Cubs On Deck

This episode is dedicated to the one and only Pete Crow-Armstrong. Greg Huss and Bryan Smith detail his journey from Mets draft pick to Javier Baez trade piece and his ever-changing development path through the Cubs system on his way to an NL MVP award. The duo give their reactions to his development and look back at old articles, podcasts, and tweets in the process.

In this episode, Greg Huss and Bryan Smith talk through the strengths and weaknesses of the Cubs farm system and its prospects. This includes Josiah Hartshorn, developing power and catching, pitching in the upper minors, international free agents, and shortstops.

The Cubs minor league season is complete and that means its time to hand out 23 awards to our favorite prospects. A list of the awards can be found below but you'll need to check out who each of Greg Huss, Greg Zumach, and Bryan Smith selected for each one.

Hitter of the Year Starting
Pitcher of the Year
Reliever of the Year
Breakout Player of the Year
Comeback Player of the Year
Most Fun to Watch
Most Excited to Watch Next Year
Biggest Surprise
Best MLB Debut Season
Sean Barry Award
Javier Assad Award
Ben Leeper Award
I-80 Road Warrior Award
Hey, Did You Lose My Number Award
Making Up For Lost Time Award
The One That Got Away Award
Best Fastball
Best Breaking Ball
Best Offspeed
Most Power
Best Feel to Hit
Fastest Runner
Best Defense

Topics on this week's Q&A episode with Greg Huss:

• Rumored Arizona Fall League assignments including Kade Snell and Dominick Reid
• A look at this year and next year for Josiah Harthsorn
• Jaxon Wiggins outlook
• Roster decisions for Brody McCullough and Kohl Franklin
• The curious case of Alexey Lumpuy
• The curious case of Jostin Florentino
• What traded prospect will we miss the most?
• Projecting my top 5 prospects for this time next year

We asked for questions and you delivered. Greg Zumach flies solo this week discussing questions about the Cubs minor league prospects and draft.

Topics on this week's episode with Greg Huss and Greg Zumach:

- Takeaways from the season as it begins to wind down
- BJ Murray Jr called up to Chicago!
- Josiah Hartshorn makes Cubs prospect history with his 20 homers and 100 RBI
- Angel Cepeda is super critical to the success of the system at shortstop
- Ethan Conrad back to the IL
- Ed Howard released

Topics on this week's episode with Greg Huss and Bryan Smith:

• Juan Cabada's hot start in full-season ball
• Ethan Conrad's promotion to High-A South Bend
• Kane Kepley turning it up a notch in Double-A Knoxville
• Angel Cepeda has been terrific when healthy
• Caden Sorrell has shown off a pretty swing and athleticism
• Jaxon Wiggins now working in relief in Triple-A Iowa
• Jackson Brockett might win Cubs MiLB Pitcher of the Year
• Ethan Flanagan is extremely underrated
• Chase Meyer's stuff reminds us of Keegan Thompson
• Yoendris Gonzalez might be the best relief prospect in the system
• Pierce Coppola made his best start of the year

Topics on this week's episode with Greg Huss and Iowa Cubs broadcaster Jason Kempf:

• Recapping the Iowa Cubs vs. St. Paul Saints Field of Dreams game experience
• What it was like having Brett Bateman, Jonathon Long, Jace Beck, and Moises Ballesteros all traded off the Iowa roster at the trade deadline
• Notes on players including Owen Ayers, Ethan Hearn, BJ Murray Jr, Kevin Alcantara, Kohl Franklin, and Jaxon Wiggins

Prospects discussed on today's episode with Greg Huss and South Bend Cubs broadcaster Brendan King:

• Josiah Hartshorn
• Kane Kepley
• Jose Escobar
• Angel Cepeda
• Nazier Mule
• Kade Snell
• Kevin Valdez
• Jostin Florentino
• Kohl Franklin
• Ethan Flanagan
• Justin Stransky
• Logan Poteet
• Yoendris Gonzalez
• Brennan Hudson
• Michael Hallquist

The trade deadline has come and gone and the Cubs acquired 5 players to help their Major League squad: Kevin Gausman, Braxton Garrett, Ryan Zeferjahn, Clay Holmes, and Tyrone Taylor.

In this episode, Greg Huss and Greg Zumach review what the trades mean for the Cubs system as a whole and detail the 7 players the team traded away: Jefferson Rojas, Mason McGwire, Jonathon Long, Jace Beck, Brett Bateman, Ty Southisene, and Moises Ballesteros.

