Wrigleyville Prospect Weekly: Ayers, Rojas & Hartshorn Turn Up The Heat
By Reed Kubiak ·
Owen Ayers Is Hitting Like Anything But A Backup Profile
Owen Ayers (AA, C, Rank: 23) spent the week playing against his own scouting report. The file says “defense-first backup with modest offensive output,” then he went out and posted a .545/.615/1.136 line over six games for Knoxville: 12 hits in 22 at-bats, four doubles, three homers, nine RBIs, plus four walks against four strikeouts. He torched everything, running a .716 wOBA on contact-heavy volume while keeping the swing decisions tidy, which is exactly how a supposed glove-first catcher changes the conversation.
The larger story is how this week fits into a season that is already well ahead of schedule. Across High-A and Double-A he is now at .291/.411/.642 with 16 home runs in 202 plate appearances, and the combined 32 walks against 51 strikeouts shows a strong foundation of zone and contact. The power jump relative to his prior pro track, paired with his age and the arm strength that originally carried the profile, Ayers is looking less like organizational depth and more like a legitimate 40-man contender.
Jefferson Rojas Shows Encouraging Week At Double-A
Jefferson Rojas (AA, Shortstop, Rank: 3) continued his gains and put together another great week at the plate. He ran a .400/.407/.920 line over six games for Knoxville with 10 hits, including two doubles, one triple, and three homers, good for a .520 ISO and a 1.327 OPS. The swing-and-miss stayed in check (three strikeouts, one walk in 27 plate appearances), so this was not a sell-out-for-damage run; it was his balanced tools showing what happens when he catches everything flush for a series.
For the season, Rojas is now at .269/.344/.491 with nine homers and eight steals in 47 games, which tracks cleanly with the “solid regular” projection that leans on shortstop defense and a broad set of 50-ish tools. This week, though, is the version that nudges the bat grade up: damage to all fields, better use of advantage counts, and enough impact that you can start to imagine a top-of-the-order shortstop who does more than just hold the position.
After a difficult 2025, Rojas has made adjustments at the plate and is finding success of late. This success could be attributed to adjustments in his load and reduced barrel wrap. Although May posed challenges, likely due to these changes, Rojas now demonstrates more lift in his front knee, allowing him to be more grounded with enhanced and quicker hip rotation. The reduced barrel wrap, shown by the more vertical bat in the second image below, enables him to reach the ball more quickly.
While Rojas' strikeout rate has increased compared to last year, his pre-May strikeout rate this year stood at 29%, which has since decreased to 16% post-May. This improvement likely stems from his adjustment to recent changes in his approach. The images above highlight these differences, with 2025 on the left and 2026 on the right.
South Bend Has A Switch-Hitting Problem For Pitchers In Hartshorn
Josiah Hartshorn (A+, Outfield, Rank: 7) continued to make the promotion from Myrtle Beach look like a formality rather than a test. In his first real “full” High-A week he logged a .391/.423/.652 line over six games for South Bend, going 9-for-23 with five singles, three doubles, and a homer, plus a walk and a hit-by-pitch. The strikeouts ticked up a bit (six in 26 plate appearances) but the contact quality and extra-base mix more than covered it, and he kept doing the thing that matters most for a young switch-hitting corner: punishing mistakes without letting the zone control fall apart.
Zoom out and the trajectory jumps off the page. Between Low-A and High-A, Hartshorn now sits at .305/.430/.529 with 13 doubles, nine homers, 40 walks, and 38 strikeouts over 235 plate appearances, which is production you can map almost one-to-one onto his scouting report: selective aggression, real strength, and enough feel from both sides for the bat to carry a corner profile.
Triantos Finds Success vs. Future Hall of Famer
James Triantos (AAA, 2B, Rank: 12) is edging closer to being MLB ready, a point I emphasized in last week's article. His showing on June 2nd further supports this. In a game against the Toledo Mud Hens, where Justin Verlander was making a rehab start, Triantos went 2 for 2 against Verlander, including a double.
In his first at-bat, he faced a high and away fastball, sending it straight up the middle for a solid single with an exit velocity of 93.2 mph. Notably, Verlander had a 25% strikeout rate on fastballs in that spot against MLB hitters last year. In his second at-bat, Triantos connected with a slider over the middle of the zone, driving it to center field for a double with a 97.1 mph exit velocity. While Verlander may have missed his location, Triantos's ability to adjust to off-speed and deliver a strong hit is promising.
Despite an average exit velocity of 86.7 mph this season, these two hits are notable and could be crucial for Triantos's progression toward a major league call-up. Moreover, Triantos has had an exceptional week beyond the game on June 2nd, accumulating nine hits, including four extra-base hits.
Triantos has excelled at the plate this year, likely due to a 10% increase in his line drive percentage from last year, alongside an 8% rise in his swing percentage on balls in the zone. He is clearly attacking more pitches that he can hit hard. He's doing it without a higher chase rate, suggesting his zone recognition skills have improved.
MLB Draft
Over the next several weeks leading up to the MLB draft, I'll profile a few players that might fit as first round selections for the Cubs.
The Cubs hold the 23rd pick in the upcoming MLB Draft this June, and targeting a college-level pitcher would be a strategic move. The organization lacks pitching depth across all levels, so adding a 20 or 21-year-old arm with experience against high-level college hitters would be beneficial.
This week, I'll focus on Cameron Flukey, a 21-year-old, 6'6" right-hander from Coastal Carolina. Flukey's tall frame and high release point from a three-quarters arm slot make him intriguing. However, his lanky build presents some coordination and body control challenges.
