Cory Sparks

Colin Rea may just seem like a mid-reliever or back-end rotation option on the surface. The reality is, this 35-year-old veteran has one of the most important jobs of any Cubs pitcher in 2026. In this video, we break down Rea's relation to the Cubs rotation, the moving pieces around him, what he has learned over his career, and how he became so difficult to hit. View full video

Cubs top 30 prospect Grant Kipp is one of the most interesting farmhands in baseball. Not only did he join the team for $50,000, but the Cubs pitching prospect has quickly risen as a crucial part of their depth chart. With Brandon Birdsell injured and recent draft selections Dominick Reid and Kaleb Wing yet to play, Kipp is knocking on the door of Triple-A Iowa to make a name for himself. Enjoy! View full video

Michael Conforto and the Cubs have agreed on a minor league deal for 2026. This comes a year after Conforto regressed on a one-year, $17 million contract with the Dodgers. The veteran outfielder logged a career-low .199 batting average with 12 homers and 36 runs batted in. If Conforto turns back the clock in 2026, who is left out? We answer this and more in this video. Enjoy! View full video

@BertzI feel like his floor is so high, and the breaking stuff can turn him from being a reliable arm into someone with a little more flair than we anticipated!

Cade Horton's remarkable 2025 campaign had him knocking on the doorstep of some National League Rookie of the Year hardware. Based on his arsenal, durability, and signs of growth, can he be the ace of a crowded room of arms this season? We dive into Horton's strengths, weaknesses, and the likelihood of that happening. Enjoy! View full video

While Ben Brown was hit around and struggled to control at-bats with a two-pitch mix in 2025, there are a few signals pointing towards a bounce-back campaign in 2026. If all goes to plan, and Brown expands his arsenal, Tommy Hottovy eluded that Brown could be a pivotal part of the future of this Cubs rotation. View full video

Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Spring training is finally here, and the non-roster invitees for every big-league team see it as a prime chance to break into The Show. For the Chicago Cubs, there are three non-roster invitees who could be in line to make some extra noise and contribute on the north side of Chicago in 2026. Jaxon Wiggins This name drop feels self-explanatory. Wiggins is the top pitching prospect in the Cubs pipeline. The hard-throwing righty ended his season in Triple-A Iowa last year, with one of the best fastball-slider combos in the minors. The fastball, earning a 65 grade at the end of the 2025 campaign, sits comfortably in the 96-97 mph range and can touch 100 mph when the 24-year-old gets ramped up. The velocity also holds up well within outings, an important attribute for someone who has frontline starter potential. Stuff models don't like the heater as much as scouts do, but there's time for the team and Wiggins to improve the pitch's combination of shapes and locations. Wiggins’s mid-80s slider has hard bite to it and has the capability to generate whiffs, but he has struggled to control it at times. He also has a mid-80s changeup with decent arm-side ride. Overall, Wiggins has 168 strikeouts in 138 innings of professional baseball, and it's looking like he can keep racking up punchouts in the majors—perhaps as soon as this summer. It's unlikely that we'll see Wiggins right away, of course. His ability to break into this year’s rotation got dicey once the Cubs traded for projected starter Edward Cabrera. Matthew Boyd, Shota Imanaga, Cade Horton and Jameson Taillon round out what will likely be Chicago’s starting five. Meanwhile, erstwhile ace Justin Steele is expected to make a midseason return, and appears to be ahead of schedule. Injuries can happen, and with those come opportunities, but between the depth of the rotation and the bevy of veteran arms in camp to compete for bullpen spots, we're likely to see Wiggins spend at least the first two months in Iowa. Jonathon Long Like Wiggins, Long has only a slim chance to crack the roster at a relatively loaded position. Still, the 24-year-old corner infielder is making his case to be a big bat, as he registered a .305 batting average and a .404 on-base percentage in 140 games at Triple-A Iowa in 2025. Long also belted a career-best 20 long (Long?) balls and drove in 91 runs. His 55-grade power has blossomed over time, and the Cactus League will give him a chance to test himself against some big-league arms. Michael Busch is a star-caliber first baseman, but right-handed platoon bat and backup Tyler Austin is more of an enigma. There may be room for the 2023 9th-rounder to earn a DH spot or to overtake Austin, but he’ll have to truly wreak havoc to compete with Moisés Ballesteros, Kevin Alcántara, Matt Shaw and Austin for a spot. He's a bit buried on the Cubs' depth chart, but if nothing else, he has some burgeoning trade value. Grant Kipp Once you get past Wiggins, there's a bit of a lacuna on the Cubs' organizational starting pitching depth chart. Kipp, who had 110 strikeouts (but 57 walks and a whopping 18 hit batsmen) in 108 innings at Double-A Knoxville, will try to help fill it, though he probably doesn't have much of a future as a starter in the majors. His 60-grade curveball is the sharpest of any of his pitches, as it generates 3,000 rpm with a shape that he’s able to customize throughout his starts. Kipp has come a long way from signing on for $50,000 as a nondrafted free agent in 2022. Can he make the next step? His ability to rule at-bats with his off speed stuff this spring could answer that question. These aren't the non-roster guys most likely to help the 2026 Cubs. There are several players in camp whom the team signed specifically to compete for limited but important roles, and who have big-league track records that foretell success. However, the Cubs system needs to start achieving greater success in terms of churning out homegrown players at each level of a roster. In Wiggins, Long and Kipp, there are three guys in big-league camp who personify the potential and the developmental needs that define the team's long-term goals. View full article

