Carson Wolf

@TheWrigleyWire • 7,727 subscribers

Chicago Cubs News, Stats, Breakdowns | Minor League Coverage | @JustBB_Media

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Carson Wolf

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Josiah Hartshorn homers again, this time from the right side! He’s now 6-for-9 with 3 XBH and 10 RBI in his first four High-A games.

Daniel Palencia sat 100.4 mph and topped out at 102.0 mph in his outing with Iowa tonight. The Cubs should have a key piece in their bullpen back in the mix very soon.

Since 2024, there have been 27 batted balls hit between 108-109 mph at a 32° LA. 25 of those 27 went for HR and they averaged 419 ft. Yesterday, Ian Happ hit a ball 108.5 mph at a 32° LA, but it only went 320 ft. The wind was not friendly at Wrigley on Opening Day.

Cade Horton is already sitting 96 and touching 98 this spring, per Sahadev Sharma. He averaged 95.7 mph on the fastball last year during a 2.67 ERA, NL ROY runner-up campaign.

I mean come on

Japanese star Kazuma Okamoto is projected to get a 3 year, $36 million MLB contract by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. Okamoto posted a 210 wRC+ with elite bat-to-ball skills on display on top of his .598 slug. In 2025 he played 52 games at 3B, 27 games at 1B and 15 games in LF in 2024.

Pete Crow-Armstrong's bat speed is up early in 2026. So far, it's sitting at 76.2 mph, a 3.5 mph increase from 2025 and the largest jump in MLB. It's a small sample, but a trend worth following.

On April 11, the Cubs were 6-8 with injuries piling up. Asked about the slow start, Craig Counsell said: “It’s gonna turn. It’s gonna happen.” Since then (MLB ranks): 19-4 record 141 R (1st) .374 OBP (1st) .480 SLG (2nd) 140 wRC+ (1st) 0.60 BB/K (1st) It turned.

What got lost this weekend was that Pete Crow-Armstrong made two 5-star catches in the Dodgers series. That’s tied for the most by any player all season and more than the entire Dodgers outfield combined. He’s up to five on the year.

Ben Brown’s ranks among pitchers with at least 50 IP: 1.92 ERA - 7th 2.19 FIP - 4th 0.93 WHIP - 5th .178 BAA - 3rd 0.17 HR/9 - 2nd 51.5% GB% - 8th Putting together an ELITE season.

Pete Crow-Armstrong recorded his 10th 5-Star catch of the year last night. He leads all of MLB in that category by a margin of seven.

The Cubs are signing right-handed reliever Trent Thornton, per Tread Athletics. Thornton missed time with injury in 2025, but in 2024 he was excellent, posting a 3.61 ERA across 72.1 innings. He’s got some filth, a 108 Stuff+ in 2024, including three different fastball looks.

A slowed-down close-up of Tatsuya Imai’s gyro-spin slider, a pitch that can generate arm-side movement. It will be one of MLB’s most unique pitches next season and generated a 47% whiff rate in 2025.

Matt Shaw leads off tonight with a 408-foot double off Gavin Williams. He’s now batting .353 with a .952 OPS this spring. Entered tonight with an 88.5 mph avg EV — up 4.2 mph from 2025.

Kevin Alcantara got a hanging sweeper and did not miss it: 110.2 mph | 26° LA | 440 ft The power is extremely exciting, though he has still struggled with whiff/strikeout rates early.

Cubs No. 2 prospect Jaxon Wiggins today: 2.0 IP | 0 H | 1 BB | 2 K | 0 R Fastball up to 99.6 mph and he induced whiffs with his changeup and curveball.

Kane Kepley is 2/2 today and a double and a triple. He’s one of the most exciting prospects in the system, combining contact, speed, defense, and aggressiveness on the bases. Reached base 54 times in 28 G after getting drafted in 2025.

Riley Martin this season: 6.1 IP | 4 H | 0 R | 0 BB | 7 K He has not been phased by big league pressure and has really performed well early.

