Jason Ross

Yes. I think Snider at 95mph is almost a guarantee add. That puts him on the inside track for "Brad Keller, 2026" (though not *as* good).

Colin Snider hitting 94.7mph

Jaxon Jelkin is absolutely dealing today for Kentucky. 6IP, 6K, 1BB, 1H so far. Under 70 pitches through 6. Not only do we know the Cubs cannot resist a Jaxon, his low arm slot is Cub-coded.

Most others are right on what they normally do, and a few like Jamo have had below-average velocity. The gun is likely fine. A good reminder that the Cubs are on a second season, and a first full-offseason with Tyler Zombro and a stronger connection to Tread Athletics, and Zombro has been given increased duties and roles within the organization as a whole pitching wise. Also the Cubs haven't only played at Sloan. I think the readings are probably fine.

I love Southisene, but I have to see some more power. He can probably find a career as a 2b with elite approach if he can hit five home runs, but right now, he's yet to hit one professionally and that's a bit of an issue. He's super fun and last year when he and Kepley were going bananas it was a fun top of the lineup. I just hope he can find that power because I want to love him more.

Appreciate it! It feels good for there to be a lot of baseball to talk about again. I'm really excited about the season. Plus I've been able to upgrade my PC with an extra vertical monitor and a few other upgrades, so any excuse to use my new toys is one I can get behind right now.

His Triple-A numbers were very split-heavy and in the direction you'd expect.

I don't see it, at least nothing dramatic I know that his April was crazy good and that people have decided that it was the catalyst for what Kelly was last year, but I think that's a short sighted way of looking at this. He had much improved launch angle and hard hit%, and his mechanics were very different in 2025 than we have seen previously. He didn't significantly outperform his xdata, posting a season long .332 wOBA compared to a .321 xwOBA. He also showed very good approach, his chase, whiff and swing decisions were all excellent. Another important thing; his pull% was up, almost 5% from the year prior but also 8-10% the prior two years to that. His BABIP was basically on par with his last few years, so there wasn't some lucky run of hits, and his BA (.249) and his xBA (.236) are within the ballpark of normal variance. Hitters who pull the ball more often are more likely to outpace xBA and xwOBA as well as xData does not take into account directional hitting and pulled balls have better numbers. I'm expecting a bit of a regression but something more along the lines of a reduction from a 115 wRC+ to a 105-110 wRC+ assuming normal batted ball variance and health. His increase in ISO can be easily traced to more pull and a more lift, and with the approach he has at the plate, as long as those things keep (the mechanical and approach changes) he shouldn't fall far off from where he was last year. As an example, Mike Yazemtrski, Carlos Correa, Gavin Lux, Addison Barger all had wOBA of .321 or .322 and finished between a 102 wRC+ and 107 wRC+. Alex Bohm had a .322 and finished with a 113 wRC+. So I think this is a good place to expect Kelly to land. We can debate semantics on what "significant" means, but for me, that would probably fall well short of that.

