https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/page/32/?d=1News: Newsenhttps://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-prospect-brett-bateman-might-be-closer-to-the-big-leagues-than-you-think-r6847/Brett Bateman just missed our ranking of the Cubs' top 20 prospects this spring, but his performance in the Cactus League might already be proving us wrong. How close might he be to helping the parent club? Painting the Picture Bateman has already proven to be a steal. Since being drafted...6847Fri, 13 Mar 2026 14:10:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-in-the-top-100-jaxon-wiggins-r6842/Boasting one of the best fastballs in the minor leagues, Jaxon Wiggins turned in a really impressive 2025 season and is a few small improvements away from potentially helping the Cubs as soon as 2026. View the full article6842Fri, 13 Mar 2026 12:43:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/chicago-cubs-2026-top-20-prospects-no-4-kevin-alc%C3%A1ntara-r6839/Having already examined the top 16 prospects in the Chicago Cubs' system as voted on by our North Side Baseball writers, we now turn to a player that has appeared on the cusp for a couple of years now: Kevin Alcantara. Don't forget to catch up on our previous pieces before you jump into our next...6839Fri, 13 Mar 2026 11:57:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-spring-training-news-roundup-matthew-boyd-gets-opening-day-nod-r6826/The Cubs delegation to the World Baseball Classic has represented the team admirably. Pool play eliminated Novena México, but that was no fault of Javier Assad, who pitched eight solid innings for them. Meanwhile, Daniel Palencia, Alex Bregman and Matthew Boyd went along for the ride as Team Ven...6826Thu, 12 Mar 2026 22:09:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/so-far-no-hitter-has-benefited-more-from-abs-than-michael-busch-r6816/Michael Busch has only challenged two calls this spring under the new ABS system, but he's won both times. Just as importantly, he's mounted them, even though (based on the array of pitches he's seen and taken) Statcast's model for predicting how many challenges each hitter would utilize only ex...6816Thu, 12 Mar 2026 17:03:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-in-the-top-100-moises-ballesteros-r6807/One of the best prospect hitters, Moises Ballesteros, is primed to help a Cubs team in win-now mode in 2026. How exactly does he fit in? View the full article6807Thu, 12 Mar 2026 13:15:00 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/chicago-cubs-2026-top-20-prospects-no-5-jonathon-long-r6803/North Side Baseball's top-20 prospect rankings for the Chicago Cubs have reached the final quarter. That rundown continues today, with a look at our No. 5 prospect: corner infielder Jonathon Long. Don't forget to catch up on our previous pieces before you jump into our next installment! ...6803Thu, 12 Mar 2026 11:50:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/the-cubs-gambled-on-a-healthy-hunter-harvey-this-winter-theyre-winning-r6793/When healthy, Hunter Harvey has consistently demonstrated the ability to dominate big-league batters. He has a 3.11 career ERA and has struck out 26.8% of the hitters he's faced. However, good health never seems to last long for him, which made him available relatively cheaply this winter. The C...6793Wed, 11 Mar 2026 23:02:53 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/cubs-expectation-setting-what-can-fans-reasonably-expect-from-pete-crow-armstrong-in-2026-r6786/One of the more important developments for the 2025 Chicago Cubs was the evolution of Pete Crow-Armstrong from elite defender to all-around impact player. After finishing well into the below-average end of the wRC+ threshold in 2024 (86), Crow-Armstrong launched his offensive contribution up to...6786Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:05:01 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/5-questions-still-unanswered-about-cubs-position-players-this-spring-r6787/This has been a very tricky spring for forecasting the Chicago Cubs' Opening Day roster—and even (since that exercise is a bit of rosterbation, really, and not an especially vital question) the broader utility plan for the team's positional corps. With two key players away from the team to parti...6787Wed, 11 Mar 2026 16:01:16 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/chicago-cubs-2026-top-20-prospects-no-6-ethan-conrad-r6776/Today we continue on with breaking down the top-20 prospects (as voted on by North Side Baseball staff) by looking at our sixth-ranked prospect, Ethan Conrad. Don't forget to catch up on our previous pieces before you jump into our next installment!  Prospects #20-16 Prospects #15...6776Wed, 11 Mar 2026 10:53:02 +0000https://diamondcentric.net/news-rumors/north-side-baseball/why-you-dont-need-to-sweat-cade-hortons-ugly-spring-numbers-r6769/One surefire way to earn the scorn of a big-league player or manager is to take spring training results seriously. They don't matter, and although fans' instincts are often to hunt for the rare times and places when they do matter, players and teams roll their eyes at such efforts. Front offices...6769Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:09:02 +0000