North Side Bound’s combined top 30 prospect list signals the end of the “21 Rebuild Era” and points toward a new era this summer – North Side Bound

Jefferson Rojas – Image by Todd Johnson

Compiling the combined list is always difficult because we never know how many players we need to assign points to. Some years most of us have at least 30, while others have 40 or 50 names listed. It’s kind of a wait-and-see process as we determine how prospects receive points.

Here’s a fun part of our lists: We all named our individual lists differently this year – a winter list, a preseason 2025 list, an offseason list, and an end-of-season list. I giggled. However…..

Here are the individual lists of the week.

Greg Huss | Rich Biesterfeld | Todd Johnson | Greg Zumach

Our combined list is a bittersweet list.

Come July, our summer prospect lists will be missing several names of players who made it past Triple-A and made it to Chicago or were traded for MLB talent. It is almost the end of the “Era of Reconstruction 21” and we are about to stand on the threshold of a new era of hopefully sustainable development. It will be an exciting year 2025 when it comes to prospect lists.

This year we selected 30 for our combined list.

1. Matt Shaw

It was unanimous and I don’t have to tell you why. As winter approaches and trade talks continue, it looks like he could be the candidate to start the season on the Opening Day roster.

What Rich Biesterfield said:

Even though he spent less time at the higher level, his numbers actually improved. It looked like he would make adjustments in the first half of the year and take off after that. Add to that a successful stint for Team USA in the Premier 12 tournament, and Matt appears to be knocking on the door of the Major Leagues.

2. Owen Caissie

With no youth moves this offseason, it’s pretty clear he’ll get his chance in 2025. I’m not sure what role that will be because we still have three months and two weeks until opening day. In between, there could be a trade that frees up his spot, there could be a trade that involves him, or there could be a trade that blocks him. Either way, there’s not much left for him to do in Iowa

What Greg Huss said:

I present to you a self-made mid-range racket. He’s the only one in the system and the first since Willson Contreras to crack Triple-A. He may not hit 30 homers in years 25 and 26, but he will hit multiple seasons throughout his career. You can see how he gradually works on the development goals every week. Pull the ball in the air more, see left-handed hitters better, improve against righty shifts, and become a good defensive corner outfielder.

3. Moises Ballesteros

Yes, he is ready. Now it’s just a matter of time.

Greg Zumach said:

“Mo Baller” was just incredibly impressive. What he does on the field is something we haven’t seen from a Cubs prospect in decades. It’s easy to forget that he’s 20 (!) years old and has done well in AAA.

4. Cade Horton

Since he missed most of 2024, he dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 in the blink of an eye. However, things could change a lot for him as he will be in big league camp on the first day of spring training. Most likely, the Cubs will manage his innings in 2025, and that could happen at the MLB level. Don’t be surprised.

What I said:

I could see Horton being a bullpen arm at some point toward the end of the first half.

5. Kevin Alcantara

If he can survive the trade rumors, Alcantara is close to Chicago. He probably needs another 300-400 ABs in Iowa before he’s probably ready to finish development in Chicago, otherwise he could be traded this summer.

What Greg Huss said:

Because of the roster construction and because anyone out there believes the Force will be in full force in the game, the likelihood of him being dealt this offseason is the highest and the opportunity to give him time to watch, how it becomes reality.

6. Cam Smith

Yes, he’s an exciting guy, isn’t he? The fact that he is ranked No. 6 on this list suggests that big things will happen for him in Knoxville this summer.

What Rich Biesterfeld said:

Cam roared through the system, making stops in Myrtle Beach and South Bend and joining the Smokies on their playoff run. He gained national attention by hitting a home run in six straight games. Cam will most likely begin the season in AA and build on his success while facing more advanced pitchers.

7. James Triantos

I’m excited to see where he’ll play at Iowa if Matt Shaw transfers to Wrigley. Will it be the second? Third? Outfield? Is it all over? The latter may seem like the perfect solution, especially since he looks blocked for a while.

