Hosts Greg Huss and Jimmy Nelligan of Cubs Insider discuss the news and notes of the Chicago Cubs Minor League system. Learn all about Chicago's stars of tomorrow with this podcast that is published every week.
The Growing Cubs: A Chicago Prospect Podcast is an absolute gem for any die-hard Cubs fan interested in the team's minor league system. From the moment I started listening, I was hooked and couldn't stop. The hosts, Greg and Jimmy, are incredibly knowledgeable and passionate about the Cubs' prospects, and their chemistry is undeniable. It's clear that they truly love what they do, and it shines through in each episode.
One of the best aspects of this podcast is the sheer amount of information provided on every Cubs prospect. Greg and Jimmy leave no stone unturned as they dive deep into each player's strengths, weaknesses, and potential impact on the major league team. They provide detailed scouting reports, analysis of players' performances, and even interviews with key figures within the organization. As a listener, you can't help but feel like you have an inside scoop on the future stars of the Cubs.
Another great aspect of The Growing Cubs is how well it hypes up listeners. Greg and Jimmy have a knack for building excitement around prospects, whether it's discussing breakout performances or projecting future success. Their enthusiasm is infectious, and it really gets you excited about the future of the Cubs organization. It's clear that they genuinely believe in these young players and want nothing more than to see them succeed in a Cubs uniform.
If there's one small downside to this podcast, it could be that it focuses solely on the Chicago Cubs' minor league system. While this is great for fans specifically interested in Cubs prospects, it might not appeal as much to those who are more generally interested in minor league baseball or prospects from other teams. However, for Cubs fans like myself who are eager to learn more about our team's future stars, The Growing Cubs delivers everything we could ask for.
In conclusion, The Growing Cubs: A Chicago Prospect Podcast is an amazing source of information and entertainment for anyone invested in the Cubs' minor league system. Greg and Jimmy are true experts, and their passion for the game and prospects is contagious. I can't recommend this podcast enough to any Cubs fan who wants to stay up-to-date on the team's future talent. Whether you're a prospect junkie or just a dedicated fan looking for some Cubs content, give The Growing Cubs a listen - you won't be disappointed. Go Cubs Go!
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The deadline for final rosters heading into the Rule 5 draft is November 15. We'll cover what Cubs players we think will be exposed to the draft, what players are most likely to be drafted, and who we think are the most intriguing prospects in the Cubs system.
On today's episode, we talk about the recent injuries to Brennen Davis (back) and Alexander Canario (leg, shoulder), and how that impacts the Cubs system. We also delve into the Arizona Fall League and Jordan's all-minor league team.
It is the end of an era. Greg and Jimmy host their final episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast together. They spend the episode looking back on how much has changed, both in the Cubs farm system and for them personally, in the three years they have hosted this show together!Thank you to all the listeners that made hosting this podcast the most enjoyable part of our week!
It's that time of year again! Jimmy and Greg are back for an extra long episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast where they hand out seventeen awards ranging from Hitter of the Year to The Sean Barry Most Talked About Guy on the Podcast. They also begin the episode with some big news about the podcast.
The main event from this episode is Greg and Jimmy having some fun reviewing their season predictions from episode #92. But before they get into that, they take some time to talk Myrtle Beach and South Bend playoff baseball, Jared Young's MLB debut, and the newly released Arizona Fall League rosters.
Greg and Jimmy are back this week for a long episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast for you folks! First, the guys discuss the recent Cubs debut of Hayden Wesneski and where he fits into the Cubs rotation moving forward. Then, the guys discuss who is hot in the system, who they are looking forward to watching play next year, and the guys who are legit after they broke out this season.
Greg and Jimmy channel their inner Stephen A and Skip this week as they come to you guys with some pressing topics. They start off the show by discussing the difference between spike curves and sweeper sliders and why the Cubs might be pivoting on the pitching development side of things. Then they rank the members of the South Bend rotation - Devers, Hodge, Little, Gallardo, Schlaffer, Palencia, and Franklin. They wrap up the show with the biggest topic of all... will PCA make his way to Chicago in 2023?
We are back for another episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast! Greg and Jimmy take some time to discuss one of the best Myrtle Beach Pelican's season in recent memory, Brennen Davis back on the field, and the recent promotions of Javier Assad and Nicholas Padilla to the Chicago Cubs.
