have essentially gone from playing at Marist University to professional full-season baseball with very little game-time in between. It's not impossible for a player to jump into the deep end like that, but it also means that Conrad may not come out of the gates ripping and roaring as he takes a pretty major step up in competition quality right away. One thing BA mentioned in their scouting report: Conrad doesn't pull the ball enough yet, and a handful of his home runs went the opposite way. That both speaks to the potential thump he possess, but also an area of polish that's needed: getting him to turn on the ball a little more often. Higher level pitching will turn opposite field home runs into fly outs if you don't get the barrel out in front. It's fixable, especially with his clean mechanics, but it is a point to watch as he grows as a hitter. Lastly, like all players with some projection left in his body, Conrad needs to make sure that he remains at a good size with conditioning and hard work. He looks like a brick house leading up to the season, so this concern is more theoretical in keeping him in center for as long as possible than a real-world concern right now, but it's something to continue to work on for the prospect as he moves forward. What's next: Ethan Conrad will debut professionally this spring in either Myrtle Beach or South Bend. Developmentally, he may be more suited to High-A South Bend, though at times the Cubs have started their college products at Myrtle Beach in April to avoid weather issues. Coming off a shoulder injury, it wouldn't be shocking to see him start in Low-A to see the warmer weather in South Carolina should afford over Northern Indiana only to make the jump as temperatures rise over a few weeks. Beyond that, it's a lot of maintaining of his health while he shows why people are so excited for him. Conrad is the type of prospect who has the same kind of "quick-mover" profile to him that former first-round picks like Cam Smith and Matt Shaw had. Seeing him rocket through the system to where he's ready to debut in Iowa by the start of 2027, and eventually making his way to Chicago later that summer, isn't off the table as a potential outcome. We shouldn't, however, expect that. If Conrad ends with a cup-of-coffee in Tennessee, he'll be well on his way and will likely have had a very successful season. It seems likely that the Cubs may lose two starting corner outfielders in free agency at the conclusion of the season, but Conrad isn't the Cubs' savior at the position for the '27 campaign, so him ending up in Double-A would be a good outcome. He doesn't need to be MLB ready by April next year and we should avoid putting that type of pressure on him as a prospect. With the Cubs likely to graduate a few prospects, coupled with Conrad's upside, there's probably a good chance he ends up the consensus top prospect in the system next year. And even if he's not quite at that level, he's got a good shot to feature on various Top 100 lists around the media. Conrad is an exciting prospect and has a lot of the hallmarks of a potential steal. Watching him develop will be among the most exciting things the Cubs' have going for themselves down on the farm over the next year. What do you think of Ethan Conrad? Did we rank him in the correct place? Are we too high? Or too low? Let us know in the comment section below! View full article

Fun lineup today

I like Triantos swing this offseason. I see a bit more loft. I see a bit different hand placement. Had some good contact. Could maybe also get some of the velo guys in there.

Yep. Trade worked out in the end for the Cubs. They traded Darvish, ended up with 4 lottery tickets and one of them turned into three years of Edward Cabrera. That's probably the best possible outcome for a group of four teenagers you could ask for,

Nope. Ramirez wasn't in that trade. Reggie Preciado is our last standing prospect from that trade. Sadly he is 22 and posted a 72 wRC+ in South Bend.

They only tried it in the MLB-affiliated (none of the players are signed to an MLB contract, however, the MLB does own the league) independent league. It lasted part of one season in 2019. MLB uses that league as a testing ground for new rules.

Absolutely. Just wanted to clarify that I think we can always assume with a prep hitter development will be important, but that we probably don't needed any added trust or anything here. It'd be one thing if the Cubs went off board, picked someone ranked by most pubs in the late 150-200 range and gave him early second round money. Then I'd think that's probably something we'd all need to do more than normal.

Hartshorn was ranked #76 on MLB.com's pre-draft list. It isn't like the team went off the board; he got early 2nd round money and was ranked in an area he could have been realistically picked in the early 2nd round, signed for slot, and no one would have batted an eye. With any player you're trusting in development, but Hartshorn is already a strong bat to ball and power hitter for his age, has a man's body at 18/19 and was ranked according to his bonus, so I don't think any added trust needs to be placed, either, if we're being fair to all parties here.

This is where I'm at. If we aren't going to have an automated system, and calls right now are sitting at 50/50 or so, you'd expect there to be a lot of them. How many times do we see a pitcher or a catcher, per game, throw eyes or shrug off a call like they knew better only to sign on to Savant and see they were wrong? A bunch! Same for a hitter. We can debate whether the number of wrong ones should be 2 or 3 or 4 or whatever, but as long as we're not going full automated, we should assume that players will abuse them if they're unlimited which would be a bad look for all involved.

Cubs breakout roster is out. Brandon Birdsell is on the roster, which I found interesting. https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mlb-spring-breakout-2026-how-to-watch-schedule-roster-analysis-for-every-team/

Same here. Conrad is someone I keep getting higher and higher on. His batted ball data is very close to Cam Smith's in the ACC. Should be noted, Smith ran his batted ball data all year and Conrad missed most of the year with an injury so we didn't get the same volume of it, but I also like Conrad's swing much more than Smith's. coming out of college. I wouldn't be surprised to see Conrad in Iowa before May next year. That's not really a prediction; he hasn't taken a single professional PA and we thought Mathis would move fast, too. But it feels like a trajectory that isn't insane, either.

Oh yeah I was mostly saying: I don't see any reason to think he'll be in LF. LF is for the "guy I'm not sure who has the arm for RF" types, which Conrad isn't. He might end up at 1b or DH, but I think RF is definitely on the table and LF feels like a pretty weird spot for his arm if he's capable of handling right.

I ranked him higher than Triantos when we voted, and I had him higher than 9th on my personal list, but it's mostly upside based even if he hasn't seen the field. I just really like the bat here. You don't find many power-hit combos like this from prep bats, and I'm pretty excited. Triantos isn't my dude, so that's also part of it. But I don't find issue with the idea that you'd have James above him, either.