What Greg Zumach said:

Triantos continues to strike. He had a brief experience in AAA and especially with outside publications highlighting his strong work at second base this season, the chances for James to make his major league debut in 2025 are pretty strong.

8. Jefferson Rojas

I see the potential. You can see the potential. That’s the easy part. The hard part is actually getting out of High-A baseball. Achieving this requires consistency at the plate and in the field. If he starts at Double-A in 2025, that’s still a tall order for someone who won’t turn 20 until April.

You read the hint I made correctly. He will be only 19 years old at the start of the year and will probably reach Double-A!

What Greg Huss said:

According to my BASH metric (103), it was a pretty average season offensively for the 19-year-old, but there were things that stood out to me, such as his increased exit velocity and his insanely low swinging strikes lead percentage a meager 15.3% strikeout rate, good for third best in the system this year. The Cubs were extremely aggressive with Rojas, moving him up to High-A as a teenager in 2024 and giving him plenty of play with the major league team in spring training.

9. Jaxon Wiggins

At the moment, his potential is somewhat unlimited. Now that his rehab is over, things should start to sink in for him. Sometime in 2025, Knoxville should be printed on his airline ticket and entered into his map app from South Bend.

What I said:

Now that Jaxon Wiggins can work on pitching things this winter instead of rehabbing, he could take a big step in his development. Wiggins could start the year in Knoxville. However, the Cubs have been known to extend their stay at one level just to give them a soft landing spot early in the year. It will be one of the major storylines at the start of the year.

10. Brandon Birdsell

I’m really happy for this guy! Since beginning his Cub career with South Bend in 2023, he has dominated at virtually every level of the system. He works hard and has great stuff, but what impresses me most is that he adapts. He tries new things. He might be the most coachable pitcher the Cubs have had since 2012 and the start of the rebuild.

Greg Huss Thoughts

Birdie has moved up 24 spots on my prospect list since this time last year, and that’s because stuff has gotten incredibly better thanks to the increase in speed and the introduction of a cutter that he manipulates in various ways. His fastball, cutter and slider are not three separate offerings, but rather a sliding scale of dozens of different looks. We’re already talking about a back-end starter next year.

At number 10 things start to get crazy.

Each of us at North Side Bound has our own way of doing things, and we value some people more than other writers. I don’t mind that happening. I think it’s good that we have different assessments of the perspectives. If we were all the same it would be boring. For example, I just love Eli Lovich and I think his talent and potential is much greater than anyone below him. Could it be premature or early for me to rank him at No. 12? Secure. However, if it works out for him, he will take off quickly. I could be far ahead of the curve than the other three.

Let’s look at 10-20.

11. Christian Franklin
12. Cristian Hernandez
13. Jonny Long
14. Drew Gray
15. Jack Neely
16. Pedro Ramirez
17. Erian Rodriguez
18. Cole Mathis
19. Angel Cepeda
20. Will Sanders

When it comes down to it, 11-20 has the best chance of making the top 10 when 1-7 comes to Chicago. However, once the full season begins in April, anyone aged 21 to 30 could be there. I really like Ty Southisene and Eli Lovich, while Greg Zumach is a big fan of Ronny Cruz and Rich Biesterfeld and I believe in Nazier Mule. Mr. Huss, he is optimistic about Erian Rodriguez and Drew Gray.

21. Ty Southisene
22. Brody McCullough
23. Ronny Cruz
24. Connor Noland
25. Eli Lovich
26. Michael Arias
27. Dernice Valdez
28. Caleb Kilian
29. Brett Bateman
30. Nazi mule

There were 12 other names that received votes, but the names we might want to keep an eye on most this summer are those coming from the Dominican Republic, like Fernando Cruz and Robin Ortiz, as well as some college players who didn’t see any action last year, like Matt Halbach, David Avitia, Brooks Caple and Ryan Gallagher. Any four of these guys could burst.

It will be exciting to see who develops the most between 11 and 30 when the top third of the roster makes it to Chicago. So we’ll be considering a lot of new names next summer. Let the new era begin.