Seth Stohs

As the clock approached 11:30 pm in the Central time zone Wednesday night, the news came out via Jon Heyman that the Cubs have acquired reliever Andrew Kittredge from the Baltimore Orioles. A former All-Star with the Rays, Kittredge is on a one-year contract for $10 million with the O's, but it includes a team option for $9 million for 2026. Kirttredge, 35, ranked 54th on Matthew Trueblood's list of trade candidates who would have the greatest impact on the chances of winning in 2025 when he drew up that list last week. The Cubs had interest in Kittredge over the winter, before Baltimore outbid them. In 31 games and 31 1/3 innings for the Orioles, Kittredge posted a 3.45 ERA. He struck out 25.2% of opposing batters and walked just 6.5%, which is typical for him. Mostly a sinker-slider (or really, a slider-sinker) guy, he's thrived with that approach for several years now. He has an 86 career DRA-, according to Baseball Prospectus, where 100 is average and lower is better. Though he's a bit aged and doesn't have a squeaky-clean injury record, Kittredge fits neatly into the team's bullpen picture for the stretch run. He's an easy upgrade over fringe arms like Brooks Kriske, Gavin Hollowell and Ethan Roberts, and at this time of year, contending teams have the luxury of simply aiming for an upgrade by acquiring any pitcher clearly better than their worst incumbent. Kittredge clears the bar. The fascinating questions, of course, are what it will cost the Cubs, and how Kittredge's acquisition gels with that of Michael Soroka earlier Wednesday night. Looking at the two moves together can give us a clearer picture of what the team might hope to accomplish Thursday. The best way to look at the Kittredge move is as a standard-issue, one-for-one strengthening of the middle relief corps, but that leaves one fewer flexible spot in the team's bullpen. That makes it tougher to use a hurler like Soroka (or even Colin Rea) as a long reliever, the way the team used Chris Flexen during his time with the team. It's perfectly possible, though, that at least one of Ryan Pressly, Ryan Brasier and Drew Pomeranz will be jettisoned to free up the needed roster spots. Kittredge is, at this stage of their respective careers, better than Pressly, so that would make sense in a vacuum. Soroka's flexibility as a swingman isn't compromised, then. He can still work in that role, or start regularly for the team down the stretch. More to come, as we ascertain the return in this deal.

Have you wondered where the Cubs' minor league teams play? Who their coaches are? Where to find their schedule and rosters? We have the guide for you. First and foremost, one of the goals at North Side Baseball is to become a one-stop spot for Cubs minor-league content. The hope is to provide a daily minor league report with the day’s game scores and highlights, transactions, media, and much more. We will hand out “awards” for minor league hitter, starting pitcher, and relief pitcher of the month with profiles on several players who had strong performances. We will also have year-end reports, top prospect rankings, and features throughout the year on Cubs minor leaguers. In 2021, a new minor-league alignment created several changes. Some minor-league teams were shut down. Others were able to align themselves with new major-league clubs. Upon agreements, the Cubs (and all other clubs) signed 10-year Player Development Agreements with their affiliates. Here are the current Cubs affiliates. List Of Cubs Affiliate Teams (click to jump to section) Iowa Cubs - AAA Knoxville Smokies - AA South Bend Cubs - High A Myrtle Beach Pelicans - Low A Arizona Complex League Cubs Dominican Summer League Cubs Triple A: Iowa Cubs League: International League Stadium: Principal Park One Line Drive Des Moines, IA 50309 Phone: (512) 243-6111 Website: https://www.milb.com/iowa/ (or iowacubs.com) How long have they been the affiliate? Des Moines has been the Triple-A home of the Chicago Cubs going back to 1981. They have played in the American Association and the Pacific Coast League. Then in 2021, they moved to the International League. In 12 seasons before joining the Cubs, they were affiliated with the White Sox (twice), the Astros and the A’s when they were called the Iowa Oaks. 2025 Coaching Staff Manager: Marty Pevey Pitching Coach: Tony Cougoule Hitting Coach: Rick Strickland Bench Coach: Eric Patterson Development Coach: Andrew Betcher, Taylor Fortney Radio Voice: Alex Cohen 2025 Iowa Cubs Roster 2025 Iowa Cubs Schedule Double A: Knoxville Smokies League: Southern League Stadium: Covenant Health Park (capacity: 7,500) (Brand New in 2025!) 