Cory Sparks

Image courtesy of © Albert Cesare/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Shortly after Gold Glove shortstop Dansby Swanson had a 10-game stretch for the history books, his left-side counterpart in third baseman Alex Bregman showed signs of heating up heading into the All-Star Break. The veteran corner infielder is still on track to have a down season by his standards, but let’s dive into what metrics could imply that he’s capable of salvaging a promising first year in the Friendly Confines. Alex Bregman's First-Half Struggles and Second-Half Hopes For starters, Bregman is a 32-year-old veteran who is on his third team in as many seasons. After being a pivotal part of the Houston Astros for nine years, he spent a season with the Boston Red Sox before joining the Cubs for the first time in 2026. Heading into the second half, he has nine home runs, 41 runs batted in and is slashing .241/.336/.359 with a .696 OPS, a mark that would be the lowest of his career to date. To make matters worse, Bregman is in the first year of a five-year, $175 million contract with Chicago. It’s a deal that pays out $35 million per year on average, and he simply hasn’t provided the offensive firepower the Cubs were expecting for most of the season so far. A Rough June Bregman experienced his fair share of peaks and valleys to start the year, but he struggled mightily in the month of June. The veteran infielder slashed .200/.348/.300 with two home runs and 12 runs batted in over 90 at-bats. He got on base a decent amount, but the slugging percentage took a huge hit and has stayed in the .300s for the majority of this season. Advanced Power Numbers Bregman’s power numbers have been the most glaring issue for him so far, and it isn’t just because he’s yet to hit his 10th home run. Most of the power-hitting analytics imply that he simply isn’t a “thumper” anymore. Let’s start with his bat speed; Bregman’s stick gets through the zone at just 69.8 miles per hour, putting him in the 17th percentile among big league hitters (per Baseball Savant). Other analytics follow as expected, with Bregman generating a below-average exit velocity of 87.9 miles per hour, placing him in the 27th percentile. His barrel percentage (4.2, 17th percentile) and hard-hit percentage (35.5, 28th percentile) all lead to a common denominator: Bregman is not the 25-homer threat he once was in Houston. Mature Approach That doesn't have to be a death knell for his value, though. He is still flexing one of the most mature approaches in all of baseball. Players who can walk almost as often as they strike out will have a future in this league, and much like last year’s huge acquisition in Kyle Tucker, Bregman is doing just that. His strikeout rate of just 15.3 percent is one of the best in the game, slotting him in the 80th percentile. His walk rate, meanwhile, is well above average at 11.4 percent, putting him in the 76th percentile. This has been a trend for Bregman’s whole career, as he’s walked 676 times and struck out on 782 occasions in 5,758 plate appearances. A Subtle, Key Adjustment While the law of large numbers (i.e., sample size) will kick in, and Bregman should get closer to his career averages in the second half, he may be better suited trying to rope doubles in the gap instead of hitting for true home run power. Bregman seems to be making that adjustment, as his average launch angle has gone down in back-to-back years and is a full 1.1 degrees shallower than his 18.2 degree mark in 2024. With his average exit velocity reading the second lowest number in his career, more line drives may could suit a slugger in the back half of his career. They'd also better suit Wrigley Field's generous alleyways, which are far more hitter-friendly than the dead-pull zone in left field Bregman has targeted since his days with the Astros. View full article

Brandon Arvidson has the potential to be a late-round draft steal for the Chicago Cubs. In this video, we'll break down Arvidson's potential and how his background as a high-leverage SEC arm for the Tennessee Volunteers could equip him for a quick rise up Chicago's pipeline. View full video

