With Spring Training approaching, and with rankings season having gone through its full swing, the Cubs prospect content really built up on me in the tabs. I don’t want to lose any of it, so I’m going to dump a bunch of it on you now. Enjoy …
- Cubs prospects get to play in not one but two Spring Breakout games this year:
Are you ready for Spring Breakout?!
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) January 17, 2025
Here's the 2025 schedule: https://t.co/qdS7OoTcWa pic.twitter.com/Uzy7LEdO1W
- The games, which will feature Cubs prospects playing against another club’s prospects, take place at a great time, too, in terms of having Cubs games to watch: they are when the big league Cubs will be in Japan getting ready for the Tokyo Series.
- Although the Cubs haven’t announced their full minor league coaching staffs yet, Cubs Insider reports that co-minor league hitting coordinator and Smokies hitting coach Rachel Folden is going to get the bump to Triple-A Iowa. Her LinkedIn bio concurs, so I’d say it’s happening. Folden has been a rapidly-rising coach in the system, largely following along the promotion schedule with a number of the organization’s best hitting prospects (you kinda love to see them getting to continue working together year-to-year).
- Love to hear from the BA guys on possible breakout prospects for the Cubs this season, with righty Brody McCullough (returning from a mostly missed season where he was clearly right there on the cusp of a breakout) and new Dominican signing Juan Tomas (comped to WR Larry Fitzgerald(!)) getting the discussion:
- While we’re on the international class, a note that BA identified the Cubs’ class as one of five “exciting” groups this year, and that doesn’t (yet?) include Cuban infielder Jaims Martinez, on whose deal we’re still waiting. Obviously these classes take years and years to really truly assess, but nice to know there’s some hype there, and it does seem like the Cubs managed to squeeze in a surprising volume of “name” prospects into their bonus pool.
- The BA crew also took a deep dive on the system as a whole:
- With a spot opened on the Cubs’ top-30 at MLB Pipeline, last year’s 11th rounder gets the nod to slide on:
OF Eli Lovich joins the #Cubs' Top 30 Prospects list following the trade of Michael Arias.
Scouting report, grades and more on the 6-foot-4 2024 Draft pick: https://t.co/N5H0IaUUzk pic.twitter.com/aLnCUzSXCs— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) January 16, 2025
- Internally, there’s a lot of hope for Lovich’s bat in the years ahead, and Pipeline sums it up:
“Because Lovich was nearly 19 years old and carried just 185 pounds on his 6-foot-4 frame as a Kansas high school senior last spring, most clubs viewed him as a projection player who would be best served by developing in college at Arkansas. But there were a couple of teams that loved his upside enough to buy him away from the Razorbacks, including the Cubs, who took him in the 11th round and paid him fourth-round money ($650,000). He’ll make his pro debut in 2025.
Lovich has a quality left-handed swing and recognizes pitches better than many players his age. He lacks present strength but features promising bat speed and could develop plus raw pop once he develops physically. He doesn’t turn on many pitches and made a lot of opposite-field, ground-ball contact on the showcase circuit.
Lovich is athletic despite his gangly frame and offers solid speed. He’ll get the chance to show what he can do in center field but projects as more of a right fielder with solid arm strength. He also showed some promise as a three-pitch left-hander with an upper-80s fastball, but pro teams preferred him as a hitter.”
- The Cubs have had a lot of success in the 11th round (the first non-bonus pool round, so it’s your first “free” swing in the draft) in recent years, including Zyhir Hope the year before Lovich. The story was a little similar – well-regarded high school prospect with a strong college commitment and tons of upside – though I think banking on Lovich to break out into a consensus top-100 prospect by this time next year is probably unreasonable. But it could happen!
- (Note: MLB Pipeline hasn’t yet released its fresh 2025 top-30 for the Cubs, so the note there is just about Lovich getting some love for being the next man up. The list as a whole is going to be rejiggered soon, and it’ll likely include some fresh IFA signings.)
- Shortstop prospect Yahil Melendez, whom the Cubs took in the 7th round in 2023, got some love from Kiley McDaniel:
“Melendez may not be a shortstop, but he should fit in the infield long term, and his full-season debut will be coming in 2025. He has top-100 upside by next winter because he has plus power potential, feel to get to that power in games, a solid approach and some feel for the bat head. You can’t be right about every hunch, but the pieces are here.”
- MLB Pipeline wrote up every organization’s best non-top-100 prospect:
“Cubs: Brandon Birdsell, RHP
The Cubs named Birdsell their Minor League Pitcher of the Year after he posted a 3.91 ERA and led the system in innings (135 2/3), strikeouts (134), K percentage (24 percent) and walk percentage (5 percent) while splitting his season between Double-A and Triple-A. His best attributes are a mid-90s fastball that reaches 98 with carry and command and an upper-80s slider with nice depth.”
- Some personal bits on Kevin Alcántara and Moises Ballesteros:
- It would be such an incredible story if Ben Leeper could come back from his third Tommy John surgery and reach the big leagues:
- Former Cubs pitching prospect Max Bain has retired, and I think it’s a pretty good bet he’s going to stay involved in the game one way or another:
- All the best to Max on whatever comes next.