Plenty of Cubs prospect content. Too much, really. Host: @CubsOnDeckPod
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Articles by Greg Huss
6 Cubs Prospects That Improved Their Stock in 2025
Photo of Jostin Florentino by Rich Biesterfeld As we bid adieu to 2025, now seems like a perfect time for the classic (and a bit cheesy) look back at the year that was. One of the best ways to do that when talking prospects is by reviewing the guys that improved their stock the most over the course of the season. Shockingly, there’s no math equation that I’m using here — I’m not looking at ‘25 OPS minus ‘24 OPS or even the guys who jumped up the most slots on my prospect rankings.
Cubs On Deck: Who Ya got? Matt Shaw vs. Jefferson Rojas
Feature photos of Matt Shaw and Jefferson Rojas by Rich Biesterfeld On this week’s episode with Greg Huss and Bryan Smith, the guys go IN-DEPTH on two of the top prospects in the Cubs organization: Matt Shaw and Jefferson Rojas. The guys compare and contrast the players’ tools, futures, styles, and break down what makes each stud unique. VIDEO Listen to every episode of Cubs On Deck anywhere you find your podcasts! Like this: Like Loading...
Cubs On Deck: What Development Looks Like for a First Round Pick Like PCA, Cade, or Matt Shaw
Feature photo of Matt Shaw by Rich Biesterfeld In this week’s episode, Greg Huss and Bryan Smith walk through the development of the 11 first round picks that find themselves in the organization: Ian Happ, Nico Hoerner, Ed Howard, Jordan Wicks, Cade Horton, Matt Shaw, Jameson Taillon, Dansby Swanson, Nick Madrigal, Michael Busch, and Pete Crow-Armstrong. Listen to every episode of Cubs On Deck anywhere you find your podcasts!
Surprise Prospect List! Bryan Smith Ranks His Top 75 in the Cubs System
Feature photo of Cade Horton by Rich Biesterfeld Admin’s Note: Pay no attention to the name of the author at the top of this page. Bryan (@cubprospects for those of you on Twitter) crafted up an updated prospect list and asked us at NSB if he could publish it here. We would have been dummies to answer with anything other than a resounding YES. Enjoy. We’re all smarter when we read Bryan’s work. Hi, I’m Bryan.
Cubs On Deck: Iowa Cubs Season Preview with Alex Cohen
Feature photo of BJ Murray Jr by Rich Biesterfeld Greg Huss and Bryan Smith are joined by Iowa Cubs broadcaster Alex Cohen to give a season preview of the Cubs’ Triple-A affiliate. The guys give their thoughts on Pete Crow-Armstrong, Owen Caissie, Brennen Davis, Matt Mervis, Ben Brown, Cam Sanders, and plenty more top prospects. VIDEO Listen to every episode of Cubs On Deck anywhere you find your podcasts! Like this: Like Loading...
Cubs On Deck: Prospect Cole Roederer Joins in One of the More Entertaining Episodes in Show History
Feature photo of Cole Roederer by Rich Biesterfeld Always the entertainer, Cubs prospect Cole Roederer joins Greg Huss, becoming the show’s first player to come on the show more than once! Topics include (but are absolutely not limited to): A day in the life of Cole Roederer in the offseason How his mindset has changed over the course of his pro career The absolute heater he went on in July The vibes in the Tennessee clubhouse What it’s like playing for Kevin Graber How he acted once he got...
Greg Huss Drops His Top 50 Prospects in the Cubs Organization
Feature photo of Kevin Alcantara by Rich Biesterfeld I often see people arguing that a certain player isn’t really a “prospect” because they are ranked outside the top X players in the organization. There’s no scouting grade on the 20-80 scale a player must meet to be a prospect. The term “prospect” for a minor league baseball player is not defined by skill level or chances of making the Major Leagues. “Prospect” is not subjective.
James Triantos Thinks Teenage Shortstop Jefferson Rojas Deserves More Love and I Won’t Argue With Him
Feature photo of Jefferson Rojas by Rich Biesterfeld Earlier this season, I asked James Triantos what Cubs prospect deserves more attention. Without even a beat of hesitation, his answer was Jefferson Rojas. “The way that he goes about his work, for how young he is… he’s gonna be really good,” Triantos told me during a hot July day in Peoria. It really struck a chord with me considering Triantos and Rojas have never shared a regular season locker room together.
Cubs On Deck: Owen Caissie Leads Smokies to the Champ Series, Myrtle Beach Pelicans Season Recap
Feature photo by Rich Biesterfeld Topics on this week’s episode with Greg Huss, Bryan Smith, and Sam Weiderhaft of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans: Owen Caissie takes home three awards from Baseball America and MLB Pipeline The Smokies are in the Southern League Championship series thanks to a stacked roster Recapping the Myrtle Beach Pelicans season Listen to every episode of Cubs On Deck anywhere you find your podcasts!