Image courtesy of © Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images The Chicago Cubs entered the 2026 MLB Draft with a clear strategy: refresh the farm system's pitching depth. Among that crop of new arms, they may have found a diamond in the rough, and it wouldn’t be the first time they got a promising player late in the draft (we’re looking at you, Josiah Hartshorn). Tennessee's Brandon Arvidson looks like an absolute weapon. Let’s break down what he brings to the table and how his projectable tools can carry him through the Cubs farm system should he choose to sign. Brandon Arvidson's Cubs Scouting Report Brandon Arvidson is a 6-foot-5, 217-pound left-handed pitcher who has three years of college baseball under his belt. The Dripping Springs, TX alum had a high profile entering this past spring, appearing on the 2026 NCBWA Stopper of the Year Preseason Watch List and 2026 Preseason All-SEC 1st Team. This came after his ability was on full display last season, when he punched out 70 hitters in 38.2 innings to the tune of a 2-0 record and a 4.19 earned run average in 30 appearances (28 out of the bullpen). He came back this year and worked more innings per game (37.1 frames in 16 appearances), but an injury cut his season short. Arvidson still produced similar numbers, generating a 4.34 ERA with 44 strikeouts in his 2026 campaign, as the Volunteers got more than two innings per appearance out of him. Strengths Arvidson’s strength is, and has been, his strikeout stuff. He generated 114 strikeouts across 76 innings of work in college, utilizing a mid-90s fastball and his true out pitch, a slider that bites hard to his glove side. He pitched well against high-level competition, tossing three shutout innings against No. 9 Mississippi State and providing two innings of relief, with four strikeouts, against No. 25 Ole Miss. His environment also provides another strength: a rather shallow learning curve. Plenty of prep products are selected in every draft, meaning they’re experiencing a decent jump in competition once they hit the Complex League or Class-A competition. This hard-throwing lefty has played in the SEC, which can sometimes draw close comparisons to the Low-A level. He could be a quick riser if all goes to plan, and with the Cubs having so many injuries at the big-league level, he may get to use his skillset at Wrigley Field within just a couple of years. Managing Injuries While he passed the eye test in his two years at Tennessee, the arm soreness and minor toe injury on his ledger are both worth monitoring. Any time a pitcher gets injured, their recovery time and performance post-recovery are two key aspects to keep an eye on. Should he get back to his old self without any setbacks, when he was striking out nearly two batters per inning, the southpaw shouldn't be seen as a major injury risk. Brandon Arvidson’s Projected Path What kind of a role could the former Volunteer inherit if and when he does get to the big leagues? Think about what a fellow southpaw in Caleb Thielbar is doing right now. The veteran relief pitcher has been tossed into high-leverage situations time and time again, and Craig Counsell has been able to play the matchup game with the lefty depending on how the opposing lineup flips in the later stages of a contest. Don’t be shocked if Arvidson takes on a similar role, especially if the strikeout rate he produced in 2025 (north of 16 punchouts per nine innings) returns to form and follows him through the organization’s farm system. View full article

I'd be down with it! The farm system isn't in the same place it was a few years ago, so it'll likely be big league talent for big league talent if anything comes to fruition

I could 100% see Finnegan. Mize has shown a lot of upside since returning from TJ. Do you think Robby Ray could be in the cards as cheap though? He's a rental on the other side of 30!

The Chicago Cubs have three prospects who are skyrocketing towards The Show thanks to recent performances. In this video, we'll break down the numbers of 2025 first-rounder Ethan Conrad, switch-hitting thrasher Josiah Hartshorn, and rising 25-year-old catcher Owen Ayers. Enjoy! View full video