His fastball, sitting around 95 mph and reaching up to 98 mph, features approximately 20 inches of induced vertical break. He is aggressive in the zone, achieving a 74.2% strike rate in 2025, though he occasionally catches too much of the plate.
Flukey also employs a slider in the low to mid-80s, primarily against right-handers. It has late break and significant swing-and-miss potential, although his command and control aren't yet elite.
His curveball, one of his better offerings, features excellent deception and complements his fastball well, sitting around 77 mph with strong 12-6 action. While it generates impressive whiffs, he is still refining its control.
His changeup, used against lefties, is a work in progress. It sits around 85 mph with fade action, showing promise but lacking consistency and feel.
Should Cubs fans be optimistic about this potential pick? I believe so. Flukey has a big frame that can handle a starter's workload with three pitches that could be plus. His curve is good enough that it could be a platoon-neutral pitch if his change-up development stalls. Assuming he remains healthy, he could get to Wrigley by 2028. If he hones his changeup, Flukey could make regular All-Star appearances.
Quick Hits
Kaleb Wing (A, Right-handed Pitcher, Rank: 18) tossed 3.1 innings with six strikeouts, one walk, and one run allowed, leaning into the fastball/curveball shape that drives his profile; his season line across Rookie ball and Myrtle Beach now shows 34 strikeouts against just five walks in 22.1 innings, with a 4.03 ERA and 1.07 WHIP that underline how advanced the strike-throwing is for a 19-year-old with this kind of raw stuff.
Pierce Coppola (A, Left-handed Pitcher, Rank: 47) turned in one of his cleaner starts of the year for Myrtle Beach, working 5 scoreless frames on one hit and one walk with five strikeouts, which trims his season ERA to 2.88 with 37 strikeouts in 25 innings and only 12 hits allowed; for a 6-foot-8 lefty whose risk band is all health and command, weeks like this show what the fastball/slider look like when the delivery holds together.
Will Sanders (A+, Right-handed Pitcher, Rank: 19) logged 4 shutout innings with three strikeouts and three walks in his South Bend turn, an outing that matched the broader 2026 theme: the changeup and curveball are good enough to miss bats, the fastball still gets more contact than the velocity suggests, and his combined 6.75 ERA and 2.06 WHIP across three levels tell you how thin the margin is when the fastball shape is not fully optimized.
Dominick Reid (A, Right-handed Pitcher, Rank: 20) had a more contact-oriented look this week with 5 innings of two-run ball, five hits, one walk, and just a single strikeout, but his season mark at Myrtle Beach remains stable at a 3.35 ERA with 49 strikeouts and 16 walks in 48.1 innings; the changeup still drives the profile, and the question is whether either breaking ball can pick up enough whiff to give him a true third path through a lineup.
Erian Rodriguez (AA, Right-handed Pitcher, Rank: 35) worked 2.2 scoreless innings for Knoxville while dancing around traffic, allowing two hits, three walks, and a hit batter but striking out two; it fit his broader 2026 story of a heavy, 93–95 mph fastball that kills homers but comes with a 9.18 ERA and 2.22 WHIP over 16.2 combined innings when the walks and pitch count pile up before the stuff can take over.
Kane Kepley (A+, Outfield, Rank: 9) did what he usually does, just with a little more thump: he went 4-for-16 with a homer and a double while drawing 10 walks against two strikeouts for South Bend, good for a .538 OBP and 1.038 OPS on the week; the season slash is now .269/.452/.407 with 56 walks, 33 strikeouts, and 32 steals in 50 games, which keeps him firmly in “future on-base machine in center field” territory even if the power remains modest.
Yanfri Serrano (R, Outfield, Rank: 46) quietly posted a 1.314 OPS in his four-game slice of the Dominican complex schedule, going 2-for-7 but drawing seven walks, adding a double, a triple, and six steals; in six games on the year he is at .429/.560/.643 with eight walks and one strikeout, the exact early-line you want to see from a raw 16-year-old whose whole projection rests on approach and physical growth.
Johan Geraldo (R, Shortstop, Rank: 44) showed flashes of the power/discipline combo that headlines his report, running a .333/.467/.583 week with a homer, three singles, a walk, and two HBPs across four games; that pushes his early DSL line to .389/.560/.611 with five steals in six games and reinforces the idea that the bat speed and strike-zone feel are a bit ahead of schedule for a 17-year-old with 55-grade power projection.
Jonathon Long (AAA, First Base, Rank: 11) delivered a “box-score loud, process familiar” week for Iowa, going 4-for-15 with a pair of homers and two walks for a 1.020 OPS; even with the seasonal slug still sitting at .360 on a .259/.337/.360 line, this kind of short power burst is exactly what the Cubs are hoping to see more frequently from a bat-first 1B whose underlying contact and exit velocity data already look big-league adjacent.
Eli Lovich (A, Outfield, Rank: 31) stacked a quietly encouraging .273/.429/.500 line for Myrtle Beach with six hits, including two doubles and a homer, plus six walks over 28 plate appearances; given that his season sits at .234/.352/.448 with eight homers, six steals, and 61 strikeouts in 182 plate appearances, this was a tidy snapshot of the developmental dilemma: real athleticism and emerging power against a strikeout rate that still puts pressure on the hit tool.
Brett Bateman (AAA, Outfield, Rank: 28) stayed on brand with a .333/.412/.467 week for Iowa, racking up five hits, two doubles, and two walks while striking out three times in 17 plate appearances; his season line now sits at .268/.415/.358 with 33 walks, 31 strikeouts, and seven steals in 42 games, giving the Cubs a clear look at the potential bench fit: real OBP, center-field defense, and almost no power.