Cubs On Deck: Wicks & Shaw Promotions, Canario & Rojas Dominance, Kalmer & Long Intros
Feature photo courtesy of Rich Biesterfeld On this week’s episode, Greg Huss and Bryan Smith do deep dives into… Jordan Wicks and his fellow homegrown pitchers Matt Shaw after his promotion to Double-A Alexander Canario and his back-ness Jefferson Rojas’ newfound stardom The new-age Bash Brothers in Brian Kalmer and Jonathon Long The officially settled-in Pedro Ramirez Listen to every episode of Cubs On Deck anywhere you find your podcasts!
Cubs Have Three of the Top 30 Prospects in Baseball According to Newest Ranking
Feature photo of Pete Crow-Armstrong and Owen Caissie by Rich Biesterfeld As if we needed another reason to dig on what Aram Leighton and the whole Just Baseball team is doing over there, they went and showed off why this Cubs system is among the elites right now. In a Top 100 ranking that includes reports on all your favorite players, the team that includes Jack McMullen included five Cubs in their midseason update that of course features the newest draft picks.
Cubs On Deck: Having Some Fun with the New MLB Pipeline & Baseball America Lists
Topics on this week’s episode with Greg Huss and Bryan Smith: Six Cubs propsects find themselves on either the MLB Pipeline or Baseball America top 100 rankings Playing a game of “Higher or Lower” with the Cubs Top 30 rankings from Pipeline and BA. We choose which national publication got it right Listen to every episode of Cubs On Deck anywhere you find your podcasts!
Cubs On Deck, Ep. 29: What Prospects Are Due For a Better Second Half of the Season?
Greg Huss is joined by Bryan Smith in this one as they each select 5 players that they think could put up better results in the second half than we saw from them in the first half of the year. VIDEO Listen to every episode of Cubs On Deck anywhere you find your podcasts! Like this: Like Loading...
Cubs On Deck: Get To Know Your 20 New Draft Picks
You get three hosts for this episode with Greg Huss, Greg Zumach, and Bryan Smith! What to expect from 1st round pick Matt Shaw Details on every single pick from round 2 to round 10 Notable picks that really caught our eyes on day 3 of the draft VIDEO Listen to every episode of Cubs On Deck anywhere you find your podcasts! Like this: Like Loading...
Greg Huss Updates His Top 40 Prospects With a Few Surprises Here and There
Feature photo of Cade Horton by Todd Johnson We made it. It’s finally Prospect List Week here at North Side Bound and we think we’re dropping our rankings at the perfect time. The first half of the minor league season just wrapped up and the MLB Draft is in two short weeks. It’s the ideal time to re-examine the system and re-evaluate where we rank players in comparison to one another.
Cubs On Deck | North Side Bound
The Pelicans round out the festivities as broadcaster Sam Weiderhaft joins Greg Huss to discuss some brand new players we have yet to lay our eyes on.
Cubs On Deck: Starters Moving to the Pen, 3 Breakout Players, and Underrated Prospects
Topics on this week’s episode with Greg Huss and Bryan Smith: Daniel Palencia, Luke Little, Ryan Jensen, and Riley Thompson in the bullpen A game of “Are They Legit?” featuring Luis Vazquez, Ezequiel Pagan, and BJ Murray Which prospects do we think are the most underrated? VIDEO Listen to every episode of Cubs On Deck anywhere you find your podcasts! Like this: Like Loading...
Why Statcast is Telling You to Not Give Up On Brennen Davis
Feature photo of Brennen Davis by Scott Changnon/Marquee A .189/.310/.288 slash line isn’t pretty. I’m not here to convince you that it is. Instead, I’m here to calm your nerves, talk you off the ledge, and tell you that the season Brennen Davis has put together so far isn’t the end of the world. We entered the year with Brennen holding onto a top 3 ranking in the system for dear life following a season mired by injury and ineffectiveness.
Cubs On Deck, Ep. 18: How Much Are We Buying Into Hot Starts from Players Like Miguel Amaya?
Feature photo of Miguel Amaya by Rich Biesterfeld On this week’s episode with Greg Huss and Bryan Smith: The guys spend the question answering one question for 13 players… Are you higher on Player X than you were before the season? Listen to find out what they had to say about Matt Mervis, Yonathan Perlaza, Miguel Amaya, Pablo Aliendo, Haydn McGeary, Moises Ballesteros, Jefferson Encarnacion, Riley Thompson, Ben Brown, Bailey Horn, Brandon Birdsell, Richard Gallardo, and Luke Little.