601 E Jackson Avenue Knoxville, TN 37915 Phone: (865) 286-2300 Website: https://www.milb.com/knoxville/ (or, www.smokiesbaseball.com) How long have they been the affiliate? Baseball has a long history in Knoxville (Kodak is a suburb), going all the way back to 1896. In those early years, they switched leagues and affiliations often, and they have played under several different names. However, the team has been a Double-A affiliate since 1963. They have been the Tennessee Smokies since 2000, and changed their name to Knoxville in 2025. Prior to the Cubs, the club has played under 11 big-league clubs. They became the Cubs affiliate starting in 2007. In April of 2023, the Smokies owner (Randy Boyd) and Knoxville authorities) signed the agreement to start building a new $114 million multi-purpose stadium. The team will start playing in Covenant Health Park in the 2025 season. The team will move from Kodak to Knoxville and the name will return to the Knoxville Smokies. The stadium will also be used by One Knoxville SC (USL League One). 2025 Coaching Staff Manager: Lance Rymel Assistant Coach: Marco Romero Pitching Coach: Jamie Vermilyea Assistant Pitching Coach: Henry Haack Hitting Coach: Rachel Folden Development Coach: Derron Davis Radio Voice: Mick Gillispie 2025 Knoxville Smokies Roster 2025 Knoxville Smokies Schedule High A: South Bend Cubs League: Midwest League Stadium: Four Winds Field 501 W. South Street South Bend, IN 46601 Phone: (574) 235-9988 Website: https://www.milb.com/south-bend (or, www.southbendcubs.com) How long have they been the affiliate? In 1988, South Bend became a minor-league affiliate in the Midwest League. They were an affiliate of the White Sox for 10 seasons. Starting in 1998, the South Bend “Silver Hawks” became an affiliate of the Diamondbacks, a relationship that lasted through the 2014 season. In 2015, the team became known as the South Bend Cubs, appropriate because they became the Low-A, Midwest League affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. With the 2021 minor-league realignment, the Midwest League became a High-A league. 2025 Coaching Staff Manager: Nick Lovullo Pitching Coach: Bruce Billings Hitting Coaches: Nate Spears Bench Coach: Kyle Moore Development Coaches: Andrew Reuter, Collin Andrews Radio Voice: Brendan King, Max Thoma 2025 South Bend Cubs Roster 2025 South Bend Cubs Schedule Low A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans League: Carolina League Stadium: Pelicans Ballpark (Capacity: 4,800; 6,599 with standing room only) 1251 21st Avenue North Myrtle Beach, SC 29577 Phone: (843) 918-6000 Website: https://www.milb.com/myrtle-beach/ How long have they been the affiliate? Once upon a time, the Myrtle Beach Pelicans were the Durham Bulls. However, in 1997, the International League (AAA) expanded to Durham and the “Bulls” transferred to Myrtle Beach and became the Pelicans. They were still a Braves affiliate. The Pelicans were an affiliate of the Rangers for four seasons. Since 2015, the Pelicans have been an affiliate of the Cubs. In 2020, it was announced that the team (and the Carolina League) would move from High-A to Low-A. 2024 Coaching Staff Manager: Buddy Bailey Pitching Coach: George Thanopoulos Assistant Pitching Coach: Armando Gabino Hitting Coach: Roberto Vaz Bench Coach: D’Angelo Jimenez Development Coach: Daniel Wasinger Radio Voice: Sam Weiderhaft 2025 Myrtle Beach Pelicans Roster 2025 Myrtle Beach Pelicans Schedule Complex League: Arizona Complex League (ACL) Cubs League: Arizona Complex League Stadium: Nike Performance Center/Sloan Park (Capacity: 15,000) 2330 West Rio Salado Parkway Mesa, AZ 85201 How long have they been the affiliate? The first ACL Cubs team played in 1997 and have remained in the league since then. Twice they have had two teams competing in the league. 