lfg26

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.

I definitely took into account Hartshorn's injury history. So far so good as a pro. Also, I thought he dropped because he was heavily committed to Texas A&M.

I'm hoping that I'm just ahead of the curve. I really think that what Ayers is doing while being an above average catcher, and what Kepley is doing as a leadoff man... are some pretty elite things. Yes, I know that they're both a bit older, but they're putting up numbers that simply have to be recognized and valued. Maybe they'll flame out sometime soon, maybe they won't. I'm just excited to see a couple guys with a pretty high floor, and a pretty high ceiling.

And I'm going to re-do the top 100 ranking for those 5 players I gave a few weeks ago to this: 40ish -- Hartshorn 45ish -- Ramirez 50ish to 70ish -- Rojas, Ayers, Kepley (in any order) ....these five guys all being in the 40-70 range sounds about right to me. I know it would be statistically improbable to have 5 cubs ranked within a range of 30, but I honestly think that's what we have in terms of the quality of our prospects at this current moment in time.

I know a couple of you guys think Wiggins and Conrad should be above Ayers and Kepley. I understand what you're saying, but the best ability is availability. And being injury prone is not a great trait for a prospect (just look at our pitching staff!!). I feel like Hartshorn, Ramirez, Rojas, Ayers, and Kepley have all went out there and earned top 100 prospect status. That doesn't at all mean I think Wiggins and Conrad (or even Wing/McGwire/Geraldo/etc.) don't have top 100 talent. That just means they need to show it on the field. And until they do, these 5 other guys shouldn't be held back in the rankings just because of what talent "might" be ahead of them. I'm rooting for all of them. Who knows, the cubs could actually have 7 top 100 prospects.... if Wiggins and Conrad start playing well, and the other 5 keep progressing. then.... Ramirez loses eligibility, Wing steps in.... still 7 top 100 prospects.... LFGoooo!!!!!! 🙂

In my personal top 20 list that I posted a few weeks ago, I pondered if there might be 5 cubs in the top 100. My ranking went like this: 40ish -- Hartshorn 60ish -- Ramirez 80ish -- Rojas 90ish -- Ayers 95ish -- Kepley I wasn't too far off with what BA just put out. I think I still like mine better, but it's nice to be somewhat validated. Owen Ayers and Kane Kepley have broken the door down into the top 100 imo.

4 -- Top 10 prospects: Hartshorn (6th rd), Kepley (2nd rd), Wing (4th rd), Conrad (1st rd) 3 -- Top 10-20 prospects: Coppola (7th rd), Poteet (17th rd), Reid (3rd rd) 3 -- Top 20-30 prospects: Stransky (10th rd), Knapp (8th rd), Jerzembeck (11th rd) IMO, that's an incredible infusion of talent into a farm system that was getting really empty beyond the top 7 prospects or so before that draft. That's 10 out of the top 30 from one draft!! I hope they keep progressing!

Nice to hear from the best baseball player on the planet at scoring runs in 2026. 🙂

I'd say there's quite a bit of top-end potential for Numbers 1 through 13. They won't all work out, but there's lots of talent in that top 13. And then there's a solid chance a couple of the guys from the 14 to 20 range manage to make it to the bigs and contribute as well. Not nearly as much top-end potential for those 7 guys though..... at least at this current moment. Prospect lists are always a bit of a crap shoot. I'm just stoked that there's some exciting breakouts going on for some of our guys.

Yeah Fernando Cruz's K rate is what moved him off of the top 20 for me. Hopefully he can start making more contact as he matures. The big jumps up that list for some of the players are what excites me the most -- Hartshorn, Ramirez(before he was called up), Rojas(currently on fire), Ayers, Geraldo(small sample size tho), Wing, McGwire, Coppola, Caple.... lots of eye-popping numbers in that group. Let's hope they keep progressing. The only sizable let downs have been Long, and the injuries to Wiggins/Conrad (I haven't at all counted them out though). Lots of positive news outside of those 3 bits of negative news. The 2025 draft has the potential to go down as one of the best in recent Cubs history. 6 of the top 7 picks from that draft are on that list. The farm is trending in the right direction imo.