Cubs On Deck, Ep. 14: Mervis & Slaughter, Morel & Velázquez, Kilian & Leeper, AZ Backfields Action
Iowa lit up the scoreboard in our first minor league action of the year. Greg Huss and Bryan Smith talk about a couple players that give prospect vibes but aren’t actually prospects in Christopher Morel and Nelson Velazquez, then get excited once again about Matt Mervis and Jake Slaughter. They break the bad Ben Leeper news while digging into a rough start from Caleb Kilian.
Introducing a New Offensive Statistic: BASH, Developed by Greg Huss
Feature photo of James Triantos by Rich Biesterfeld There are tons of ways to evaluate a player’s overall offensive production — wRC+, OPS+, wOBA, and BaGS all do such a thing. But I’m introducing a new four-character stat into the fold — BASH. While technically BASH is an acronym for Ballpark Adjusted Standardized Hitting, I’ll admit that a major factor in the four letters is the name itself.
Cubs On Deck, Episode 3: What Prospects Are There if the Cubs Don’t Sign a Free Agent Shortstop?
Bryan joins Greg in this episode as the guys put some finality to the Rule 5 Draft saga followed by some talk of new/old friend Brailyn Marquez.
WATCH: Greg Huss Details His Top Prospects, Ranked 31-40
The entire North Side Bound team came out with our top prospect rankings recently, and Greg Zumach and I took a look at what makes our lists similar and different in the most recent episode of Cubs On Deck. But now I’m taking an opportunity to go into greater detail on each one of my Top 40 Prospects. I kick things off with the guys ranked 31 through 40! 40. Yonathan Perlaza 39. Parker Chavers 38. Riley Thompson 37. Pedro Ramirez 36. Nazier Mule 35. Adan Sanchez 34. Luis Verdugo 33. Zac Leigh 32.
Cubs On Deck, Episode 2: Our New Prospect Rankings
Greg Zumach joins Greg Huss in his first episode as co-host of the show. In this episode, the talk about the Cubs adding Brennen Davis, Kevin Alcantara, Ben Brown, and Ryan Jensen to the 40-man roster and mention a few players that might be worth drafting in the upcoming Rule 5 Draft. They finish the episode by digging into their new prospect lists, dropped on NorthSideBound.com! Listen to every episode of Cubs On Deck anywhere you find your podcasts!
Introducing Cubs On Deck, a Podcast Dedicated Entirely to Cubs Prospects
I started podcasting back in June of 2019. A couple months prior to starting my regularly scheduled programming on the Growing Cubs Podcast, I reached out to one of my best friends from high school, Jimmy Nelligan, to ask if he wanted to be my co-host on a podcast focused around Cubs minor leaguers. I hadn’t spoken to him in a few years before that day and I was shocked when he said he was game.
A Look Back on Past Three Years of Growing Cubs Podcast
It is the end of an era as Greg and Jimmy host their final episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast together. They spend the episode looking back on how much has changed, both in the Cubs farm system and for them personally, in the three years they have hosted this show. Thank you to all the listeners that made hosting this podcast the most enjoyable part of our week!
Growing Cubs Podcast: Third Annual Growing Cubs Award Show
It’s that time of year again. Jimmy and Greg are back for an extra long episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast where they hand out 17 awards ranging from Hitter of the Year to The Sean Barry Most Talked About Guy on the Podcast. They also begin the episode with some big news about the podcast.
Growing Cubs Pod: Revisiting Season Predictions, Arizona Fall League Preview
The main event from this episode is Greg and Jimmy having some fun reviewing their season predictions from episode No. 92. But before they get into that, they take some time to talk Myrtle Beach and South Bend playoff baseball, Jared Young‘s MLB debut, and the newly released Arizona Fall League rosters. Be sure to subscribe to the Growing Cubs Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and iHeartRadio. You can also follow the guys on Instagram. And please be kind and leave us a 5-star review.
Growing Cubs Podcast: Who's Hot, What We're Looking Forward to Next Year, Who's Legit After This Season
Greg and Jimmy are back this week for a long episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast for you. First, the guys discuss the recent Cubs debut of Hayden Wesneski and where he fits into the rotation moving forward. Then, they go over who is hot in the system, who they are looking forward to watching play next year, and the guys who are legit after they broke out this season.