2025 Coaching Staff Manager: Corey Ray Pitching Coaches: Jose Zapata Hitting Coaches: Yovanny Cuevas, Chris Pieters Bench Coach: Kyle Sutherland Development Coaches: Andrew Craig 2025 ACL Cubs Roster 2025 ACL Cubs Schedule Dominican Summer League: Dominican Summer League (DSL) Cubs League: Dominican Summer League How long have they been the affiliate? The Cubs first season in the DSL was 1991 when they split a team with the Royals. In 1992, they added the Rockies to the roster. In 1993, they teamed with the Rangers, and then had a joint affiliation with the Padres from 1994-1996. In 1997, the Cubs had an affiliate to call their own. At various times since 2008 they have had one or two affiliates in the DL. DSL Cubs Blue 2024 Coaching Staff Manager: Enrique Wilson Pitching Coaches: Luis Hernandez Assistant Pitching Coaches: JC Bonilla Hitting Coaches: Raymond Pena Development Coach: Chase Colding 2025 DSL Cubs Blue Roster 2025 DSL Cubs Blue Schedule DSL Cubs Red 2024 Coaching Staff Manager: Carlos Ramirez Hitting Coach: Johnny Bethencourt Pitching Coach: Jordal Williams Coach: Jovanny Rosario 2025 DSL Cubs Red Roster 2025 DSL Cubs Read Schedule Additional Player Development Staff and Coordinators Player Development Staff Jason Kanzler: Director of Player Development Ryan Otero: Director of Pitching Coordinators Kevin Graber: Minor League Field Coordinator Mark Johnson: Assistant Field Coordinator Dave Keller: Minor League Roving Instructor Dai Dai Otaka: Infield Coordinator Doug Dascenzo: Outfield Coordinator Casey Jacobson: Minor League Senior Coordinator James Ogden: Coordinator of Pitching Performance Carlos Chantres: Assistant Coordinator, Pitching Matt Hinkley: Arizona Pitching Coordinator & Rehab Coordinator Rachel Folden: Hitting Coordinator (and AA Hitting Coach) Steven Pollakov: Hitting Coordinator Greg Brown: Hitting Coordinator/Special Assistant to GM Desi Wilson: Position Player Rehab/Development List Coordinator Miles Between Stadiums Wrigley Field Principal Park Smokies Stadium Four Winds Field Pelicans Ballpark Sloan Park in Mesa Wrigley Field X 338.7 565.8 96.5 925.7 1747.5 Principal Park 338.7 X 849.9 407.0 1,239.9 1391.7 Smokies Stadium 565.8 849.9 X 512.6 391.6 1820.9 Four Winds Field 96.5 407.0 512.6 X 839.9 1801.5 Pelicans Ballpark 925.7 1239.9 391.6 839.9 X 2163.7 Sloan Park in Mesa 1747.5 1391.7 1820.9 1801.5 2163.7 X Cubs Top Prospect Rankings North Side Baseball Top 20

The Cubs have a ton of top prospects. Then at the draft, they made third baseman Cam Smith their first-round pick. Weeks later, they traded Christopher Morel for Isaac Paredes. This offseason, the Cubs traded Paredes and Smith to the Astros (with Hayden Wesneski) in exchange for Kyle Tucker. So much can happen so fast in the baseball world. Those three moves all happened without five months. With this series, we'll look at the full year. Lots happened. Which articles grabbed your attention? We jump into the Top 20 most-viewed articles of 2024. #20: Cubs will Focus on Draft This Week but Then Spotlight Swings to Two Trade Candidates Matthew Trueblood July 8 July has always been a busy month of the baseball season. The All-Star game is in the middle of the month, and the month ends with the trade deadline. The past few years, MLB moved their draft from early June to July. Following the draft, the teams only have a couple of weeks to sign the draft picks. Of course, by month's end, there is the trade deadline. That's why GMs get a ton of credit, but he must be able to delegate very well to make sure all goals are accomplished. #19: Chicago Cubs Top Prospect Rankings, 2024 Preseason: #1-5 2/22: Jason Ross February 22 We all love prospect rankings, and the Cubs organization has been loaded with top-end prospect talent. Jason and Josh went back-and-forth, comparing their top prospects coming into the 2024 season. The Cubs had a few strong performances by rookies in 2024, but they have a lot more elite talent still awaiting their opportunity. Several will contribute in 2025. #18: Is Yoan Moncada the Perfect Chicago Cubs Fit as an Insurance Policy and Upside Play at Third Base? Randy Holt December 16 With the trade of Isaac Paredes to the Astros, the Cubs have a question mark at third base. Are they ready to simply hand the job to top prospect Matt Shaw? How much can or should they rely on Gage Workman, their Rule 5 selection earlier this month? Or, should they