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Pete Crow-Armstrong yesterday: Top 3 - 101.7 mph Single Top 5 - 110.3 mph Double Top 8 - 114.6 mph Home Run Top 9 - 98.2 mph Single Bottom 9 - 5 Star Catch (5% Catch Prob) Since being moved to the leadoff spot: .290/.410/.484 — 156 wRC+ 81.1% Hard-Hit% | .517 xwOBA | 0.5 fWAR

Pete Crow-Armstrong has been making elite contact over the last two weeks: 25 hard-hit balls (T-1st in MLB) 71.4% Hard-Hit% (3rd) 96.0 mph EV (5th) It’s been driven by much better swing decisions: 31.3% O-Swing% 21.4% K% 12.5% BB% This looks like the best version of PCA yet.

Here’s a video of every pitch PCA saw yesterday. A very patient approach, did not chase at all, delivered quality at-bats, and hit the ball hard. Results will follow if he continues a similar approach to this. I’d like to see him get more looks in the leadoff spot.

Cubs 2025 first rounder Ethan Conrad faced Trevor Bauer in live ABs on Bauer’s YouTube channel. He had a couple really impressive swings.

Moisés Ballesteros pinch hit in the 7th inning today. He had two at-bats, saw three total pitches, and hit two doubles. Through 57 ABs: .392/.439/.647 — 202 wRC+ 3 HR | 9 R | 11 RBI 17.5% K% | 8.8% BB% Mo can ball.

Went back and counted how many times Padres pitchers went up and in on Cubs hitters this week. By my count, 12. A lot of offspeed and likely no intent, but still that’s a lot. Here are all 12:

Pete Crow-Armstrong’s least probable catches from the 2025 season

.Jon Heyman on the Cubs spending habits: (Via Bleacher Report)

Kevin Alcantara crushes his 4th HR of the year: 105.6 mph | 30° LA | 384 ft He’s off to a scorching hot start with 6 XBH and an 1.133 OPS through 27 at-bats.

The Cubs defense made some unbelievable plays tonight

I’m not sure any hitter benefits more from ABS than Seiya Suzuki

The field umpire ruled that Nico Hoerner blocked Oneil Cruz’s path to the base on this SB attempt. Nico argued he didn’t slide over until after securing the throw. Looked like a clear lane and should’ve been a caught stealing, in my opinion.

Revisiting the Kris Bryant trade: Cubs received: - OF Alexander Canario (21 G with CHC, DFA’d, traded to Mets) - RHP Caleb Kilian (9.22 ERA in 8 MLB games with Cubs) Giants received: - Kris Bryant (.262/.344/.444 in 51 G for SF before signing with COL)

Kevin Alcántara belts his minor league leading 12th homer of the year: 102.8 mph, 426 ft The guy just has not stopped hitting bombs.

Cubs prospect Mason McGwire this season: 26.0 IP 1.73 ERA 1.00 WHIP 36.5% K% 8.7% BB% .181 BAA 16.0% SwStr% His 27.9% K-BB% leads the system among pitchers with at least 20 IP this year.

Ben Brown has posted a 1.99 ERA across 22.2 innings this season. After adding a sinker in the offseason, he’s limiting hard contact while still striking out opponents at a high rate. Here are 60 seconds of whiffs from this season:

Moises Ballesteros went 3-for-3 on challenges in the 3rd inning today. Here’s all 3 pitches:

Cade Horton tonight: 5.0 IP | 3 H | 1 R | 10 K 21 Whiffs (51%) His stuff looked as good as it ever has — generating whiffs with four different pitch types.

Nico Hoerner over his last… 10 games .383/.408/.617 — 8.2% K% 25 games .320/.388/.505 — 12.1% K% 50 games .333/.389/.510 — 9.0% K% 100 games .308/.368/.443 — 8.4% K% 162 games .303/.354/.420 — 8.1% K% 250 games .301/.349/.407 — 8.3% K% The most consistent player in MLB.

Kris Bryant’s 2016 MVP season: .292/.385/.554 — 148 wRC+ 39 HR | 121 R | 102 RBI | 7.5 fWAR Every home run from that year (incl. postseason)