Kevin Alcantara – Pic by Todd Johnson

It ‘twas a busy week for news of all kinds in the Cubs’ system.

MLB Pipeline, simply put, had it goin’ on. Between their top 10 players at each position and a top 100 list on Friday, there was little time to focus on anything else. 

Let’s begin..

Last week, we saw Cade Horton and Jordan Wicks make the top 10 pitching lists while Moises Ballesteros was the #8 ranked Catcher and both Matt Mervis and Haydn McGeary got nods at 1B in the most surprising move. This week, James Triantos slotted in as the #3  second baseman while Matt Busch was the #7 ranked third baseman, even though he will likely play 1B. And PCA got the 8 spot for outfielders. For those of you challenged by maths, that’s 8 players, three more than any other organization. And the Cubs were shut out in the Shortstop position.

As for the top 100, the Cubs placed 7 in the top 100, actually top 72. PCA was the highest at 16 and the Cubs placed 5 in the top 54.

Meanwhile, over at Baseball America, they quickly redid the Cubs top 30 list placing Michael Busch at 4 and Fernando Cruz debuts all the way up at 13. Jaxon Wiggins is at 23, which may be too low as he has spotted throwing bullpens out in Arizona.

By the end of the summer, we may all have underestimated Wiggins.

Prospect List Standings

Here are the “unofficial prospect list standings” after Pipeline’s top 100. If you noticed, Pipeline placed 7 Cubs in the top 100 leaving three Cubs left to be named for their own top 10. Most likely, those three will be Wicks, Ballesteros, and Rojas.

Transactions

The Cubs signed lefty reliever Blake Weimann after his pro day at Driveline. Drafted in 2017 out of Kansas, the 6-foot-3 lefty has pitched in the minors for the Pirates and Mariners. WIth the Cubs short on lefty pitchers of any kind, he will probably not be the last lefty signed the next two months.

Reliever Carl Edwards was re-signed by the Cubs to a minor league deal. He stands a pretty good shot at making the opening day roster. It’s always been about walks for him.

In addition, Cubs prospect Nelson Maldonado retired this week. He made it all the way to Iowa where he could not get over the Triple-A hump.

In Sad News, 2022 draft pick pitcher Mat Peters was suspended for for the season as he tested positive for a performance enhancing substance. Peters has struggled to command the baseball since signing with the Cubs in 2022.

Out in Arizona…

If you haven’t checked out Rich’s camp update from earlier this week, please do so. Lots of good stuff in there to chew on! Matt Shaw and James Triantos have been getting some infield practice at 3B and Owen Caissie was seen carrying a 1B mitt around camp.

Pictures of the Week

It is hard to select just one picture as there were so many to choose from this week. Rich Biesterfeld, John Antonoff, and Ray Rardin II all had some good shots of the players in action. For me, the choice was simple as I am really into Angel Cepeda this year as he could be one of the big risers this summer.

Award of the Week

The Iowa Cubs very own broadcaster Alex Cohen was named the Broadcaster of the Year by Ballpark Digest. Congrats to Alex on this prestigious award!

Upcoming Mailbag Posts

We could use some more questions to help get us through February and March. You can tweet at us, comment down below, or send the questions to our email at northsideboundmail@gmail.com.

Next Week at North Side Bound

On Monday, I will be breaking down the Shortstops in the system. On Wednesday, Angel Cepeda gets the breakout treatment. On Thursday, I have some random thoughts. And on Friday, the Iowa Cubs infield gets a sneak peek.

Jam of the Week

I am sticking with the Cowboy Junkies again this week. This is the beautiful and elegant Mariner’s Song off their second major label LP, The Caution Horses.