The guys had teased it long enough! After mentioning the Rule Five Draft crunch for nearly a full season, Greg and Jimmy make some predictions as to who the Cubs might protect on the 40-man roster this offseason. Before that, they try not to speculate about Miguel Amaya and Jordan Wicks injuries and spend a fair amount of time praising the work Marquee did with their new Top 25 list.
Greg and Jimmy are back in your ears after all of the trade deadline and draft craziness to give you folks an update on how the current Cubs minor league players are performing throughout the system. First, Greg and Jimmy discuss the new Marquee Sports Network show the Road to Wrigley, and then they highlight some of the players in each affiliate who have performed well in August.
Even though the Cubs weren't as active on the trade market as we expected them to be, there are still three newly acquired prospects to tell you about! After talking about the trade deadline fallout from the MLB team's perspective (2:30), Greg and Jimmy discuss Hayden Wesneski (14:45), Ben Brown (30:30), and Saul Gonzalez (47:25).
Believe it or not, this episode isn't entirely dedicated to the upcoming MLB trade deadline, although Greg and Jimmy spend the back half of the episode discussing who might get called up from Iowa to replace the traded Cubs players in the Majors. Before that, they dig into some news and notes including Brailyn Marquez undergoing surgery, Koen Moreno's debut, Luke Little's performance, and Owen Caissie and Yonathan Perlaza tearing it up at the plate.
Greg and Jimmy are back this week to discuss the top Cubs prospects! They go into detail about the prospects in the system who are hot in the month of July, recent promotions, and Miguel Amaya's first couple of games in AA Tennessee.
The title describes this one pretty well. The Cubs 2022 Draft class is complete and Greg and Jimmy took to the podcast to break down the entire thing. They start off the episode by giving their thoughts on the front office's draft strategy before talking about nearly every pick from #1 (Cade Horton) to #20 (Ke'Shun Collier).
In another specialty episode, Greg and Jimmy take a look at their personal midseason prospect Top 25 lists and answer each other's questions about why they ranked certain guys where. They start off at the top and work their way through until they explain why Brailyn Marquez didn't fall on either of their lists.
With the draft quickly approaching, Greg and Jimmy bring back Greg Zumach to discuss who the Cubs could be eyeing for the 7th pick in this years 2022 MLB draft. Greg Zumach then goes on to discuss the Cubs potential draft strategy, guys who are climbing up people's boards, and who the Cubs could be looking at during the later rounds of the draft.
It's time for another mailbag episode as listeners went above and beyond in sending in plenty of questions for Greg and Jimmy to answer on the show. The guys spend some time at the beginning of the show talking about the brilliance of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans playoff run (2:05) before digging into the questions. Once there, they chat about Matt Mervis (7:45), Cristian Hernandez (13:10), catchers of the system (25:45), DJ Herz (39:15), and Caleb Kilian (52:10).
With the MLB trade deadline looming, Greg and Jimmy take a long look at what current Iowa relievers might be making the trip up to Chicago soon (3:45). After that, the guys get into some deeper individual analysis, breaking down the mechanical tweaks to Ryan Jensen's arm motion (19:50), the fade on Luis Devers' changeup (28:15), and the splits and role of Jared Young in Chicago in the second half of the year (34:15).
Greg and Jimmy are back with this week's Growing Cubs Podcast, fresh after watching the Kevin Alcantara Game where had had 8 RBI's. After discussing the Kevin Alcantara Game (3:30), the guys discuss who deserves a promotion (16:15), debate players to buy or sell (32:00), and discuss Yovanny Cruz's recent outing in the AZL (54:46).
Caleb Kilian was added into MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects recently, and now he has made his debut for the Chicago Cubs! Greg and Jimmy start their discussion with Kilian's recent start on June 4th against the Cardinals. Also, they talk about the recent news of Brennen Davis' recent back surgery and where that would put him on their prospect lists. They finish the episode talking about Yohendrick Pinango's recent power surge and debate which struggling prospect in the Cubs system they still believe in.