Is Jameson Taillon underappreciated? The Cubs starter recently responded to a Twitter poll referring to Taillon giving up a home run to Alex Bregman as the former Pittsburgh Pirate being in midseason form. This got our wheels turning and gave our team a jolt of inspiration to highlight just how solid Taillon has been in Chicago's rotation over the last two years. In this video, we cover his durability, six-pitch mix, and pitch-to-contact tactics that make him a reliable fifth starter for this year's squad. View full video

Ethan Conrad is the Cubs' first-round pick from the 2025 MLB Draft. The Marist/Wake Forest alum brings a well-rounded approach, as he flashed with 13 triples in his 2024 season. Already being rated as the no. 5 prospect in the Cubs system, Conrad projects to be the team's future outfielder in just a couple of years' time. Will he take Seiya Suzuki or Ian Happ's spot, and will either be around after their contracts expire after this season? We dive into it all here on North Side Baseball. View full video

Jaxon Wiggins is the top pitching prospect in the Cubs' farm system. His scouting report says he is estimated to arrive in The Show this upcoming summer, but is that feasible? In this video, we dive into Wiggins' pitch arsenal, the Cubs' rotation, depth pieces ahead of Wiggins, and whether or not we will truly see him at Wrigley Field in 2026. View full video

Six different Chicago Cubs hitters smacked 20 or more home runs in 2025. Now, with recent offseason transactions considered, who deserves to be the team's main slugger for the 2026 season? We review the various cases for Pete Crow-Armstrong coming off a 30-30 season, Seiya Suzuki after his career year, a surging first baseman in Michael Busch, and the new kid in town, Alex Bregman. Follow North Side Baseball for more content and breakdowns just like this! View full video