Image courtesy of © John Jones-Imagn Images It’s no secret that the Chicago Cubs have been decimated by injuries, specifically in their starting rotation. With Edward Cabrera, Ben Brown, Jameson Taillon, Cade Horton and Justin Steele all still on the mend, here are three pitchers the Cubs could trade for without shelling out an absurd amount of either money (they're already near the maximum the Rickettses will want to spend) or talent (since their farm system isn't strong and needs to be bolstered, rather than gutted). Joe Ryan "Affordable" doesn't always mean "cheap," and Ryan would certainly come with a cost. The 30-year-old right-handed pitcher is currently on an arbitration-avoiding $6.1 million dollar deal. Technically, there's a mutual option in there for next season, but that will be declined; he'll be arbitration-eligible for the last time this winter. The Minnesota Twins are 45-47, so they would be likely sellers in a normal year. However, the American League is so chaotic this season that almost everybody could make a case that their playoff hopes are still alive with about 70 games to go. Prying Ryan loose, with a year-plus of team control left and Minnesota in the hunt, won't be easy. It should be worth it, though. Ryan’s advanced analytics jump off the chart. His 28.8% strikeout rate clearly identifies him as the type of pitcher the Cubs rotation has desperately needed and hopelessly lacked for a long time: the bat-missing kind. Unlike many guys who show the ability to rack up punchouts, though, he also fills up the zone, and has a 5.4% walk rate this year. His chase and whiff rates are also above league average, and a .209 expected opponent batting average implies there is no luck involved in what has been one of the second All-Star season of his career. It's a six-pitch arsenal, featuring a fastball, sweeper, knuckle-curve, split-finger, sinker and slider. Half of those pitches (the sweeper, knuckle-curve and split-finger) have generated an opposing batting average below the Mendoza line. This is someone with control, deception and plenty of tools in his tool box. He would slot into the top of the Cubs’ rotation beautifully. Financially, he wouldn't cost that much. It would take a haul to land him, but once they did, they would be able to plan for Ryan being a co-ace with Cade Horton in 2027, and they'd end up saving enough money and future prospect capital to make the investment now feel worthwhile. Robbie Ray Unlike the American League, there are definite sellers in the National League. The San Francisco Giants fall into that category, sitting at 38-53 and 11.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot. Ray, who is making $25 million in the final year of his deal with the Giants, will be a free agent after the conclusion of this season. Considering Ray would be a 34-year-old rental, he shouldn’t be terribly expensive in this year’s trade market. With that being said, he could still provide the Cubs with some much-needed stability in a rotation that has been hammered with IL stints. Ray consistently disrupts hitters' swings, and is particularly adept at getting them out on the front foot. He's also been durable lately, taking the ball every turn through the rotation since the start of 2025. Most of his advanced analytics are below average; he doesn’t have crazy strikeout stuff or a chase rate that will blow any scouts away. What he does have is a strong fastball-slider combo, a 1-2 sequence he uses 54% of the time. All five of his pitches have held opposing batters to an average below the .240 mark, and despite allowing a 19.6° launch angle, the second-steepest of his career, the average exit velocity is down from its usual spot at 89.0. This is someone who picks his way through a lineup. He’s on a team that should be in sell mode, and he’d be ultra cheap considering his expiring contract. If needed, the Cubs could slightly juice the return to get the Giants to pay down the money he's still owed. Sandy Alcantara Ryan is the best pitcher on this list as this point, but because of his pedigree and his fit with the team, Alcantara would make the biggest splash on a team in desperate need of some reliable starting pitching. Signed to a long-term deal in late 2021, he has a club option that kicks in for the 2027 season before he becomes eligible for free agency. The Miami Marlins are currently holding on to the final NL Wild Card spot, and are playing so well of late that they might be buyers, not sellers. With that being said, Miami is a smaller market who holds a valuable gem in the 30-year-old righty. Alcantara’s fastball velocity is still excellent, with the pitch riding in at an average of 97.4 miles per hour with plenty of arm-side run. The veteran righty just surpassed 1,000 career strikeouts, and he’s holding seven different pitches in what has turned into a deadly arsenal. His strikeout numbers are down this year, but he’s become a master of mitigating hard contact. The 5.2% barrel percentage and 45.2% ground ball rate have been keys to his success in a season where he’s eaten 123 2/3 innings already. He'd be so good in front of the Cubs' elite defense that it's hard not to dream on this one. Miami would have to fall out of contention for Alcantara to become available at a price point the Cubs would deem affordable, but if that happens, Jed Hoyer should pounce. View full article

The Chicago Cubs have a starting rotation that has been decimated by injuries. In this video, we'll do an analytical breakdown on how trading for Joe Ryan (Minnesota Twins), Robby Ray (San Francisco Giants), and/or Sandy Alcantara (Miami Marlins) can help remedy a rotation that is missing Cade Horton, Ben Brown, Edward Cabrera, Justin Steele, and Jameson Taillon. Enjoy! View full video

