Josiah Hartshorn didn’t just finish the season strong for the South Bend Cubs - he left with a new benchmark in the books.
The Chicago Cubs’ No. 1 prospect became the first Cubs minor leaguer since Corey Patterson to pile up 100 RBI in a season as a teenager, and he also established a new South Bend record for RBI at High-A Ball earlier in September. That milestone came with a little extra thunder, too: Hartshorn launched a huge homer to right field for his 18th with South Bend when he drove in his 82nd RBI for the club, setting the team mark in just 79 games.
What makes the number even louder is the timeline. Hartshorn didn’t arrive in South Bend until the final week of May, yet he still pushed his season totals to 110 RBI, 23 home runs and 89 runs scored across 122 games. He finished with a .289/.411/.528 slash line and a 143 wRC+.
The production at High-A was even sharper. In 83 games with South Bend after his May 26 debut, the 19-year-old switch-hitter hit .297/.405/.560 with 18 home runs, 17 doubles and four triples. For a player drafted in the sixth round out of high school in 2025 and making his pro debut this year, that’s a rapid climb.
Hartshorn spent the first eight weeks of the season with Myrtle Beach, then took over the Midwest League before moving on to become one of the top 30 prospects in MLB. The Cubs’ minor league season now shifts to the postseason, with South Bend opening Division Series play Tuesday night against Quad Cities.
As for what comes next, Hartshorn is expected to start the 2027 season at Double-A with the Knoxville Smokies. That would be a strong step for any 20-year-old, but the bar for Hartshorn is already rising fast, and a look in the Cubs’ outfield as soon as next summer is very much on the table if he keeps this pace going.
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