Image courtesy of © MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK The Chicago Cubs' farm system is in flux. This is a transition period, as many of their top prospects over the last few seasons (Pete Crow-Armstrong. Matt Shaw, Cade Horton, Cam Smith and Owen Caissie, to rattle off a handful) have either graduated off the list or been traded to other organizations. Transitions aren't necessarily bad, but they come with uncertainty, as we attempt to figure out who the next crop of rising Cubs stars are, and who will begin to replace those who have left the rankings. Our staff voted on the top 20 prospects in the system, so we can pin down where they are before they mak a rapid move toward wherever they're going. Today, we begin with the players who came in 16th through 20th after that process. #20 - Erian Rodriguez (Double-A) Erian Rodriguez enters his age-24 season as a pitcher who has always had just enough intriguing aspects to remain on the burner, but sadly, has yet to bring his talent to a boil for a full season. Last year saw the right-handed pitcher struggle to get out of the starting gates due to injury, and while he would eventually earn a promotion to Double-A Knoxville, there's clearly still work to be done. As relayed by his scouting report on Baseball America, Rodriguez sits 93-96 mph, working exclusively out of the stretch. The velocity is good-enough for success as a low-end starter down the road, but his below-average control will probably be the deciding factor that eventually forces him into the bullpen. With that said, his fastball-slider combination could make him an interesting option against right-handed batters even at the highest level, and he does flash a changeup against lefties that would at least allow him to play up against both sides. With a move to the pen, perhaps a little extra juice can be squeezed from the fastball. #19 - Ty Southisene (Low-A) Ty Southisene had one of the most interesting lines of any player in the Cubs' system last year, posting a 114 wRC+, more walks than strikeouts, and an ISO of .030. The diminutive middle infielder hit no home runs but had an on-base percentage of .388. Because of these oddities, it's hard to fully figure out what the Cubs have in their fourth-round pick from 2024. The approach is a plus; finding players who immediately turn pro and walk 63 times compared to just 43 punchouts is exceedingly rare in today's game. But it's going to be hard to replicate his offensive success at higher levels if he can't flash enough power to start sending even a handful of baseballs over the fence. Southisene was a little old for his level in Myrtle Beach, despite being a draft pick who hadn't attended a university, so the lack of power is probably worth noting, but with some age, time in the weight room and getting out of a difficult hitting environment in South Carolina may be able to help. Defensively, Southisene has gotten strong marks, but is likely to fully transition to second base next year due to a lack of arm strength. His defense and his baserunning give him a strong foundation as a player, and give him multiple ways to add value to a team. If the second baseman can add an iota of power without sacrificing his plate discipline, there's the potential for a valuable big-leaguer here. But if he doesn't add any thump into his game, pitchers will eventually begin to overpower him. #18 - Dominick Reid (Abilene-Christian) Dominick Reid was the Cubs' third-round selection in the 2025 Draft, out of Abilene-Christian University. Previously, Reid had pitched sparingly at Oklahoma State, but had failed to establish himself fully. Transferring to the much smaller school he would be drafted from was a way to showcase what he could offer. The righthander is a bit of a project, but there are some fairly interesting things when we start to look under the hood. The movement profile that Reid shows on his fastball-changeup-curveball combination is in the same ballpark as top-draft-pick Tyler Bremner. There are lots of things that separate the two. While Reid was transferring to Abilene-Christian, Bremner was a standout at UC-Santa Barbara, and while Reid sits in the low 90s, the former Bruin and (thanks to the Angels) second overall pick throws much harder; there's a reason one was drafted 100 picks in front of the other. With that said, if the Cubs can begin to squeeze a little extra velocity out of Reid, all of a sudden, you can squint and see something. The Cubs' third-round pick has yet to make his professional debut, and it's likely that we'll first see him in Myrtle Beach, but keep an eye on the radar gun. If he were to show up this year sitting 94 while touching 96 mph, there's a decent chance the Cubs could have a breakout arm here. #17 - Jostin Florentino (Low-A) The first thing that will jump out when looking at Jostin Florentino is how excellent his numbers were last year. During his time at Myrtle Beach, the right-handed pitcher recorded a sub-2.00 ERA in around 50 innings, with a 26.9% strikeout rate and an 8% walk rate. Numbers like this generally get you ranked higher on these kinds of lists, so if there are some alarm bells going off, they're telling you something true. The reason why he's this low is that the stuff just isn't special. Florentino sits 88-91, according to Baseball America, and tops out at 92 mph, so while the numbers are great, there's a fair bit of skepticism that he will be able to continue this moving forward. A lot of that would change if he could add three or four ticks on his fastball, but that's a pretty tall order for a 20-year-old. If you're thinking that perhaps his shape will save him, according to that same BA scouting report, the shape of his fastball is below average. What does stand out, however, is his slider. Baseball America called it one of the best of its kind in the entirety of the minors, Much like Reid, you hope that there's some projection left. Unlike Reid, Florentino's body doesn't suggest a lot of additional velocity, but never say never, as he added 5 mph between 2024 and 2025. When you have as much success as he had last year, there's hope that he's more than the sum of his parts. #16 - Juan Cabada (Dominican Summer League) Juan Cabada was one of the prized signings of the 2025 international free agency class, and he absolutely did not disappoint during his time with the DSL Cubs last year. In 42 games, the infielder posted a 134 wRC+ and a very encouraging 18.2 K%, while keeping his walk rate in double digits. The youngster did only hit three home runs, but at his ripe age of 17, that can be easily forgiven, considering everything else. It's highly likely that as 2025 turns to 2026, Cabada will spend a good deal of time in the Arizona Complex League. As of writing this, he's yet to even turn 18, so there's little reason to rush his progress. Staying in Arizona, adding some weight to his frame, and continuing to settle in Stateside will be a great first step, but there's a good chance he'll end his season with a look at Myrtle Beach, as well. A good 2026 for Cabada would probably see him expand on his 90th-percentile exit velocity shown in the DSL last year, by adding a bit of lift in his swing and getting to more of his pull-side power. Defensively, reports are less exciting than his offensive profile, but as a second baseman, the impact of his mediocre arm strength would be mitigated. He's got a decent profile for an upside breakout regardless, so keep an eye out for him when he eventually gets the bump to Low-A. What do you think of our first five prospects? Which is your favorite to breakout? Let us know in the comments below! View full article