consider long-time White Sox infielder Yoan Moncada as insurance at third base? At times, Moncada has been very good, but he has been hurt a lot the last few years. If healthy, maybe you catch lightning in a bottle for the year. If not, he could move into a utility role when Shaw is deemed ready. #17: With Pressure On, Jed Hoyer Is Moving up Some Timelines Matthew Trueblood July 29 The Cubs try to talk like a mid-market team, but obviously Chicago is a huge market with a huge budget. Expectations are that the team will be a contender, and quickly. Last offseason, he was aggressive in adding Michael Busch from the Dodgers, giving up a couple of exciting, very young prospects. He didn’t wait until the trade deadline to make deals. He added Nate Pearson from the Jays and Isaac Paredes from the Rays several days ahead of the deadline. This article was written before the July deadline, but you could argue that the Cubs (meaning Jed Hoyer) has continued that trend by being very active this offseason. #16: Pete Crow-Armstrong is Fast but How Fast is He Compared to an Olympian? Matt Ostrowski August 4 While watching the summer Olympics, Matt decided to do some really deep, critical thinking. We all know that Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of the fastest players in professional baseball. But if he were to line up next to Olympian Noah Lyles - who has run the 100 meters in 9.81 seconds before - could he keep it fairly close over that short distance? Which of these articles do you recall? What were your favorite topics from the year of 2024?

2024 began with a lot of hopes and expectations. Along with the return of Cody Bellinger, rookies like Michael Busch and eventually Pete Crow-Armstrong stepped up and contributed to the big league roster. Shota Imanaga's rookie season really couldn't have gone much better. The lefty started out really well and kept it up throughout the season. The team didn't meet hopes or expectations but still finished above .500. And with some of the transactions made this offseason, there will again be large hopes and expectations in 2025. But today, we want to start a series looking back at 2024. Which North Side Baseball articles had the most views and gained the most interest? It's always interesting to see which articles create interest, page views and conversation. Today we start with the 21st through 25th most-viewed articles. #25: A Big, Creative Cubs-Twins Trade That Just Might Work for Everyone Matthew Trueblood October 9 Rumors are fun. Speculation makes the offseason go ‘round. The idea is you look at your favorite team’s roster, noting the strengths and the weaknesses. Then find another organization and think about what their needs might be, and their areas of strength. Early in the offseason, the Cubs found themselves with lots of outfield depth including several top prospects. They were looking for a reliable backup catcher and more pitching. The idea of this particular trade speculation is that the Cubs would receive dominant reliever Griffin Jax (and give him an opportunity to start) and veteran catcher Christian Vazquez. In return, the Cubs would send the blocked Kevin Alcantara, a Top 100 prospect in baseball. Almost two months later, the Twins have done nothing. The Cubs still have a lot of outfield depth and have added a veteran backstop in Carson Kelly. #24: Did the Isaac Paredes Deal Seal Nico Hoerner’s Trade Fate? Matthew Trueblood July 30 Just to clarify… This is the first Isaac Paredes deal, the one that brought him to Wrigley from Tampa in exchange for Christopher Morel and more. The article ends by saying, “moving Hoerner is the key intermediate step to finding and snatching up the unidentified player who will help anchor the lineup of the next great Cubs team, starting next spring.” Is that player Kyle Tucker, who the Cubs acquired recently in the second Paredes deal? Is Nico Hoerner still on the trade market? Does he provide enough value on his own to bring in a potential lineup anchor? #23: Kyle Tucker Trade Rumors: The Theory and Praxis of Bringing Astros Slugger to Cubs in Blockbuster Deal Matthew Trueblood December 10 As noted above, rumors are fun and speculation is fun. How about when you take a pretty legitimate rumor from an industry expert and then speculate