Moises Ballesteros – Pic by Todd Johnson

The news took its own sweet time this week unfolding a little bit each day. While there were a few minor league signings, nothing major. In spite of that, there were some cool bits that took place.

I’ve mentioned several times this winter that the Cubs are a little short on left-handed pitching. This week, they went out and picked up a minor league free agent in Richard Lovelady, who had been working on some stuff at Driveline, but previously pitched for the A’s. The Cubs also picked up right hander Sam McWilliams, formerly of the Rays. Neither have a lot of MLB experience but both were assigned to Iowa along with fellow lefty and former Pirate Blake Weiman, who they signed last week.

In addition, South Bend rolled out the fact that Max Thoma and Brendan King will be back at South Bend doing games on radio and TV, and that will probably include Marquee’s Road to the Show!

Tweet of the Week

I literally laughed out loud!

Rankings and Other News

While there were no team prospect lists coming out this week, ESPN and Baseball America ($) released their rankings for minor league farm systems. The Cubs came in at number four at Baseball America and popped all the way up to number two at ESPN. I think we should just enjoy this for what it is as the Cubs will have a large wave of players at AA and higher in 2024. They have some guys who could pop this year in Myrtle Beach and South Bend, but the majority of the top prospects will be in Tennessee and Iowa.

Over at Pipeline, Moises Ballesteros seemed to be the guy who got the most pub this week. The first article he was written about was 10 prospects who just missed the top 100 list. In fact, he was the first guy listed that bodes well for him getting on the list probably as early as May. Here’s what they said of the Cubs hitting phenom:

Ranked eighth on our Top 10 catching list – making him the first backstop off the Top 100 – Ballesteros climbed three levels in his age-19 season from Single-A to Double-A and slashed .285/.374/.449 with 14 homers over 117 games along the way. He was one of only two Minor League catchers with at least 14 homers and a strikeout rate below 16 percent in 2023, and the other (Jonathan Morales) was eight years his senior. He still needs ample development defensively, and he struggled against sameside left-handers, hitting only .208 with a .286 slugging percentage against them. Some evaluators have drawn Alejandro Kirk comparisons to the 5-foot-7 backstop, and time remains on his side as he’ll still only be 20 for the entire 2024 campaign.

Sadly, Jackson Ferris just missed the top 100 list, too.

As well, Ballesteros got some nubbin’ as the organization’s top prospect outside the top 100. I just get the feeling that it is not going to take him long to make it as a top 100 prospect with his bat.

Good luck to lefty Brandon Hughes who signed with the Diamondbacks this week. After getting injured last year, he did not make it back to the big league club.

One final note…Former DSL outfielder Oferman Hernandez is now on the voluntary retired list at the age of 20. After 3 seasons, he just could not get the bat going. I wish him luck as I always enjoyed his workout videos on Instagram.

Pictures of the Week

I am rolling with Rich this week as he got some snaps of my guy, Angel Cepeda!

Video of the Week

Best News of the Week

Last year, I interviewed poet Sandra Marchetti about her book Aisle 228, a collection of poems about the Cubs. This week she won a “Book of the Year” award for her mastery of words! That is just so cool!

Poll of the Week

This fits in well with tomorrow’s post. (See next section).

Coming Up on North Side Bound

The Position Rankings Series concludes tomorrow. It’s been a fun two-plus months as I broke down each position in the system. The outfielders, for the third straight year, take the top spot. However, this might be the last year as Shortstops look primed to take over in a year, especially if PCA, Canario, and Caissie get to the majors (See Poll Above).

The Breakout Series also wraps up this week with a look at Jaxon Wiggins. I will also wrap up the Affiliate Sneak Peek Series this week where I take a look at Mesa’s infield, who seem to have all shortstops! I’m joking….but not really.

So, what will the rest of the content in February be filled with? Mailbag posts!!!

You can tweet at us @NSideBound or email us at NorthSideBoundMail@gmail.com. We are still taking questions! You can also comment down below.

Jam of the Week

I am going back to my high school years this week. As a teenager, I was really into Traffic and Blind Faith. So when Steve Winwood put out his second solo album “Arc of a Diver,” I was stunned at the amount of synths. I was also initially stunned that I just plain loved it!!! Here’s the first single, “While You See a Chance.”