Cubs On Deck

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

• Ethan Conrad and Brody McCullough rehab appearances
• Grant Kipp promoted to Iowa
• Cole Mathis traded to the Mets
• Kaleb Wing leaves his start early
• An in-depth breakdown of 6 catchers in the system: Owen Ayers, Logan Poteet, Ariel Armas, Justin Stransky, Miguel Useche, and Jose Silva

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

• News and notes in the system: Jaxon Wiggins return from injury, Knoxville wins the division, Cameron Sisneros traded, Jace Beck is legit, and Ethan Conrad close to a return
• A comprehensive preview of the Cubs 2026 draft including who they might select at 23 and who this year's Josiah Hartshorn might be
• An opportunity to rip into the ridiculous proposal MLB owners put together regarding future MLB Drafts: cutting the number of rounds from 20 to 12, cutting the bonuses given out in half, eliminating high school players from the draft, and plenty more

On this week's episode, Greg Huss and Bryan Smith discuss what everyone else in the world is discussing -- Josiah Hartshorn, Owen Ayers, Jefferson Rojas, and Pedro Ramirez.

Each of the four Cubs prospects have had outrageously impressive seasons so far and the guys answer a few questions:

1.  Who is the 1st half MVP?
2. Who has had the most surprising season?
3. What jump in rankings is most believable?

On a livestream (that operates equally as good in podcast form), Greg Huss is joined by CHGO's Brendan Miller. In addition to a little more MLB Cubs chatter sprinkled into the episode than is typical for this show, the guys discuss some of the breakout performers on the farm this year including Josiah Harthsorn, Jefferson Rojas, Owen Ayers (each of whom had massive weeks), Mason McGwire, and Pierce Coppola. The duo also breaks down how we should feel about the state of the system in comparison to the our thoughts preseason.

On this week's episode with Greg Huss and Bryan Smith, the guys evaluate the start of the year for 15 Cubs prospects and determine whether their hot starts AND cold starts are legit or if they will regress to the mean.

• Hot Bats: Owen Ayers, Cole Mathis, Ty Southisene, Brett Bateman
• Cold Bats: Kade Snell, Ariel Armas, Alexey Lumpuy, Jonathon Long
• Hot Arms: Mason McGwire, Dominick Reid, Marino Santy
• Cold Arms: JP Wheat, Jackson Kirkpatrick, Erian Rodriguez, Nazier Mule

Greg Huss is joined by Iowa Cubs broadcaster Jason Kempf! Topics include:

• What coaches think about Pedro Ramirez's breakout
• Has BJ Murray Jr. been just as impressive as Pedro?
• Why is Jonathon Long struggling so much at the plate?
• How does Kevin Alcantara fit on the MLB roster?
• James Triantos is doing typical James Triantos things
• Is Brett Bateman the (second) most patient hitter in all of baseball?
• An insane revolving door of pitchers on the Iowa roster
• Why veteran pitchers continue to re-sign with the Cubs to play in Des Moines

We all know the top pitching prospect in the Cubs organization is Jaxon Wiggins. But after him, who are the top arms in the system? Greg Huss and Bryan Smith make the case for a handful of arms:

Kaleb Wing, Dominick Reid, Brooks Caple, Brandon Birdsell, Mason McGwire, and Pierce Coppola

Greg Huss is joined by Greg Zumach on this live version of the podcast to talk:

• Brooks Caple and Mason McGwire's mini-breakouts
• Draft approach to catchers
• Is the organization's catching the best it has been in the last decade?
• Untouchable prospects in trades

Greg Huss and Bryan Smith spend the entire episode talking about one player: Pedro Ramirez. The infielder has quickly put himself on the national prospect radar with an unbelievably hot start in Triple-A. The guys talk about how he got to this point in his career, what he's doing so well this season, and how he fits into the Chicago Cubs' plans - both this season and into the future.

Topics on this week's episode with Greg Huss and new voice of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, Joey Robertson:

• Joey's career journey to Myrtle Beach
• Hitting prospects Cole Mathis, Josiah Hartshorn, Michael Carico, Jose Escobar, and others
• Pitching prospects Dominick Reid, Mason McGwire, Hayden Frank, and others