on what it means? So much fun! In this article, Matt speculated on rumors that the Cubs and Astros were heavily involved in trade talk surrounding Kyle Tucker. The first thought was that Jed Hoyer would not give up prospects for a guy who will be a free agent at the end of the year without being very confident that he could lock up Tucker for a long time. Therefore, the speculation shifted to who else might pique the Astros interest enough, and specifically, could a Tucker for Bellinger trade make sense for both teams? A couple of weeks ago, the Cubs sent Paredes, Hayden Wesneski, and 2024 top pick Cam Smith to the Astros for Tucker. Paredes is a veteran, Wesneski is still pre-arbitration, and Smith is a powerful prospect with a ton of team control. So, should Cubs fans be encouraged that it might mean an extension is possible? #22: Pete Crow-Armstrong and Michael Busch Earned 2024 Bonuses Seth Stohs December 13 101 pre-arbitration players earned a bonus recently for their 2024 performances thanks to the most-recent Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). Just two Chicago Cubs players earned that bonus this year, rookies Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong. #21: One Early Hot Stove Move Might Pave Way for Cubs to Land Little-Known Big Bat from Angels Matthew Trueblood November 6 Here is some more early offseason speculation. Matt speculated that there might be a match with the Angels, a potential move that could happen quickly. He used the Angels' appreciation and belief in swing speed (evidenced by their early offseason acquisition of Jorge Soler) to name a couple of Angels bats (on in particular) that the Cubs could consider. Interestingly, on of the names mentioned was catcher Matt Thaiss. Two weeks after this article, the Cubs sent some cash to the Angels for the 30-year-old. Of course, after they officially signed Carson Kelly, they traded Thaiss to the cross-town White Sox. Which was your favorite? Maybe it'll be in the Top 20, which we'll jump into tomorrow.

In 2023, three pre-arbitration Chicago Cubs earned performance-based bonuses. In 2024, just two players earned that same bonus. With some very exciting prospects on the cusp of the big leagues, they could have several recipients in a year. However, let's discuss this season's recipients. Michael Busch came to the Cubs in a trade last offseason. He had just 81 plate appearances in the big leagues with the Dodgers. He had a strong spring training and earned the starting first base job. The former first round pick from the University of North Carolina got off to a fast start in the regular season as well. In the season's first month, he posted an .833 OPS and had four doubles and six home runs. He had his ups and downs throughout the season, but the peaks weren't too crazy (high OPS for a month was .848 in June) and the valleys weren't too low (low OPS month was August .692). Overall, he hit .248/.335/.440 (.775) with 28 doubles and 21 home runs. According to FanGraphs, he was worth 2.3 WAR while he was valued at 2.8 WAR by Baseball Reference. For his efforts, he earned a bonus of $325,723. His salary for 2024 was $741,500, just over the league minimum of $740,000. The Minnesota native topped $1 million earned on the year and certainly hopes to continue to improve going forward. Pete Crow-Armstrong struggled at Triple-A Iowa early in the 2024 season as well as early with the big-league club. PCA had just 19 plate appearances last September for the Cubs. He really slumped in June, posted a .348 OPS. After an 0-for-3 on July 2nd, he was hitting .188/.238/.271 (65 games). However, injuries and his defense kept him in the big leagues and in the lineup most days. He responded well. In his final 71 games, he turned things around. He hit .264/.313/.448 and had 11 doubles, three triples and nine homers. He was stealing bases, and his center field defense is tremendous. Overall, he hit .237/.286/.384 (.670). Baseball Reference had him at 2.3 WAR while FanGraphs showed him at 2.7 WAR. His salary was at or just barely over the league minimum (or prorated to about 80% of the season), and he received a bonus of $342,128. By the end of the season, the 22-year-old former Mets top pick was playing loose, and with extreme confidence that should carry