Theo Tollefson

The Cubs have around $6,261,600 to spend in International Free Agency in 2025. They are linked to signing multiple players on MLB Pipeline's top 50 International Free Agent list, but who will they end up landing? View full video

The Cubs added an extra infielder to their 40-man roster with SS Gage Workman from the Detroit Tigers. Does he have a chance of being in their long-term plans for 2025, or is Workman someone who could be added back to the Tigers system depending on what other moves the Cubs make this off-season? View full video

With the draft order set, funds will be allocated for each team and where they pick. Who will benefit the most from their draft pool funds and what can we expect with each teams spending compared to last season? View full video

Compensation picks are being handed out as top free agents decline qualifying offers and for competitive balance purposes. Which teams are guaranteed a comp pick already and which will be likely to get one as more free agents sign during the Winter Meetings? View full video

The MLB Draft Lottery may be confusing to some people still, but the questions on how it works are answered here by Jamie Cameron and Jeremy Nygaard. View full video

The Cubs made more moves than most teams ahead of the Rule 5 Draft. Players were added to the 40-man roster, but there were others cut to squeeze room for the future. How do these moves balance out the roster for the Cubs in 2025? View full video

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Each October all 30 MLB teams send several prospects from their farm system to participate in the Arizona Fall League. But what happens with these prospects in the Arizona Fall League and how does it help them develop differently form their time in the Minor Leagues? View full video

Jamie and Jeremy put Future Star Series Senior Analyst on the spot asking him who he believes is the best draft prospect to fall into the Cubs' first pick for the 2024 MLB this upcoming July. Watch his answer and analysis of his choice of player here. View full video

Hayden Wesneski had an up-and-down season in 2023, but it taught him valuable lessons that are already looking like they're paying off in 2024. Entering Spring Training, 2024 was just another season for Hayden Wesneski, but this year, he’s a lot more comfortable with his dual role in the Cubs organization as both a starter and reliever. Wesneski started the 2023 season in the starting rotation, but after a fistful of poor starts, he was demoted to Triple-A Iowa. When he made it back to the big leagues, it was in a long relief role, with a few spot starts and (late in the year, especially) a few high-leverage, one-inning outings. The young righty had good and bad outings as a reliever as the season went on, but the most important thing for him was the experience he had in how to set better routines for himself in his different roles as a pitcher. “Last year was a really good learning experience for me, because I have routines now, I know how to figure things out on the bullpen side, which is something that I haven't done a whole lot of,” Wesneski said. “Then the starting side, just getting into the rhythm of calling a whole game and getting through a lineup two to three times.” Coming out of Spring Training for 2024, Wesneski was assigned to the Iowa Cubs starting rotation. The decision wasn’t as disappointing for him as it might have otherwise been, as he was reunited with manager Marty Pevey, who’s seen almost everything one can at the Triple-A level. Pevey said Wesneski has had a great improvement in 2024 so far, compared to last year, when he fell behind in the count against hitters often. “He’s filled up the strike zone," Pevey said. "When he got in trouble last year, it was because he was always pitching behind in the count. This year, he’s thrown all four pitches for strikes and he’s in the process of redeveloping his changeup. He’s always had a changeup, but he’s trying to make it better against left-handed hitters.” The go-to pitch in Wesneski’s arsenal isn’t a fastball, but his sweeper, which hitters saw 534 times in 2023. He keeps his sinker, cutter, and slider alongside those two pitches, along with the occasional change--at least, he did, for much of 2023. Wesneski threw his slider only seven times in 2023. It was used infrequently, but it’s a pitch he’ll keep on the back burner. “If you can throw it, keep it," Wesneski reasoned. "I think I can use it more to righties. I think I just have to be picky with where I throw it, it plays off the sinker for righties and it plays off the lefties with the four-seamer." Our Matthew Trueblood wrote about the notion of Wesneski not only keeping the slider, but thrusting it to the forefront of his repertoire, back in January. As Brandon Glick documented this week, though, so far, Wesneski has deployed a stripped-down mix instead. Throughout his minor-league outings, Wesneski didn’t disappoint, making two starts before being used in a long relief role with the I-Cubs on April 12, throwing 4 ⅓ innings, striking out four, walking one, and getting the win against the St. Paul Saints. Pevey remained most impressed with the way his sweeper continues to fool hitters. “It’s a work in progress, but all Hayden has to do is hit the glove and pitch ahead,” Pevey said. The three outings for Pevey's squad were opportunities of which Wesneski took admirable advantage, as he threw a total of 10 ⅔ innings and allowed only three runs for a 2.53 ERA, striking out 10 batters and allowing only 12 baserunners. The results were so strong that the Cubs called him back up to help them finish out their three-game series against the Diamondbacks last week. Wesneski, of course, wound up pitching four innings of shutout relief, striking out two and only allowing one player to reach base. The call-up also reunited him with mentors in the Cubs clubhouse he admires; Yan Gomes and Kyle Hendricks. “When you have guys like Yan Gomes and Kyle Hendricks who take you under the wing and talk to you about this kind of stuff, you listen, right?" he said. "They’ve seen it, they’ve been there, they understand it to a T. You take in what they say and learn from it.” Gomes was behind the plate for Wesneski’s return to the Majors. Wesneski kept to his M.O., throwing a sweeper the most often (23 times), then his fastball (18 time). The only other pitch he threw that night was his changeup, and that was only three times. Even with promising numbers in a long relief role, Wesneski was optioned back down to the I-Cubs the next day. But even having a day alongside the likes of Gomes is something he never lets go to waste. “I try to take what I learn at the big-league level with him, and when I come down here, I use it and then eventually figure out what works and what doesn't and take it back with me to the big leagues,” said Wesneski. Once again, Wesneski wouldn’t have to wait long for his return to the big leagues. Hendricks and left-handed reliever Drew Smyly were both placed on the 15-day injured list, opening up another opportunity for Wesneski to serve as a long reliever out of the Cubs bullpen. He took to the mound again Thursday afternoon in the series finale against the Astros, and didn’t disappoint. The Cubs were down 1-0 when he entered the game in the top of the sixth, retiring Astros catcher Yainer Diaz on three pitches. The Cubs came back to take a 3-1 in the bottom of the frame, and Wesneski faced the minimum in the seventh and the eighth to keep the Cubs ahead. Wesneski still figures to fill multiple roles for the team, which will make it harder to maintain routines that allow optimal performance. He's already done some of that difficult work, though, leaving only the challenge of building out the best possible pitch mix for the situations in which he finds himself. View full article