The guys hit both ends of the spectrum in this episode as they cover prospects in the Majors and young kids all the way down in Myrtle Beach. They lead off the episode with the big news that Nelson Velazquez has been promoted (8:00) before explaining why Christopher Morel has earned a more permanent spot on the big league roster (21:15). We then head south to discuss the big seasons from both Luis Devers on the mound (27:50) and Kevin Alcantara at the plate (44:40).
There are plenty of great prospect performances happening down on the farm and Greg and Jimmy dig into some of them in this episode. Tune in to this episode for info and analysis on Christopher Morel (2:00), Brandon Hughes (11:25), Caleb Kilian (20:40), Bryce Ball (29:45), Chase Strumpf (35:35), Kevin Made (41:55), and Luke Little (48:00).
It is episode 100 of the Growing Cubs Podcast! Greg and Jimmy provide updates on the injuries of top prospects Ed Howard and Brennen Davis (3:55), give updates and analysis on the first massive wave of promotions in the system (13:40), and finally the guys end the podcast by reminiscing on episode 1 of the Growing Cubs Podcast and look back and compare the system in 2019 to the system today (25:20).
Greg and Jimmy dip into their mailbag to answer 14 different listener questions about all kinds of players from top prospects Brennen Davis, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Ed Howard to more off-the-radar guys like Richard Gallardo, Jake Reindl, and Yeison Santana. They finish off the episode by giving their unnoficial top ten prospects as of right now!
Greg and Jimmy are back with another week of the Growing Cubs Podcast. In light of the recent NFL draft, the guys discuss how to grow the MLB Draft (5:55) and then discuss some of the best pitching performers this year (20:12), Luke Little's dominant pitching performance (33:10), Alexander Canario's power this week (41:52), and James Triantos and Pete Crow-Armstrong's hitting surge in Myrtle Beach (50:23).
There have been enough minor league games for Greg and Jimmy to have thoughts but not necessarily conclusions. They spend this episode giving out ratings for 14 total players based on two questions: On a scale from 1 to 10, how worried are you about Player X? And on a scale from 1 to 10, how excited are you letting yourself get about Player Y? Join the guys to hear what they think about Pete Crow-Armstrong, Owen Caissie, Brennen Davis, and Caleb Kilian!
It has been another exciting week during week two of Cubs minor league baseball. Jimmy and Greg discuss the new pitch clock implemented in minor league games (5:10), the players DFA'd and put on the 40-man roster (22:00), Riley Martin's superb piggyback outing (40:00), Kohl Franklin and Riley Thompson's starts after coming back from injury (50:22), and some of the Cubs 2022 MiLB debuts (55:15).
The first week of the minor league season is in the books and the guys couldn't be more excited to finally analyze players doing new things on the field. They broke this episode up by running affiliate by affiliate starting at the lowest level: Myrtle Beach (2:15), South Bend (17:30), Tennessee (29:50), Iowa (42:40), and Chicago (51:30).
Jimmy and Greg are back for the last episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast before the 2022 minor league season kicks off! This episode is another off the cuff discussion about where various prospects are rostered to start the 2022 season. Jimmy and Greg give their insights on what they are excited about to watch at each affiliate and predict the type of season some of the prospects will have.
The guys begin this episode the same way they left the last one: with one major prediction. They discuss how many Cubs prospects will be featured in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list a year from now. They then get sidetracked with a bit of Jason Heyward/Michael Hermosillo/Brennen Davis debate before finishing off with the main topic of discussion - the best Spring Training performers from the past week.
Live Cubs spring training baseball is now being played and Greg and Jimmy give updates on the prospects who are catching their eye. Then, they give their season predictions on Cubs prospects who will bounce back, win pitcher of the year, hitter of the year, and the first to homer in 2022.
The guys start the episode with some sad news as Drew Gray went down with Tommy John surgery recently (2:00). In an effort to bring the mood back up, they spend the rest of the episode talking about 40-man roster prospects that are back in action (7:30), the non-roster invitees to Spring Training (32:30), and Rule Five Draft talk... for next offseason (41:45).
With the start of the minor league season coming up, Greg and Jimmy are alone this week and will return back to weekly recordings. This episode the guys break down each affiliate and what players they are looking forward to watching play in 2022. Plus, Greg and Jimmy give predictions on which affiliate your favorite players will start in 2022.