Image courtesy of © Saul Young/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images Owen Ayers is developing into quite the story, going from a prospect who wasn’t on many radars and struggled with injuries to a breakout star in the Chicago Cubs’ pipeline. Let’s break down the Cubs’ next big catching prospect and update his scouting report ahead of the second half of the 2026 season. Owen Ayers' Updated Cubs Scouting Report Ayers is Chicago’s eighth ranked prospect per our June update, and he’s been skyrocketing up our rankings as of late. Standing at 6-foot-1, 205 pounds, Ayers is a switch-hitter who has shown off a missile of an arm and a potent bat to fill out a pretty strong farmhand makeup. Ayers wasn’t always a name deemed synonymous with the future of the North Siders, though. The 25-year-old backstop was once a three-year player at the State JC of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota before spending a pair of seasons with Marshall. He caught the Cubs’ eye in a pre-draft workout before signing on as a 19th-round pick in the 2024 draft. His first couple of years were on the quieter side, as Ayers logged back-to-back seasons with batting averages of .190 and .238 with the Low-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, topping out at a .761 OPS. Ayers then met a painful setback, suffering a broken right hand in July that took him off the field for the rest of last year. After returning to win the Arizona Fall League’s Breakout Player of the Year award, it was off to the races on what’s been a meteoric rise. A Cannon For An Arm Before getting into his power and approach, this is someone who can be a serious problem for opposing base-runners. Ayers didn’t become a full-time backstop until his final year in college ball, but he has the necessary intangibles to be a weapon behind the plate. Ayers flashed a sub-1.85 pop time in his 20-game stint in the AFL last year, and his 70-grade arm strength can make him a real asset in a day and age where disengagement limits hinder the pitcher’s ability to pick off runners. He still has to work on his receiving and blocking, but the skillset is there for him to be a difference maker behind the plate. Insane Slugging Upside Ayers’ bat has jolted alive in the last calendar year. After logging a .357 batting average and an OPS north of 1.100 in AFL play, he’s already turned in a 21-homer season in just 70 games. The switch-hitter started the season off with the High-A South Bend Cubs, quickly earning a promotion after whacking six homers, three doubles and registering a 1.341 OPS across 11 games. His numbers are here to stay for a longer stint with the Double-A Knoxville Smokies, as he’s smashed 15 homers with an impressive .321/.436/.659 slash line. Two years after barely sneaking onto the board in the 20-round draft format, Ayers is flirting with a 40-home run pace a pair of levels away from the show. Mature Plate Discipline Catchers tend to see more pitches at the plate than any other position player, so it should be no shock that Ayers has above-average plate discipline. Working 48 walks in just over 300 plate appearances this season, the rising backstop is hovering above a 15% walk rate, a mark that would be considered elite at the MLB level. Ayers’ Road To Wrigley The Sarasota, FL native is still a raw prospect in some capacities, but his upside is turning to every day performance. Can the team’s top catching prospect slot into the big-league clubhouse sooner than later? Remember, 32-year-old Carson Kelly is on the front end of a two-year, $11.5 million deal with the club, an agreement that includes a mutual option for the 2027 season. Miguel Amaya, 26, is on the precipice of an arbitration period that will kick in next year. There’s no telling how much Ayers can impact the front office’s decisions with the two big-league backstops already in place, but if he finds himself putting up comparable numbers when he gets promoted to the Triple-A Iowa Cubs, he'll have to factor into the equation. View full article

Josiah Hartshorn is the Cubs' fourth-ranked prospect on our list. He has 14 home runs over the first half of the minor league season, and his numbers are only improving since getting promoted to High-A South Bend. When will he get the call to Double-A? View full video

While Dansby Swanson may be a two-time Gold Glover, he has had his fair share of struggles on offense this season. The 2015 first overall pick has had some recent success at the plate though, logging 15 runs batted in over the course of three games against the New York Mets. How can he turn this from a flash in the pan to an everyday success? We'll dive into the science behind it all in this video. View full video