well for him into the 2025 season. As you may recall, the most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement set for a means for players with less than three years of service time to make some bonus money based on their performance that season. Each of the 30 teams contributes equally into the $50 million bonus pool. Eligible players can get huge bonuses based on award voting. For instance, winning an MVP award or a Cy Young Award means $2.5 million while second-place finishers earn $1.75 million and a third place finish is worth $1.5 million. Fourth or fifth place finishes earn a $1 million bonus. It's also $1 million if the player is named all-MLB first team. A Rookie of the Year Award earns a player $750,000, while a second place finish in rookie voting or being named to the all-MLB second team is worth a half-million dollars. (however a player can only earn one of those specific bonuses, receiving the higher of the values) With his second-place finish in the AL MVP voting, Royals shortstop Bobby Witt, Jr. received the highest bonus of the year at just over $3 million. Paul Skenes was a finalist for both NL Rookie of the Year and Cy Young. He earned about $2.15 million for his bonus. Orioles shortstop Gunnar Henderson came in just over $2 million. Also receiving a seven-figure bonus are Brewers C William Contreras, Royals LHP Cole Ragans ($1.64M), Red Sox OF Jarren Duran ($1.32M), Padres OF Jackson Merrill ($1.19M), and Yankees RHP Luis Gil ($1.1M). Brewers OF Jackson Chourio ($901,335) rounded out the Top 10, just behind Orioles OF Colton Cowser ($978,671). The remaining pool money is distributed to players based on a formula that combines multiple Wins Above Replacement (WAR) statistics. You might remember, last year, lefty Justin Steele tripled his earnings with a bonus of nearly $1.7 million. $1 million of that was because he finished fifth in Cy Young voting. The other two players who received a bonus in 2023 were Adbert Alzolay and Javier Assad. Steele and Alzolay were no longer pre-arbitration players. Because Shota Imanaga came into the league as a free agent from Japan, he received a large contract so he was ineligible for this bonus. Congratulations to PCA and Michael Busch!

Brett Bateman graduated from Mounds View High School in Minnesota. His father, Keith, is the head coach at Division III Augsburg in St. Paul. Bateman play his college ball at the University of Minnesota. In 2023, he was the Cubs eighth round draft pick. He finished the 2023 season with 29 games at Myrtle Beach. In 2024, he began the season at High-A South Bend. In 79 games, he hit .283 and got on base 42% of the time. He had 11 doubles, three triples and one home run. He finished the season with 28 games in Double-A Tennessee. Bateman knows his role on the teams he plays on. He is a top-of-order hitter. He puts together solid plate appearances and gets on base frequently. In his 139 minor-league games, he has hit .274 with a .390 on-base percentage. He is very fast. He has stolen 44 bases in 53 attempts as a pro. He also is a plus defensive center fielder. Here is a quick look at the topics we discussed so you can keep coming back and watching more. 2:30: What does a typical day look like in the after-season camp in Arizona? 7:50: The Catch 8:40: Spending time with the big-league club in spring training games. 11:10: Bateman was a teammate of Craig Counsell's son Brady at the University of Minnesota. (Brady is now at Kansas for his senior year.) 12:10: He got off to a very good start at the top of the South Bend lineup. 14:00: South Bend is close to Chicago, and he made to Wrigley Field and to explore the city. He shares his thoughts on Wrigleyville. 15:55: What is your approach at the plate, getting on-base, etc? 17:50: Sped is such a big part of his 23:50: Bateman discusses 35:05: After a technical issue, Brett discussed how he plans to prepare to for the 2025 season and offseason plans. 41:15: Any good advise from dad, a coach in Minnesota? 43:20: Any update on the book he is working on? 44:05: Talking Minnesota Vikings and the NFL. 46:00: Plans for the offseason. A year ago, Brett Bateman was on a Cubs Spotlight. We spent much more time getting to know his background and story, so be sure to listen to that if you haven't already.