Minor league spring training is just a couple weeks away, so Greg and Jimmy team up with regular guests Greg Zumach and Todd Johnson of North Side Bound to prepare for the upcoming season. The four guys answer listener questions covering everything from their affiliate to watch this year to the prospect they will have their eye on to begin the 2022 campaign.
It took 88 episodes, but Greg and Jimmy are finally joined with the first ever guest catcher on the Growing Cubs Podcast! Bryce Windham sits down with the guys for a full hour to discuss his decision between playing baseball versus basketball in college, how he converted to catching his senior year of college, his approach at the plate, and a slew of many other great topics.
Marquee Sports Network's Lance Brozdowski joins the show to give his perspective on Cubs prospects! The crew starts off the show by talking about Lance's atypical route to being a multimedia producer by way of accounting school. After dabbling in some advanced analytics conversation, Lance gives his opinions on prospects from Ethan Roberts to Yohendrick Pinango and many others in between.
Greg and Jimmy are back in 2022 with another interview! This time, they have one of their better interviews yet with Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year DJ Herz. On the podcast, DJ discusses his incredible 2021 season, his pitch grips, his success in both football and baseball during high school, and what players aren't getting talked about enough in the Cubs system.
We're joined by another broadcaster! This time it is Sam Weiderhaft of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans! Sam talks about his wild journey to the Pelicans mic while giving plenty of fun tidbits about the prospects that graced his ballpark last year. Come for the Ed Howard content, stay for his Buddy Bailey story!
Although there is no major league phase of the Rule-5 draft yet this year, Jimmy and Greg break down the Cubs moves in the minor league phase of the Rule-5 draft, including draftee Conner Menez. Next, the guys welcome back Max Bain to the Growing Cubs Podcast for the third time. Max discusses his new project, The Bain Campaign podcast, what he has been up to so far in the offseason, and his overall thoughts on the 2021 season.
How about this one? Greg and Jimmy interview Ethan Roberts, who is the very first player to be on the 40-man roster at the time of their interview! The new addition talks about everything from his spin rates in college to his pitch repertoire. He finishes off the show by giving some love to guys like Scott Effross, Cayne Uckert, Nelson Velazquez, and Andy Weber.
After what seemed like forever, the guys are back in your ears with another episode to discuss Nelson Velazquez's tear in the AFL and their prospect lists. Listen to Greg and Jimmy break down their rankings and provide insight to why players are ranking higher than others. You can find their lists at the link below:Greg: https://northsidebound.com/2021/10/31/greg-huss-cubs-top-prospect-rankings/Jimmy: https://northsidebound.com/2021/10/31/dont-sleep-on-the-system-cubs-2022-prospects-list/
The first prospect interview of the year is with lefty reliever Brandon Hughes. His story is a wild one as he gives some exclusives behind his transition from outfielder to pitcher (7:20). Later on in the episode, Hughes gets the chance to hype up his teammates a bit (39:40). We wrap up the show with Brandon taking over as host and taking the opportunity to ask Greg and Jimmy questions as the trio spends time talking about stuff outside of the baseball world (52:30).
Jimmy and Greg kick off the offseason with their first interview in almost five months! But first, they begin the episode by giving an update on the seven Cubs prospects in the Arizona Fall League and what their season in Arizona could mean for their future. When they get around to interviewing Max Thoma they discuss everything from the home run call on the ferris wheel, why he started broadcasting, and the modeling he did for Obvious Shirts.
It is finally time for the second annual Growing Cubs Award Show! (Can it really be annual if there was no minor league season last year?) Greg and Jimmy hand out all of your favorite awards from standard ones like Hitter and Pitcher of the Year, to quirky ones like Best Name and Best Mustache, to some superlatives such as Best Offspeed and Best Bat-to-Ball Skills. A total of 18 awards get handed out, so stick around for all of them if you are a fan and come on the show to claim them if you are a player!
The guys are back with the penultimate episode before the end of the minor league baseball season! Jimmy and Greg begin the episode discussing the recent promotions of Scott Kobos and Christopher Morel to the Iowa Cubs. Spoiler alert: Morel is a stud. Then, the guys spend the majority of the episode discussing potential prospects who could make their debuts in 2022 for the Chicago Cubs.
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