Cubs On Deck

Greg Huss, Greg Zumach, and Bryan Smith discuss the Cubs' options as to who they should protect from the Rule 5 Draft. What prospects get added to the 40-man roster and who might get poached by another team? The trio runs through a whole host of names after the obvious selection -- Owen Caissie. The guys end the show by answering a few listener questions!

In this episode, Greg Huss is joined by Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year Brandon Birdsell. The righty covers all sorts of topics including his funky delivery, an uptick in stuff this year, a battle against a teammate for the most innings, how he manipulates the baseball, and plenty more.

In the first player interview of the offseason, Greg Huss is joined by Iowa Cubs reliever Riley Martin. The guys talk...

• Transitioning from college starter to pro reliever
• The journey from a 5th year senior in Division 2 to being one step away from the big leagues
• His competitive nature on the mound
• A hot finish to the year
• Things he's working on over the offseason

Topics on the first episode of the offseason with Greg Huss and Brendan Miller:

• The Arizona Fall League has started and we FINALLY have the chance to run through the Cubs players assigned to the league
• A comprehensive look into whether the Cubs should be more aggressive in promoting their prospects to the Majors Leagues including past examples, pros, cons, types of players that it works best for, and who might fit the bill next year

Greg Huss, Greg Zumach, and Bryan Smith hand out 20 total awards on the 2nd edition of the Cubs On Deck Award Show. They span from standard ones like Hitter of the Year to weird ones like the I-80 Road Warrior Award followed by superlatives like Most Power and Best Breaking Ball.

A huge thanks to everyone for tuning in each week this season. Your support has been absolutely incredible and we appreciate each and every one of you!

Hosts Greg Huss and Alex Cohen break down a whole host of prospects that currently call Iowa home: Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcantara, Matt Shaw, James Triantos, Moises Ballesteros, Ed Howard, Brandon Birdsell, Connor Noland, and Michael Arias.

Topics on this week's episode with Greg Huss and Greg Zumach:

• Storylines from the Myrtle Beach Pelicans season
• Storylines from the South Bend Cubs season
• Tracking Baseball America's Top 100 list and where Cubs prospects have fallen on it over the course of the season (spoiler: it doesn't look as good now compared to the middle of summer)
• State of the System

Cubs On Deck's apparel today was provided by Travis Mathew

Topics on today's episode with Greg Huss and Bryan Smith:

• Cam Smith's hot performance to start off his pro career and if we see him finish the season in Tennessee
• James Triantos crazy stolen base numbers and what it means for his long-term projection
• Predictions for the Arizona Fall League including Moises Ballesteros, Ben Cowles, Brody McCullough, and Luis Rujano
• How the hot Smokies got into the playoffs

Greg Zumach flies solo for this episode as he answers plenty of your questions from draft classes through guys knocking on the door to Chicago!

Topics on this week's episode with Greg Huss and Bryan Smith:

- Cade Horton and Ben Brown's extended absences due to injury and what it means for their projection in future seasons
- Why the Cubs system was ranked outside the top 10 by both ESPN and Baseball America
- Estimating when Owen Caissie, Moises Ballesteros, Matt Shaw, James Triantos, and Kevin Alcantara will make their MLB debuts
- A deep dive into the success of Brandon Birdsell