Josiah Hartshorn and Owen Ayers both broke into MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 after the latest update, and that only sharpened the picture of where the Chicago Cubs’ farm system stands right now.
Hartshorn came in at No. 39, while Ayers checked in at No. 93 for his first appearance on the list. Their rise lined up with the Cubs’ approach at the 2026 trade deadline, which made it pretty obvious how much value the organization places on both players.
If Chicago had dealt Hartshorn, it sounds like the only kind of return that would have made sense was Tarik Skubal. And for a club that has had trouble generating steady power in the majors, Hartshorn looks like the kind of homegrown slugger the system has been waiting to produce.
He’s still only 19, so nobody should be penciling him in as a direct answer for Ian Happ or Seiya Suzuki, both of whom are free agents this offseason. Even so, the way he’s handled High-A has created a real possibility that he could end the season in Double-A Knoxville. Through 274 plate appearances, Hartshorn is hitting .282/.404/.514, and the performance has been loud enough to suggest he’s ready for the next step.
Ayers is further along. There’s growing belief he could get to the majors as soon as this season, and with Carson Kelly set to become a free agent, it would not be a surprise if Ayers is part of next year’s catching tandem.
While Hartshorn and Ayers are already drawing national attention, Ethan Conrad may be the prospect who finishes the year making the biggest noise. He still isn’t on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100, but after finally getting healthy and making his professional debut this season, he has caught fire since August began.
Entering Friday, Conrad had 15 hits in his last 46 plate appearances, along with two home runs. A move to High-A before the season ends feels very possible.
When the Cubs took Conrad in the first round of the 2025 draft, the message was clear: the front office believed in his hit tool. That belief is starting to show up on the field. If this run keeps going, he won’t be far from MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 himself.
Taken together, 2026 has to be considered a strong year for the Cubs’ farm system. It helped at the deadline, too, because Jed Hoyer had the kind of urgency that comes from having real talent to work with. And looking ahead, the system still appears loaded with position players, while this summer’s draft should give pitching development another boost.
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