Image courtesy of © David Banks-Imagn Images It’s officially the final month without regular season baseball, and thus, it’s time for another Cubs opening day roster projection. Besides, there have been important changes lately. The North Siders have made a pair of seismic moves for Edward Cabrera (trade) and Alex Bregman (free agent) since the last version of our roster projection came out. In this article, we’ll recap how those moves have had a domino effect on the rest of this roster makeup and who will have to battle extra hard for their spot in spring training. Pitchers (13) Shota Imanaga - SP Matthew Boyd - SP Cade Horton - SP Jameson Taillon - SP Edward Cabrera - SP Colin Rea - RP Javier Assad - RP Phil Maton - RP Caleb Thielbar - RP Hoby Milner - RP Jacob Webb - RP Hunter Harvey - RP Daniel Palencia - RP The huge change here comes from Chicago acquiring former Miami right-handed pitcher Edward Cabrera for top prospect Owen Caissie and a pair of infielders, in Christian Hernandez and Edgardo De Leon. The first domino to fall is Colin Rea. He’ll easily make the Opening Day roster, but his starting spot turns into more of a swingman role, similar to what he had to start the 2025 campaign. This doesn’t mean he’ll stay out of the rotation, though. No Cubs starter has a clean health history. Who leaves the 13-man depth chart? Porter Hodge is the most sensible option. Hodge struggled mightily with his command in 2025, posting an ERA above 6.00 in both the majors and Triple-A Iowa. The walks (18 in 33 innings of big-league ball) were a major concern. Hodge will likely continue to work on his stuff in Iowa, but he won’t be alone. Luke Little and top pitching prospect Jaxon Wiggins will be in the fight, with major-league aspirations of their own. Javier Assad could also end up there, depending on how the team's bevy of minor-league signings look in camp. Catchers (2) Carson Kelly Miguel Amaya The catching situation seems locked in, at least for now. If the summer of Carson Kelly doesn’t yield a satisfying sequel, top catching prospect Moisés Ballesteros is waiting in the wings and could shift back to his traditional spot to platoon with Amaya in the future. For now, though, a timeshare seems like the most likely outcome, and Ballesteros looks to be ticketed for DH duty. Infielders (5) Michael Busch - 1B Tyler Austin - 1B Nico Hoerner - 2B Dansby Swanson - SS Alex Bregman - 3B When a team signs their new third baseman to a 5-year, $175 =-million deal, it’s an ‘act now and react later’ situation. Alex Bregman, a three-time all-star, will take Matt Shaw’s spot at the hot corner. The rest of the infield remains the same, for now, although Nico Hoerner, who was near the top of the league in WAR (6.2) last year, will be playing on an expiring contract. Outfielders (5) Ian Happ Pete Crow-Armstrong Seiya Suzuki Matt Shaw Kevin Alcántara While the Cubs built up their rotation by taking a swing for Edward Cabrera, their pack of outfield prospects lost its top dog in Owen Caissie. This opened up an opportunity for Kevin Alcántara, who has flashed his power/speed combo at the Triple-A level. It also opens the door up for Shaw. Keep in mind that Kyle Tucker not coming back opened up another spot, and Shaw is taking on a utility role that includes some outfield work. Alcántara gets a shot to operate with an expanded role, and if Shaw isn't traded, he could get significant playing time in the grass. However, Justin Dean, Chas McCormick and Dylan Carlson will all be in camp, too, bying for versions of Alcántara's spot that would reduce Shaw's likelihood of playing in the outfield. Designated Hitter (1) Moisés Ballesteros Ballesteros is in wait-and-see mode, as the Cubs have a plethora of either unproven outfielders (Shaw, Alcantara) or talents on expiring contracts (Ian Happ, Seiya Suzuki). His bat will make him hard to ignore, as he hit .298 with nine walks to 12 strikeouts in his first big-league stint. It’s a small sample, but seeing a green bat turn in a 13.6% walk rate and an .868 OPS should bode well for his chances in 2026. Who did we miss, and what would you change about our Opening Day roster projection? Be sure to leave a comment, and we will get back to you. View full article

While Chicago was just a game away from getting back to the NLCS for the first time since 2017, there's still plenty of margin to catch up to the Dodgers and Phillies of the world, never mind the Brewers in their own division. Dansby Swanson can make a few offensive adjustments that we cover; Justin Steele's situation fits the health-is-wealth saying more than ever (especially with some pitchers on contract years); and Colin Rea may be the most important plug-and-play piece of all. We cover all of it right here on North Side Baseball. View full video