lfg26

Come to think of it, if all 11 of those guys are healthy and throwing well when the playoffs come, Counsell is gonna have a lot of interesting options for the pen. Options that may or may not work..... but, there will be options nonetheless. That said, there may very well be freak injuries to perhaps all of these guys in the next month, just because that's apparently what happens these days.

I was thinking how funny/sad/interesting the starting pitching situation is with the Cubs. Now, after the deadline, I'm gonna try and rank our starting pitching depth (even though it's pretty impossible with all the injuries and variables).... healthy and likely a playoff starter (ranking 1 thru 4 is a tossup) other healthy (?) options might be healthy soon 1. Kevin Gausman RHP 1. Javier Assad 1. Ben Brown 2. Matthew Boyd LHP 2. Braxton Garrett 2. Edward Cabrera 3. Clay Holmes RHP 3. David Peterson 3. Justin Steele 4. Shota Imanaga LHP 4. Colin Rea That's 11 potential starters for the playoffs. Hopefully, everyone can get healthy and it truly becomes the best 4 out of those 11 starting in the playoffs. Momentum is going to be a big indicator for who pitches in the playoffs. Ben Brown is a huge dark horse for us (maybe Steele as well but I don't want to get my hopes up). Let the best men win!!

I feel that way about Rojas, Ballesteros, Shaw, Alcantara, and Triantos. That's a lot of talent that I think could really help some other teams out. The first 4 have been top 100 prospects, and they could all be solid MLB regulars, with some potential that one or two of them become all-stars.

Owen Ayers

I suppose I'll chip in and do the work I'm requesting. Seems only right hahaha. I just need to make sure I submit the 10+ names that I think might cover all bases in terms of potential top 20 picks for us. And I need to do it exactly when the poll opens. Any idea on when that might be??

I don't necessarily agree with your logic on Sanders, but I respect that there's a lot of thought behind the ranking. And that's the most important part to me. In terms of the players listed, what if you made a post in the minor league forum 48 hours before opening up the voting on the next prospect ranking. And in that post, request that users submit players that should be in consideration for voting, but weren't included in the last top 20 list (the top 20 guys from before are already locks to be considered, unless they became ineligible). I'm guessing that would give us 30+ names to choose from when the poll goes live. And that also makes sure that everybody that votes gets to choose from the full pool of choices. Before, if you voted early, and someone then requested more names, you were kinda screwed outta being able to choose from the newly added names. What do you guys think? And if possible, let us know in advance when exactly the next poll will go up, as well as when the post requesting for other players to consider goes up (48 hours before the poll opens??). That way we can plan ahead so we don't miss it. Sorry if this all seems out of line. Just trying to offer ideas on how to potentially improve things. 🙂

If there needs to be a list we pick from, maybe just list the most likely players to be our top 50 prospects for us to choose 20 from, or alternatively, list anyone and everyone that's been recently listed on a top 30 Cubs prospect list from the major prospect ranking resources online. I'd say we should have at least 35 to pick from in order to make a thoughtful list of 20.... idk

I'd feel a lot better about him if he could double his BB% rate. His current BB% is pretty terrible and I feel like that could really up his game.... kinda like we've seen PCA do in the last couple months.

Personally, I don't think Will Sanders, Grant Kipp, or Ariel Armas should be above the likes of Jace Beck, Pierce Coppola, Jose Escobar, Enrique Oropeza, Riley Martin, Fernando Cruz, or Jaims Martinez. IMO, as someone who has voted on a NSB prospect list, there needs to be more than the like 25 players given to choose from. Also, the list shouldn't be preset to the most recent list. Let us make our own ranking without being funneled into choosing from only those 25 players, and without being coerced into keeping it similar to the last ranking...... just my thoughts on how NSB might get some better prospect rankings. 🙂

Just for fun, I'm gonna include the 3 prospects that have fairly recently lost their prospect status due to MLB service time (as well as Matt Shaw, cuz it makes sense to me to include him): 1. Pedro Ramirez 2B/3B (no longer eligible) 2. Jefferson Rojas SS/2B/3B 3. Josiah Hartshorn RF/1B/LF 4. Kane Kepley CF/LF/RF 5. Owen Ayers C 6. Matt Shaw 3B/2B/OF (no longer eligible) 7. Jaxon Wiggins RHP 8. Cade Townsend RHP 9. Caden Sorrell CF/RF 10. Ethan Conrad CF/RF/LF 11. Myles Bailey 1B/3B 12. Moises Ballesteros DH/C (no longer eligible) 13. Kevin Alcantara CF/RF/LF (no longer eligible) 14. Kaleb Wing RHP (not trying to disrespect Wing here, there's just a lot of talent above him, and he hasn't proven all that much yet.... he could move up quickly based on performance)

When was the last time the Cubs had a top 10 prospect list with 5 players that could potentially hit 35+ hrs for the big league club once they've matured??? Hartshorn, Ayers, Sorrell, Conrad, and Bailey are five massive power prospects that you don't typically see all in one system. Lots of high exit velocities for those guys. If I had to guess, those 5 guys gotta all be in the top 50 or so prospects in all of MiLB in terms of power potential. If we can get 2-3 of them to pan out, that would be amazing.

I think the players in the recent Top 10 for ESPN's top prospects after the 2026 draft are correct. I'd just adjust the ranking like this: ESPN top 10: LFG26 top 10: 1. Jefferson Rojas SS/2B/3B 1. Jefferson Rojas SS/2B/3B 2. Josiah Hartshorn RF/1B/LF 2. Josiah Hartshorn RF/1B/LF 3. Jaxon Wiggins RHP 3. Kane Kepley CF/LF/RF 4. Kane Kepley CF/LF/RF 4. Owen Ayers C 5. Kaleb Wing RHP 5. Jaxon Wiggins RHP 6. Ethan Conrad CF/RF/LF 6. Cade Townsend RHP 7. Cade Townsend RHP 7. Caden Sorrell CF/RF 8. Owen Ayers C 8. Ethan Conrad CF/RF/LF (just needs to prove it) 9. Caden Sorrell CF/RF 9. Myles Bailey 1B/3B 10. Myles Bailey 1B/3B 10. Kaleb Wing RHP That's 10 legit prospects that have a good shot a being decent big leaguers.... which is not something I've seen in several years from the farm.

Tarik Skubal for Swanson, Amaya, Shaw, Ballesteros, Alcantara, Will Sanders.... I really think we need that next level ace for the rest of the staff to follow. They're not typically just out there available to be traded for..... If Skubal is indeed in the cards, lets horsefeathers make it work. We have the young positional players/prospects to make it happen. Come on Jed, let's make a big swing. There's still plently more prospects in the system.....

Just to get the thread going... I'd trade... -Rojas, Alcantara //// Joe Ryan -Rojas, Ballesteros, Alcantara, Triantos, Will Sanders //// Tarik Skubal That was just off the top of my head. And I'm only mentioning trading Rojas because he has lots of value right now, along with the fact that he's position blocked pretty bad at the big league level.

And for what I've already said about Conrad and Wiggins, they are both only one good/great month away from being in the top 100 along with the 5 other guys. Let's hope they both stay healthy, and crush. My point has been that Ayers and Kepley shouldn't be held back in rankings while we wait on Conrad and Wiggins. They deserve top 100 status. The farm is looking good.