In this solo episode, Greg Huss previews the MLB Trade Deadline for the Cubs but from a prospect slant. He uses listener questions to guide conversation and address things like:

• What prospects are untouchable?
• Who will have more trade value this year than next year?
• Is Jaxon Wiggins more likely to be traded following the results of last week's draft?
• Is Jefferson Rojas the most likely top prospects to be traded?
• What about the 40-man roster guys like Matt Shaw, Kevin Alcantara, Pedro Ramirez, and Moises Ballesteros?
• Will the pitcher grouping of Brooks Caple, Will Sanders, Mason McGwire, Pierce Coppola, and Kevin Valdez be picked over?

Greg Huss, Bryan Smith, and Greg Zumach reflect on the Cubs' draft strategy this year and break down how different it is compared to past seasons. Additionally, they provide insights on all 21 of the team's selections in this year's MLB Draft:

1. Cade Townsend, 2. Caden Sorrell, 2C. Myles Bailey, 3. Carson Jasa, 4. Dylan Marionneaux, 5. Dylan Blomker, 6. Isaac Morton, 7. Cole Tryba, 8. Lance Williams, 9. Chase Meyer, 10. Luke Alwood, 11. Ariston Veasey, 12. Brandon Arvidson, 13. Emanuel Hernandez, 14. Corey Nunez, 15. Griffin Naess, 16. Ahston Pocol, 17. Ryan Marton, 18. Luke McGrath, 19. Luke Guth, 20. Brennan Hudson

Topics on this week's episode with Greg Huss and Bryan Smith:

• Ethan Conrad and Brody McCullough rehab appearances
• Grant Kipp promoted to Iowa
• Cole Mathis traded to the Mets
• Kaleb Wing leaves his start early
• An in-depth breakdown of 6 catchers in the system: Owen Ayers, Logan Poteet, Ariel Armas, Justin Stransky, Miguel Useche, and Jose Silva

Topics on this week's episode with Greg Huss and Greg Zumach:

• News and notes in the system: Jaxon Wiggins return from injury, Knoxville wins the division, Cameron Sisneros traded, Jace Beck is legit, and Ethan Conrad close to a return
• A comprehensive preview of the Cubs 2026 draft including who they might select at 23 and who this year's Josiah Hartshorn might be
• An opportunity to rip into the ridiculous proposal MLB owners put together regarding future MLB Drafts: cutting the number of rounds from 20 to 12, cutting the bonuses given out in half, eliminating high school players from the draft, and plenty more

On this week's episode, Greg Huss and Bryan Smith discuss what everyone else in the world is discussing -- Josiah Hartshorn, Owen Ayers, Jefferson Rojas, and Pedro Ramirez.

Each of the four Cubs prospects have had outrageously impressive seasons so far and the guys answer a few questions:

• Who is the 1st half MVP?
• Who has had the most surprising season?
• What jump in rankings is most believable?

On a livestream (that operates equally as good in podcast form), Greg Huss is joined by CHGO's Brendan Miller. In addition to a little more MLB Cubs chatter sprinkled into the episode than is typical for this show, the guys discuss some of the breakout performers on the farm this year including Josiah Harthsorn, Jefferson Rojas, Owen Ayers (each of whom had massive weeks), Mason McGwire, and Pierce Coppola. The duo also breaks down how we should feel about the state of the system in comparison to the our thoughts preseason.

On this week's episode with Greg Huss and Bryan Smith, the guys evaluate the start of the year for 15 Cubs prospects and determine whether their hot starts AND cold starts are legit or if they will regress to the mean.

• Hot Bats: Owen Ayers, Cole Mathis, Ty Southisene, Brett Bateman
• Cold Bats: Kade Snell, Ariel Armas, Alexey Lumpuy, Jonathon Long
• Hot Arms: Mason McGwire, Dominick Reid, Marino Santy
• Cold Arms: JP Wheat, Jackson Kirkpatrick, Erian Rodriguez, Nazier Mule

Greg Huss is joined by Iowa Cubs broadcaster Jason Kempf! Topics include:

• What coaches think about Pedro Ramirez's breakout
• Has BJ Murray Jr. been just as impressive as Pedro?
• Why is Jonathon Long struggling so much at the plate?
• How does Kevin Alcantara fit on the MLB roster?
• James Triantos is doing typical James Triantos things
• Is Brett Bateman the (second) most patient hitter in all of baseball?
• An insane revolving door of pitchers on the Iowa roster
• Why veteran pitchers continue to re-sign with the Cubs to play in Des Moines

We all know the top pitching prospect in the Cubs organization is Jaxon Wiggins. But after him, who are the top arms in the system? Greg Huss and Bryan Smith make the case for a handful of arms:

Kaleb Wing, Dominick Reid, Brooks Caple, Brandon Birdsell, Mason McGwire, and Pierce Coppola

Greg Huss is joined by Greg Zumach on this live version of the podcast to talk:

• Brooks Caple and Mason McGwire's mini-breakouts
• Draft approach to catchers
• Is the organization's catching the best it has been in the last decade?
• Untouchable prospects in trades