The Cubs prospects will be playing with the Mesa Solar Sox. Their eight minor leaguers will be joined by minor leaguers from the Angels, A's, Rays, and Red Sox organizations. The season will start next weekend and will run through November 14th. That is followed by two days of playoffs. The Arizona Fall League is touted as a prospects league, and it is in some cases. That's usually with position players. Top starting pitching prospects that were healthy all year have completed plenty of innings. So many of the players sent to the Fall League missed time during the season. This gives them an opportunity for 50-80 more plate appearances, or maybe 15-30 innings for pitchers. A look through the Cubs representatives and I think you'll see that trend holds true. That said, the Cubs are sending one of their top hitting prospects which will be fun to watch . Each Fall League team has one coach from each of the teams that send players to that team. The Cubs are sending former big leaguers Bruce Billings to Mesa to work with the team's pitchers. Bruce Billings will be the Solar Sox pitching coach. He joined the Cubs organization in 2023 as the pitching coach of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. This season, he held the same position for the South Bend Cubs. The 38-year-old has been around the world in his career. He played baseball at San Diego State where he was the school's all-time strikeout leader (soon after broken by Stephen Strasburg). In 2007, he was drafted by the Rockies in the 30th round. Four years later, he was called up to the big-league club for his MLB debut. He gave up one run over two innings in the one game he pitched. That June, he was traded to the A's. He made three appearances and tossed five innings for Oakland. He spent 2012 and 2013 with the A's Triple-A squad. Before the 2014 season, he signed a minor-league deal with the Yankees. He pitched in one game for the Bronx Bombers and gave up four runs over four innings. He went on the Disabled List, but in late July, he was DFAd and released in early August. He signed with the Dodgers. Then in 2015, he spent the season with the Nationals' Triple-A club. In 2016, he pitched with the Uni-President 7-Eleven Lions in Taiwan. He was that team's ace for two seasons. In 2018, he pitched for the Fubon Guardians in the Chinese Professional Baseball League. What? That's enough reading about a coach? OK, let's get to the players. Grant Kipp (RHP, 24) After attending Yale University for four years, Kipp signed as a non-drafted free agent with the Cubs. He made six appearances that summer, five for Myrtle Beach. In 2023, he pitched in 23 games (22 starts). He ended the season with five starts in South Bend. That's where he began the 2024 season. He made one start but then went on the Injured List. He didn't pitch for two-and-a-half months. After three rehab appearances (totally five innings), he rejoined the Cubs in mid-July. He made nine appearances, three out of the bullpen. The final four games were all starts and he completed four innings in all of them. He tossed six scoreless innings against Beloit on August 20th for his lone win. The Fall League will allow him to work another 25-30 innings. Shane Marshall (RHP, 24) Marshall spent four seasons as a part-time catcher at the University of Georgia. He hadn't done much hitting in college, but the Cubs liked what they saw enough to take him in the 14th round of the 2022 draft. What the Cubs scouts like was a big, strong arm. Unfortunately, he needed Tommy John surgery late that summer and missed all of 2023 rehabbing in Arizona. He spent the 2024 season in Myrtle Beach. He pitched in 33 games and went 2-3 with seven saves and a 2.52 ERA. In 39 1/3 innings, he struck out 42 and walked 22 batters. The Cubs were wisely cautious with him. He never worked more than two innings or threw more than 36 pitches. He never pitched back-to-back days, and when he threw 25 or more pitches, he got at least three days between outings. In the Fall League, he will just keep working on becoming a pitcher. That is not an easy transition at all. Vince Reilly (RHP, 23) Reilly began his college career at the University of Hawaii in 2020, but he transferred to Grand Canyon University in 2021. As a junior in 2022, he went 7-1 with 14 saves and the A's made him their 18th round pick. He began his pro career with Low-A Stockton. However, he pitched just 4 2/3 innings over four games. He went on the injured list in late April and when he was returned, he was released by the end of June 2023. In March, the Cubs signed him and he joined Myrtle Beach in mid-April. He pitched 32 games out of the bullpen. He went 7-4 with six saves. He had a 3.88 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. In 