Miguel Amaya is taking reps at 1b per Bruce Levine. He's played 1b in the minors before.

The good news is that as Matt already outlined, the team is above the LT as is, so spending money shouldn't be a consideration here; they should be able to do just that (going over the 1st line but not the 2nd has a good bit of runway). Also, a RHH, 1b, on the short side of a platoon wouldn't be a very hard find. Between today and then, I'm sure something will come available via trade (cheaply) or DFA if the team wants.

Tyler Austin underwent a knee surgery and will be sidelined for months.

Also saw a few curveballs. He only threw two, but considering he threw all of 35 all last year, might be a pitch he works on getting in a little extra often this year?

It's spring training. I think we have to remember that everyone is working back into things. I find new mechanics, new pitches, and better statcast as important notes to keep track of, but anything based on things like rust (like batting average, errors, etc) to be just that; rust. Everyone is getting back into it. Rojas has never been a Burl Carroway thrower before, even he's never been gold-glove caliber, either. Chalk it up to Spring Training.

Big difference. Also important that the Cubs don't really tweak a swing for a player until after struggles happen. We can see that with Matt Shaw in 2025, and have seen that with PCA and Amaya in 2024. When players struggle, they go to mechanical fixes, but only then. Rojas had a pretty tough time when he got to Double-A last year. He's very young, so part of that deals with his age-relative-to-level, but I'm guessing that the Cubs wanted to change a little bit of his mechanics to help give him an edge as well. As Matt pointed out, his success this ST has some against players who have seen MLB time, and all have been pitchers who have reached higher levels than Jefferson Rojas, so the success probably isn't nothing even if it's limited.

Beat me by three minutes. Was literally about to post the same thing.

Good catch on the movement under the breakdown as well!

I didn't know either. Lance Brodzowski put out a video like a month ago and talked about it in there that basically they classify the pitches based on how the pitcher's call them, even if they don't always follow suit based on actual shape. A bit of a weird system, but because everything is subjective anyways, it's probably the best they can do.

I like his change in setup. His hands are getting extra separation before he launches into his swing. And he's starting a little more crouched than last year; he was very upright.

Yep! It's why I mentioned the weirdness on the pitch designations. I think they classify everything by the way a pitcher calls it; there's a good chance Ben Brown hasn't told Savant that "hey, I throw a sinker now!" Basically if a pitcher calls something a "slider" Savant just agrees with that guy "yeah, that's a slider" even if it's more of a sweeper or a curveball. They're super generous.

According to statcast everything registered as a fastball or a knuckle curveball, but it gets a little wonky sometimes with pitch designations, so it's possible. Fastball sat at 97mph which was good. Javier Assad was hitting 94mph, which really jumped out at me.

Now that is fine. MiLB deal? Sign me up!

Part of his issue though is defensively he's a mess. And won't help in CF. If he does replace Kevin, there's once again no true backup in CF on the roster. If PCA gets hurt, they can solve that, but who's giving Pete a day off? Matt Shaw? That's a tough task. I think he can handle the corner, but center is a different beast.