Image courtesy of © Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images Is Dansby Swanson finally turning his season around? After a tough start to the season, the Chicago Cubs’ starting shortstop enjoyed quite the series against the New York Mets. In the first three games of that set, Swanson went 7-for-12 with four runs scored and 15 runs batted in. What does he need to unlock in order to stay hot and turn this into a spectacular second half of the season? Dansby Swanson's 2026 Full-Season Breakdown Before going fully into what part of his game the 32-year-old veteran could adjust to flip his fate in the 2026 campaign, it’s important to understand what Swanson provides as a player. The Cubs’ starting shortstop has one of the best gloves in all of baseball. While this three-game stretch shows what he can still do when he's on at the plate, he didn't become a nine-figure star on the strength of his bat. The Good That leads us to the good. There aren’t many defenders who are as sure-handed as Swanson. A now two-time Gold Glover, Swanson is one half of a remarkable middle infield, with the Robin to his Batman being Nico Hoerner. The former Atlanta Braves shortstop has one of the best fielding grades in the game, as his nine outs above average puts him in the 99th percentile amongst all defenders. Swanson’s fielding run value has also been spectacular, slotting in at the 97th percentile. A lot of hitters would lose their spot if they hung around the Mendoza Line for too long. Swanson gives manager Craig Counsell the peace of mind knowing that no matter what happens on offense, he has a lockdown defender at the premium shortstop position. The Bad Swanson’s struggles have been well documented, and even after a spectacular start to the series against the Mets, his batting average has since fallen below .200 again. While his chase and walk rates (76th percentile and 82nd percentile, respectively) both live well above the league mean, his bat-to-ball skills have left much to be desired. Swanson’s sweet spot percentage sits in the fifth percentile, while important metrics like his hard-hit percentage (49th percentile), bat speed (37th percentile) and average exit velocity (47th percentile) are all dragging behind and hindering his ability to produce at the plate. The Ugly Some players truly just hit into bad luck, but that hasn’t been the case with the Cubs’ shortstop so far. Along with the subpar quality of contact he has generated, Swanson has just a .199 expected batting average, a value that drops him in the third percentile among all hitters. His expected slugging percentage of .345 isn’t much better, as he’s in the 17th percentile among all qualified hitters in that regard. Important Tweaks What’s one of the main reasons Swanson is struggling? Even when he does make contact, the former Commodore’s average launch angle is as steep as it has ever been. His previous career-high in launch angle was 15.7 degrees back in 2022. Now, Swanson’s new mark is at 16.8 degrees. Considering he isn’t barreling baseballs up at the rate that he used to, these steeper launch angles are resulting in weak fly outs that mostly end up being harmless. Leveling out his bat path would help, as would a more concerted effort to restore his line-drive rate (currently at 17.1%) back toward his career level (24.6%). No matter what he tweaks, he merely needs to go from being awful to bad; with the value his glove provides, the Cubs would be thrilled with that kind of development. View full article

Image courtesy of © Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images One of the Cubs' most impressive prospects is just starting his professional career. At this rate, we should be keeping tabs on Josiah Hartshorn anytime he steps to the plate, because he has been remarkable to watch and could help out the big-league club sooner than you think. Let's dive into Hartshorn’s story, his strengths, weaknesses and overall projected time to crack into the big leagues. Background For starters, Hartshorn is currently the fifth-ranked prospect in the Chicago Cubs’ farm system, according to our rankings here at North Side Baseball—and that stock is rising. Four of his five tools are a 50 grade or better, and at just 19 years of age, he has all of the tools to be a big-leaguer one day. Chicago saw this promise after he participated in the All-Star High School Home Run Derby a couple of years ago, and they selected him in the 6th round of last year’s draft. How is this guy breaking out in his first full season as a pro? Early on this season, Hartshorn was in Low-A Myrtle Beach with the Pelicans. His numbers there were strong. He posted a .273 batting average, .424 on-base percentage and .460 slugging average, crushing five home runs and 15 extra-base hits in total over the course of just 39 games played. He walked more times than he struck out, 34 to 27. The Cubs, liking what they saw, promoted the 19-year-old to High-A with the South Bend Cubs, who just claimed a first half title and will be heading to the playoffs. Here's where things get wild: Through 26 contests there, Hartshorn is hitting .348, with nine home runs, 34 runs batted in and a ridiculous 1.113 OPS. The power is even more lethal, and he’s punishing baseballs three levels removed from the major leagues before his 20th birthday. It's no surprise that he can generate plenty of power from that 220-pound frame, and his 55-grade power attribute and 13 homers through half a season back that up. This all comes from a switch-hitter, excelling at something that’s quickly turning into a lost art of modern baseball. Almost all his power comes from the left side, but he's running a .468 OBP as a right-handed batter, showing a good approach against southpaws. The one weakness to watch out for—and this is nitpicking, given his age and all the other things he's doing well—is that his strikeout rate is starting to spike. After walking more than he struck out in Myrtle Beach, Hartshorn has punched out 23 times in 113 plate appearances for South Bend. This isn’t an awful strikeout rate by any means, but the rise is something to keep an eye on as he faces off against better and better pitching. The plate discipline, ability to identify pitching from a high-level arm and everything that comes with that process should come naturally, as Hartshorn gets more reps. When can we expect to see him in the major leagues? In the best-case scenario, it could be late next year. More realistically, he could stake a claim to a corner outfield job come 2028, but even at that point, he'd be 21 years old. We’re a long way from that. He has to play well for the balance of this season, and eventually, he has to pass the stern test of Double-A pitching. Right now, though, he looks like the best mid- to late-round pick the Cubs have made in some time. View full article