53 1/3 innings, he had 16 walks and 52 strikeouts. Luis Rujano (RHP, 21) Born in Venezuela, Rujano attended Sunshine State Elite Academy in Kissimmee, Florida. The Cubs drafted him in the 13th round of the 2022 draft. He made his pro debut with Myrtle Beach in 2023. He pitched in 19 games and started nine of them. He was 0-4 with a 4.10 ERA over 52 2/3 innings, but he did have 56 strikeouts. He returned to the Pelicans in 2024. In his first two starts, he completed four innings. It was something he did just two more times the rest of the season. Both of those games he came out of the bullpen. He tossed five scoreless, one-hit innings in a late-June game against Fayetteville, and then in his final game of the year, he tossed four scoreless innings against the Woodpeckers. Sam Thoresen (RHP, 26) The former Minnesota Gopher signed with the Cubs following the Covid-shortened, five-round MLB Draft. Despite a fastball that can touch triple digits, the right-hander has not been able to stay healthy. In 2021, he made seven starts for Myrtle Beach. Unfortunately, he needed Tommy John surgery. He made a handful of appearances late in the 2022 season. In 2023, he went to South Bend and was used in a piggyback role. Unfortunately, after just five appearances, he was back on the Injured List and missed the rest of the season. His 2024 season didn't get going until late May. He joined Myrtle Beach and just pitched short bullpen stints. However, he stayed on the roster the rest of the season. He usually went one inning. He completed two innings a handful of times. He never surpassed 38 pitches. He just turned 26 this week, but for a role pitcher, age isn't a consideration. He just needs to stay healthy. Moises Ballesteros (C/1B) Ballesteros was one of the youngest players to reach Triple-A in 2024, and he will be one of the youngest players in the AFL. The Cubs signed the catcher from Venezuela in January of 2021 for $1.5 million. The Cubs have been aggressive with him since. After spending 2021 in the DSL, he split the 2022 season between the ACL Cubs and Myrtle Beach. In 2023, he started with 56 games for the Pelicans, then played 56 games for South Bend. He ended the year with five games in Tennessee. That is where he began the 2024 season. In 56 games for the Smokies, he hit .299/.372/.495 (.867) with nine doubles and nine home runs. He was promoted to Iowa where, in 68 games, he hit .281/.340/.454 (.794) with 15 doubles and 10 more home runs. Ballesteros is the #4 ranked prospect by North Side Baseball and is a consensus Top 50 prospect in all of baseball. It will be interesting to see how much he catches in Arizona as that is the part of his game that needs the most work. However, the burly batter is set up to debut early in the 2025 season. Benjamin Cowles (SS, 24) Cowles grew up in outstate New York. He headed to the University of Maryland for three years. He was drafted by the Yankees in the 10th round of the 2021 draft. After three games, he finished that season with 33 games for Low-A Tampa. That's where he started the 2022 season, but it ended with 23 games for High-A Hudson Valley. In 2023, he played in 106 games for Hudson Valley but ended the season with three games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. He represented the Yankees last year in the Arizona Fall League and hit .290/.405/.551 (.956) with four doubles and four homers in 20 games. This season, the Yankees started him at Double-A Somerset. In 88 games, he hit .295/.376/.472 (.848) with 25 doubles and nine homers. At the trade deadline, the Cubs acquired him (and Jack Neely) from the Yankees in exchange for reliever Mark Leiter. Unfortunately, he had just injured his wrist on a hit-by-pitch. At the time, the Cubs doubted that he would play again this season. However, he spent September 10th through September 20th with Tennessee. He'll hopefully be able to make up 70-80 plate appearances. Jonathon Long (1B, 22) A southern California native, Long attended Long Beach State for three seasons. The Cubs made him their ninth-round pick in the 2023 draft. After three ACL games, he moved up to Myrtle Beach to end that season. The Cubs pushed him to High-A South Bend to start his first full season. In 68 games, he hit .247/.346/.417 (.763) with 12 doubles and 10 homers. He ended the season with 46 games with Double-A Tennessee. There, he hit .340/.455/.528 (.983) with nine doubles and seven home runs. That kind of performance will excite an organization, and he will now get an opportunity to keep the development going in Arizona. What are your thoughts on the Cubs representatives in the Arizona Fall League? Which are you most excited about, and which stories do you find most intriguing?