Growing Cubs: Will PCA Be in Chicago Next Year, Ranking South Bend Pitchers, Spike Curve vs. Sweeper Slider
Greg and Jimmy channel their inner Stephen A and Skip this week as they come to you with some pressing topics. They start off the show by discussing the difference between spike curves and sweeper sliders and why the Cubs might be pivoting on the pitching development side of things. Then they rank the members of the South Bend rotation — Luis Devers, Porter Hodge, Luke Little, Richard Gallardo, Tyler Schlaffer, Daniel Palencia, and Kohl Franklin.
Growing Cubs Podcast: Myrtle Beach Pelicans' Incredible Season, Brennen Davis Back, Cubs Debuts
We are back for another episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast. Greg and Jimmy take some time to discuss one of the best Myrtle Beach Pelicans’ seasons in recent memory, Brennen Davis getting back on the field, and the recent promotions of Javier Assad and Nicholas Padilla to the Chicago Cubs.
Growing Cubs Pod: Prospect Injuries, New Rankings, Rule 5 Draft Talk
The guys have teased it long enough! After mentioning the Rule 5 Draft crunch for nearly a full season, Greg and Jimmy make some predictions as to who the Cubs might protect on the 40-man roster this offseason. Before that, they try not to speculate about Miguel Amaya and Jordan Wicks‘ injuries and spend a fair amount of time praising the work Marquee did with their new Top 25 list. Be sure to subscribe to the Growing Cubs Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and iHeartRadio.
10 Cubs Prospect Storylines to Track Over Last Month of Season
We are rapidly approaching the home stretch of the 2022 minor league regular season, though the schedules run longer than they used to. The two Single-A teams wrap up their action on September 11 while Tennessee and Iowa polish off their regularly scheduled programming on September 18 and September 28, respectively. With around a month of games remaining, I have my eyes glued to MiLB.TV hoping to see some especially fun things before I turn to “analyzing the season” mode.
Growing Cubs: The Road to Wrigley and Who's Hot
Greg and Jimmy are back in your ears after all of the trade deadline and draft craziness to give you folks an update on how the current Cubs minor league players are performing throughout the system. First, they discuss the new Marquee Sports Network show The Road to Wrigley, then they highlight some of the players at each affiliate who have performed well in August.
Growing Cubs Podcast: New Prospects and Trade Deadline Analysis
Even though the Cubs weren’t as active on the trade market as we expected them to be, there are still three newly acquired prospects to tell you about. After talking about the trade deadline fallout from the MLB team’s perspective (2:30), Greg and Jimmy discuss Hayden Wesneski (14:45), Ben Brown (30:30), and Saúl González (47:25). Be sure to subscribe to the Growing Cubs Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and iHeartRadio. You can also follow the guys on Instagram.
The Cubs Have a Type: Get to Know Pitching Prospects Acquired at Trade Deadline
Last year, it took a rather lengthy post to introduce all of the prospects acquired during the mass exodus of beloved Cubs. I had mentally prepared for something similar this year with the expectation that the front office would send away big-time talent in Willson Contreras and Ian Happ to go along with at least five other players.
New Growing Cubs Pod: Who's Hot, Promotions, Miguel Amaya Is Back
Greg and Jimmy are back this week to discuss the top Cubs prospects. They go into detail about the prospects in the system who are hot in the month of July, recent promotions, and Miguel Amaya’s first couple of games in AA Tennessee.
Growing Cubs Pod: Recapping Entire Cubs Draft Class
The title describes this one pretty well. The Cubs’ 2022 Draft class is complete and Greg and Jimmy took to the podcast to break down the entire thing. They start off the episode by giving their thoughts on the front office’s draft strategy before talking about nearly every pick from No. 1 (Cade Horton) to No. 20 (Ke’Shun Collier). Be sure to subscribe to the Growing Cubs Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and iHeartRadio.You can also follow the guys on Instagram.
Cubs Finish Draft by Selecting More Pitching, Big Bodies on Day 3
Under the guidance scouting VP Dan Kantrovitz in 2021 the Cubs’ Day 3 strategy was based on the idea of using savings for signing bonuses to go after one or two high school kids while using their other picks to sign college players with interesting skill sets. That may well have been repeated this year, but there is inherently less information on today’s selections compared to the other rounds.
Cubs Target High-Risk, High-Reward Players in Day 2 of MLB Draft
The Cubs had a very clear strategy for Day 2 of the MLB Draft, and it mimicked what we saw on Day 1 when they took righty Cade Horton in the first round and lefty Jackson Ferris in the second round. After grabbing a hitter in the third round, the front office followed with eight consecutive right-handed pitchers. In addition to the pitching focus, there was a very clear emphasis on high-risk, high-reward players, whether they came from the prep or collegiate ranks.