Image courtesy of © Matt Marton-Imagn Images Pete Crow-Armstrong is one of the most talented center fielders in Major League Baseball, but there’s no doubt that he has his fair share of components to improve on. Whether it’s making the routine plays in the field or having a more mature approach at the plate, the 2025 All-Star is polishing his game. Let’s dive into the areas where the Chicago Cubs’ starting center fielder is making key strides. Reevaluating Pete Crow-Armstrong's Standing With Cubs Crow-Armstrong was originally a first-round draft pick back in 2020, when the New York Mets selected him at 19 overall. A standout prep product, Crow-Armstrong’s reputation for being able to use his blistering speed both on the bases and in the outfield to close gaps made him a hot commodity in that year’s draft class. Shortly after joining the Mets’ pipeline, New York dealt him to the Cubs in a trade that involved former 2016 World Champion Javier Baez. Crow-Armstrong immediately became one of the North Siders’ top up-and-coming talents before being tabbed as the team’s top farmhand in both 2023 and 2024. After making his MLB debut down the home stretch of the 2023 season, Crow-Armstrong became an everyday starter the following campaign and has held his spot ever since. The Magical Year of 2025 The now-24-year-old made significant strides last year, enjoying a decorated season that included first career honors with an All-Star selection and a Gold Glove Award. The Cubs’ center fielder had plenty to be proud of, logging 31 home runs, 95 runs batted in and 35 stolen bases, allowing the young superstar to join the coveted 30-30 club. Crow-Armstrong’s barrel percentage ballooned above the league average, allowing him to be a more effective slugger, and in turn, clocking career bests in slugging percentage (.481) and OPS (.768). That barrel rate sat at 13.1%, nestling him into the 82nd percentile. His bat speed also skyrocketed, starting from 70.6 miles per hour (26th percentile) in 2025 to 72.7 miles her hour (61st percentile). His fielding attributes, which are really the reason he was such a highly touted prospect in the first place, were also off the charts. HIS range (24 OAA, 100th percentile), arm value (+2, 88th percentile) and arm strength (92.3 mph, 94th percentile) were on full display in his coming out year. Consequential Holes In His Game While 2025 was a banner year, Crow-Armstrong still had plenty of components to improve on. His chase percentage was one of the worst in the game, riding in at 41.7% (2nd percentile). His plate discipline was a main struggle point, and that high chase rate led to a very low walk rate of 4.5% (4th percentile). Therefore, even though he hit .247, his on-base percentage finished below the .300 mark for the second straight year at just .287. Crow-Armstrong’s strikeout rate was also well below the league average at 24% (33rd percentile). Overall, this is someone who had some electric moment and gained confidence in his ability to generate power, but much like the man he was traded for in Baez, he had trouble with balls out of the zone. Turning A New Leaf? The 2026 campaign has become another stepping stone for Crow-Armstrong, and while he still lacks day-to-day consistency, the overall trends are pointing towards a vast improvement for the Harvard-Westlake High School alum. His maturity at the plate has skyrocketed, yielding an 8.3% walk rate. It’s a rate that’s still below league average, but it’s in a much more promising spot at the 40th percentile. His chase rate of 38.5% is in the 8th percentile, which is well below the league average but still an improvement upon his 2025 mark. Even with this mild improvement, the 2025 All-Star has a career-best .343 on-base percentage, a whole 57 points clear of last year’s number. This is already one of the most talented players in the league. If he can continue to develop his plate discipline and take on a more mature play-style, the sky is truly the limit. View full article