Josiah Hartshorn’s first season in the minors keeps getting louder.
The Cubs’ No. 1 prospect, a switch-hitting slugger and MLB Pipeline’s No. 39 overall prospect for 2026, reached another major benchmark on Tuesday when he blasted a solo home run for the South Bend Cubs. The 19-year-old sent a 3-1 pitch to center field in the eighth inning of South Bend’s 4-3 loss to the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the High-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.
That swing did more than add another number to the home run column. Hartshorn now has 21 homers on the year, and the blast also brought him to 100 RBIs for the season. He’s only the fifth player in the minor leagues to hit triple digits in RBIs in 2026, and he’s done it in the opening act of his pro career.
Chicago took Hartshorn in the sixth round of the 2025 MLB Draft out of Orange Lutheran High School in California, and he’s wasted little time making the pick look smart. Across 111 games this season, he’s batting .285 with a .403 on-base percentage and a .923 OPS, while adding 21 homers, 100 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.
His path through the Cubs system has been fast and productive. Hartshorn opened his pro career with the Single-A Myrtle Beach Pelicans, where he played 39 games and hit .273 with five home runs and 25 RBIs.
The real surge came after his promotion to High-A South Bend at the end of May. In 72 High-A games, he’s hitting .291 with 16 homers and 75 RBIs.
His RBI total also puts him ahead of several other well-known prospects on the minor league leaderboard, including the Detroit Tigers’ Zyhir Hope, the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Josue De Paula, and the Brewers’ Andrew Fischer, who currently leads the minors in homers.
Hartshorn has also shown early versatility in the field, logging time at first base, right field and center field during his pro debut. That kind of defensive flexibility should only help as he keeps climbing. Based on the bat he’s carrying right now, it wouldn’t be a surprise if the 2025 sixth-rounder opens next season mashing in Double-A.
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