Owen Caissie made his name known in Double-A after being thee headliner prospect in the Yu Darvish trade three years before. Now he's adjusting to his first season in Triple-A and breaks down how the season has started for him. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints If there’s one thing the Cubs organization has no shortage of in 2024, it’s outfield depth. From Cody Bellinger, Ian Happ, and Seyia Suzuki on the active roster to Pete Crow Armstrong, Alexander Canarino, and David Peralta in Triple-A. There’s one other outfielder at Triple-A making his mark following his best season in professional baseball with the Double-A Tennessee Smokies in 2023; Owen Caissie. His 2023 season was phenomenal as he had a triple slash of .289/.399/.519 with a .918 OPS, 22 home runs, and 84 runs batted in, across 120 games. The breakout performance has moved him up to one of the top 5 prospects in the Cubs system by many prospect rankings. Caissie attributes it to finding a balance within himself to take everything one pitch at a time. “The biggest takeaway was just finding an inner peace with myself,” Caissie said on the success of his 2023 season at Double-A. “And not letting failure get to me as much. Literally, just telling myself to relax, honestly, I am going to get another pitch to hit, another AB and my career isn’t going to end tomorrow.” Caissie’s career is far from over. The 22-year-old Burlington, Ontario native has yet to hit a home run in Triple-A but has hit for a .250 batting average along with a .733 OPS and eight runs batted in. Like many players across professional baseball, he’s adjusting to the new season “I’m at the stage in my career where I’ll get more chances and just show who I am. It’s one pitch at a time and not letting a situation get too big for me. It’s just really staying in my approach entirely and not letting me be someone else I am not” Caissie said. His new manager Marty Pevey has quickly recognized the capabilities Caissie brings to the Iowa Cubs roster in an outfield that could be up to par against some Major League clubs. “He’s got to continue to perform but he has superior bat speed and an A-plus arm from the outfield. The defense in the outfield in both left and right has really improved over the last 12 months. He’s a hard worker and he knows how to play,” said Pevey on the Canadian outfielder. One player on the I-Cubs roster that Pevey is happy to have around his young outfielders Caissie, Crow Armstrong, and Canario is Peralta. The 10-year MLB veteran has only been with the Iowa Cubs on the active roster since Thursday but he’s someone Pevey points out for all his young hitters to pay attention to. “Watching him go about his daily work is really impressive. Having him here is a boon for us, just watching him get prepared, not just on the field but off. Because the best thing as an outfielder you can do is play the ball off the bat and watching him play even today when he’s not even in the outfield is super impressive and it’s good for these young guys,” said Pevey. Fortunately for Caissie, he had his locker in Spring Training close to Peralta, which took little time for the two of them to catch up once he joined the I-Cubs on Thursday for their road trip in St. Paul. But Peralta was not the only veteran Caissie took advantage of listening to in his first Big League camp. “Really anyone like Mike Tauchman, Ian Happ, everyone was a great help, Cody Bellinger. If I was just around them I’d honestly listen more than talk just to feel and understand how they do things and how they go about it because they’ve been in the game longer than I have,” said Caissie. Caissie’s fly-on-the-wall approach around the veterans of the Cubs organization has been a tremendous asset to the start of his 2024 season. But one thing he’s still learning and adjusting to for himself is the pitching at this level. “I feel like they’re better at actually pitching, they sequence better. But I am still learning and trying to hone into my zone and just stay middle/middle, and just try to put the bat on the ball because when I do that good things happen.” The most noticeable difference between the pitchers at Triple-A compared to Double-A according to Caissie is their focus to get him out by any means necessary. Whereas in Double it seemed every pitcher was trying to get him out via the strikeout. Seeing fewer pitchers constantly trying to strike him out has Caissie keeping himself within his zone more often than not. It still may be a while before Caissie gets the call-up to the Majors with the vast number of outfielders on the Cubs depth chart ahead of him. Even so, Caissie knows he is right where he needs to be right now, and as long as he keeps being himself, the opportunity will present itself before 2024 is over. “I just need to be me and the best I can be every day, that’s all I can really ask of myself.” View full article