Growing Cubs Episode 108: Breaking Down Our Own Midseason Prospect Lists
In another specialty episode, Greg and Jimmy take a look at their personal midseason prospect Top 25 lists and answer each other’s questions about why they ranked certain guys where. They start off at the top and work their way through until they explain why Brailyn Marquez didn’t fall on either of their lists. Be sure to subscribe to the Growing Cubs Podcast on Apple, Spotify, Stitcher, and iHeartRadio.You can also follow the guys on Instagram. And please be kind and leave us a 5-star review!
Growing Cubs Podcast: Pre-Draft Show with Draft Expert Greg Zumach
With the MLB Draft quickly approaching, Greg and Jimmy bring back Greg Zumach to discuss who the Cubs could be eyeing for the 7th pick. Zumach then goes on to discuss the Cubs’ potential draft strategy, players who are climbing up various boards, and who the Cubs could be looking at during the later rounds.
What Ryan Jensen’s Mechanical Tweaks Mean for His Development
Ryan Jensen’s arm action has been a point of discussion since the moment he was drafted back in 2019. The debate over whether he would be a starter or a reliever long-term typically started and ended with the way he threw the baseball. And up through his May 4 appearance of this year, the way Jensen threw the baseball was…problematic. He featured an incredibly long arm swing as he prepared to throw, dropping his hand down below his right kneecap with his elbow almost completely locked out.
New Growing Cubs Pod: Who Will Replace Willson Contreras, Making Sense of Caleb Kilian
It’s time for another mailbag episode as listeners went above and beyond in sending in plenty of questions for Greg and Jimmy to answer on the show. The guys spend some time at the beginning talking about the brilliance of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans’ playoff run (2:05) before digging into the questions. Once there, they chat about Matt Mervis (7:45), Cristian Hernandez (13:10), catchers of the system (25:45), DJ Herz (39:15), and Caleb Kilian (52:10).
Chicago Cubs Weekly Farm Report (6/21/22): Saying Goodbye to Regular Column, Jensen Debuts New Mechanics
I’ve been writing these Weekly Farm Reports since the first games of the 2019 minor league campaign and plenty of things in the Cubs system have changed during that time. Looking back on my first ever edition of this series, Mark Zagunis was the only rookie on the big league squad, Keegan Thompson posted a five-inning, no-hit performance in his Double-A debut, and the *High-A* Myrtle Beach Pelicans featured a “big four” of Miguel Amaya, Aramis Ademan, Alex Lange, and Paul Richan.
Growing Cubs Pod: Next Relievers Heading to Chicago, Jensen Tweaks Mechanics, Devers Dominance, Young to the Show?
With the MLB trade deadline looming, Greg and Jimmy take a long look at what current Iowa relievers might be making the trip up to Chicago soon (3:45). After that, the guys get into some deeper individual analysis, breaking down the mechanical tweaks to Ryan Jensen’s arm motion (19:50), the fade on Luis Devers’ changeup (28:15), and the splits and role of Jared Young in Chicago in the second half of the year (34:15).
Growing Cubs Podcast: The Kevin Alcantara Game, Who Deserves a Promotion, Buy or Sell, Yovanny Cruz is Back
Greg and Jimmy are back with this week’s Growing Cubs Podcast, fresh after watching the Kevin Alcantara Game where had drove in eight runs. After discussing that performance (3:30), the guys discuss who deserves a promotion (16:15), debate players to buy or sell (32:00), and cover Yovanny Cruz’s recent outing in the AZL (54:46).
Chicago Cubs Weekly Farm Report (6/7/22): DJ Herz, Tyler Schlaffer, Luis Devers Dominate
We are a little over 50 games into the minor league season, which provides a good arbitrary point to take a look around the system and see what players have surprised us in both good and bad ways.
Growing Cubs Podcast: Caleb Kilian's MLB Debut, Brennen Davis Has Back Surgery, Yohendrick Pinango Showing Off Power
Caleb Kilian was added to MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects recently and now he has made his debut for the Chicago Cubs Greg and Jimmy start their discussion with Kilian’s recent start on June 4 against the Cardinals. They also talk about the recent news of Brennen Davis‘s recent back surgery and where that would put him on their prospect lists.
Chicago Cubs Weekly Farm Report (5/31/22): Velázquez, Several Other Prospects Litter MLB Roster
It feels like worlds are colliding right now as we are watching all the new faces get called up to the majors. The Chicago Cubs are short on players, whether it’s because they are hurt or simply bad at baseball, which has forced the front office’s hand. The 40-man roster is littered with prospects and, whether they are ready for their MLB debuts or not, they are being used as the only option right now.
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