The Trib's Meghan Montemurro has a pretty favorable report from spring training on three prospects: Josiah Hartshorn, Kane Kepley and Owen Ayers. That may be the source of Reb's Kepley report.
Here are excerpts on Hartshorn:
"Since getting that opportunity Feb. 25, in which he walked in his lone plate appearance, Hartshorn — the Cubs’ sixth-round draft pick last year — has appeared in two more big-league spring games, even getting the start in Saturday’s 4-3 win over the Athletics."The switch-hitting Hartshorn slotted in to the designated hitter spot and quickly showed why the organization is so high on the young outfielder. In his first at-bat, Hartshorn sliced a 106 mph opposite-field single past the third baseman, going with the pitch, a 94.9 mph fastball up and away from Athletics right-hander Mason Barnett."At this time last year, Hartshorn was beginning his senior season in high school.“Just really impressed, he showed himself really well — he’s had very good at-bats,” manager Craig Counsell said. “He’s got a long way to go, and it’s fun seeing that.”“Honestly, it’s pretty surreal,” Hartshorn told the Tribune after getting in his first Cactus League game last month. “Obviously, it’s not a certified MLB game, but at this point, that’s the closest it’s going to be for a while, and you dream about it your whole life. But getting out there for the first time, it’s pretty fun to play in front of 8,000, 9,000 people. So it’s a great experience. Definitely gets you the itch to do it a lot more times.”
Hartshorn didn’t see any affiliate action in 2025 after the Cubs drafted him. He wasn’t fully healthy from his high school season in Orange, Calif., and focused on getting his body right. Director of player development Jason Kanzler commended the work Hartshorn put in during the Cubs’ performance camp at the end of the year and how he carried the momentum from that through the offseason.
“He looks like a different human, the athleticism is striking,” Kanzler told the Tribune. “He’s got this young innocence to him, it’s almost like he doesn’t realize the scale of this whole thing of professional baseball and I think that actually serves him really well. He’s extremely bright. He’s got ultra-high aptitude on the baseball side. But he is unfazed by the gravity of this whole thing and that so benefits him. He’s comfortable in the way that someone’s comfortable when they don’t realize how big the stakes are, they’re not dragged down by that.”
"Hartshorn’s power potential is tantalizing. It was on display when he tied for the MLB All-Star High School home run derby title in 2024 at Globe Life Field. Remarkably, Hartshorn had only recently started hitting lefty again because a left elbow injury had limited him to batting only right-handed during his first three years in high school."
Here is another excerpt on Kepley:
"Kepley, the Cubs’ second-round draft pick last year, possesses elite contact and swing decisions. His 7% strikeout rate in his senior year at North Carolina led the ACC, and his knack for the zone remained a strength in his first pro ball season at Low-A Myrtle Beach last year, where he produced a .299/.481/.433 slash line in 28 games. His production and upside have earned the lefty-hitting Kepley recognition as one of the best prospects in the Cubs’ system entering this season, ranked No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, by Baseball America and MLB.com."“He is the embodiment of ‘I will win, I will beat you at this thing in this moment,’ whether it is a pitch at the plate, a play on defense, baserunning,” Kanzler said. “We’ve already seen that in the exposures he’s had in the major-league spring training games. He is there to dominate his opponent at the smallest of levels. The details matter and stacking those wins is kind of like what he lives for, it seems.”And on Ayers:
"That mental shift last year at Low-A Myrtle Beach helped Ayers, 24, get into the right mindset and make the necessary adjustments at the plate to help set him up for success in the Arizona Fall League. A 19th-round draft pick in 2024, Ayers was named the AFL breakout player of the year after leading the league in walks (22) and ranking second in on-base percentage (.539), fourth in average (.379), fifth in total bases (39), sixth in hits (25) and seventh in OPS (1.130).“It was a great experience, there’s a lot of really good players I got to learn from,” Ayers told the Tribune of the AFL. “And then just having a better approach, not trying to do too much at the plate and get something good to hit really was a big thing.“Being able to calm myself down, know that if I put the bat on the ball, good things will happen and not trying to force any outcomes, and not trying to overly predict what’s coming, just kind of letting it happen.”"Kanzler loves how Ayers has been walking around minor-league camp with a well-deserved feeling of belonging and confidence.“Even I think last year he finally realized I am good enough to do this,” Kanzler said. “Like, I’m not good enough to be in the big leagues yet, there’s still a long way to go, but I belong and now I’m on a mission to get there.”Catchers’ defensive development tends to take longer than other positions, but the Cubs are encouraged by what Ayers, their No. 11 prospect according to MLB.com and ranked 17th by Baseball America, has shown behind the plate. More reps will continue to greatly benefit Ayers, who didn’t become a full-time catcher until his senior year at Marshall.“He’s excellent defensively,” Kanzler said. “He focuses intently on all of his defensive work. He’s great at framing. He blocks the ball. He has a howitzer for an arm. He’s got all the tools necessary to be a good backstop. … He’ll continue to learn how to manage a staff and call a game and exist within the battery.“A switch-hitting catcher with a high defensive floor, with confidence, with purpose, we’re really excited for him.”https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/03/10/chicago-cubs-prospect-notes/?lctg=E4B3A4BF547E25A4F491548395&utm_email=E4B3A4BF547E25A4F491548395&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_term=https%3a%2f%2fwww.chicagotribune.com%2f2026%2f03%2f10%2fchicago-cubs-prospect-notes%2f&utm_campaign=trib-chicago_tribune-breaking_news_sports-nl&utm_content=alert
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