Two injured Cubs are close to making their return to the Major League roster. Read up on rehab updates on Jameson Taillon and Patrick Wisdom from the Iowa Cubs manager, Marty Pevey. Image courtesy of Rob Thompson, St. Paul Saints St. Paul – The Chicago Cubs have two players who are a step closer to reinforcing the Major League roster Jameson Taillon and Patrick Wisdom, both of whom are currently rehabbing with the Triple-A Iowa Cubs. Taillon made his second rehab start of the season on Friday night following a start on the 15-day injured list with lower back issues. His start with Double-A Tennessee Smokies was less than fruitful, only throwing 2 ⅔ innings and allowing six hits, one walk, three earned runs, and striking out four batters on 52 pitches. Fortunately for Taillon, it was only a rehab start, but there are great goals ahead for him following a mediocre first season with the Cubs in 2023. No matter the results of his start on Friday night, the goal was to ensure Taillon could throw over 60 pitches and build up his arm strength following his shutdown in Spring Training. “Having Jameson here too, we just need to get him healthy to get us in a good position to compete in the division in Chicago, said Iowa Cubs manager Marty Pevey. “It’s a wide-open division. We have as good a chance to win it as anybody so getting him healthy and ready to compete for a championship team in Chicago is super important.” On top of throwing sixty pitches, Taillon also needed to control the hit game and ensure he allowed fewer runners on base than his previous start. Nonetheless, on a rehab assignment in early April, the goal is always to ensure strength is there no matter what the results of opposing hitters are. “We’re going to try and get him up beyond 60 pitches and then see how he feels. We just want to make sure that he builds himself up,” said Pevey. Taillon accomplished the goal by throwing 68 pitches and landing 46 of them for strikes through 3 ⅔ innings. Taillon did exit the game with the bases loaded but was relieved by Hayden Wesneski to escape the damage. He finished his second rehab outing with three hits, one walk, four strikeouts, and no runs allowed. Wisdom had a scheduled off-day on Friday night after playing in five straight games with the I-Cubs. Like Taillon, Wisdom also started the season on the IL with back issues, but since joining the I-Cubs on April 6, his performance at the plate has shown positive results in his injury healing. In 18 plate appearances, Wisdom has had a triple slash of .333/.389/.800, a 1.189 OPS along with two home runs and seven runs batted in. With strong numbers at the plate, Wisdom has shown the back injury is behind him and encouraging results for his return to the Cubs active roster and positive contributions to the I-Cubs lineup. Not only has Wisdom’s offense been a great help to the I-Cubs lineup, but his leadership for younger prospects such as Owen Caissie, Pete Crow Armstrong, Alexander Canario, BJ Murray Jr., and Matt Mervis has been an encouragement for clubhouse morale this past week as well. “We’re very fortunate here to have three guys that have the potential to be superstar-type players. And having a guy like David [Peralta] here, and a guy like David Bote, and a guy like Patrick Wisdom to show these guys the way. From body control to containing your emotions to just playing the game. I think it’s super important and super imperative that they watch these guys prepare and watch how they perform and play in the game, even when they’re not successful,” Pevey said. The off-day provided the perfect opportunity for Wisdom to give more of his own, ‘wisdom’ to these young stars on the bench between innings. The results favored well as the I-Cubs won The timetable for Wisdom and Taillon’s return to the Cubs active roster is still unclear. Taillon is likely to have at least one more rehab start with the I-Cubs before returning to a depleted Cubs rotation in need of depth. Wisdom is eligible to return on April 15, and if his next two games on rehab assignment continue to bode well, he could return to the Cubs lineup as early as Monday. View full article