Wrigleyville Prospect Weekly: Murray's Return to Iowa Delivers, Noland Blanks Triple-A
By Reed Kubiak ·
Wrigleyville Prospect Weekly covers the last 7 days of action for the Cubs farm system.
Murray Regains His Mojo in Iowa
BJ Murray Jr. (AAA, 3B, Rank: 30) was optioned back to Iowa on September 18 after a brief MLB cameo with the Cubs, and he wasted no time producing in the Pacific Coast League. Over his seven days back at Triple-A, he went 6-for-19 with a homer and six RBI while drawing five walks against three strikeouts across five games. That week is a reasonable snapshot of what Murray does best: take his walks, make contact from both sides, and do enough damage to keep pitchers honest. The 15th rounder only managed a 1-for-11 showing with the Cubs in a limited role.
The Triple-A season Murray is putting together has been legitimately good. He is slashing .298/.402/.504 with 17 home runs, 24 doubles, nine triples, and 74 walks across 535 plate appearances at Iowa, and his 13.8 percent walk rate shows real zone awareness rather than passive hitting. Over the last 30 days, his swing rate has climbed to 53.6 percent, aggressive but effective as his contact rate has held at 76.2 percent and the power output has been there: three home runs, two triples, and a .560 slugging mark in 56 plate appearances. The honest scouting picture is a bench bat and corner-infield reserve whose bat speed and raw power are modest enough that he needs the plate discipline to stay intact. The up-down label fits given the underwhelming MLB debut, but the production at Iowa over a full season cannot be dismissed. If the swing decisions stay sharp and the contact quality holds, there is a second-division floor here with a little more ceiling if he proves he can do something with big-league velocity. The next call-up will matter more.
Noland Shuts the Door on a Five-Inning Gem
Connor Noland (AAA, RHP, Rank: 29) held Triple-A hitters hitless over five innings in his most recent outing, facing 16 batters while striking out six and walking two on 73 pitches. He generated nine swinging misses and threw 37 of those pitches for strikes, producing a clean line that stands out when you consider the season context. Noland carries a 5.38 ERA and a 1.44 WHIP across 73.2 innings at Iowa in 2026, so a hitless five-inning performance is not the norm for him this year. The slider is the weapon that makes an outing like this possible: it is a low-80s pitch with enough gyro and late bite to chase hitters out of the zone, and when he gets it down in the count it is a legitimate bat-misser even without an overpowering fastball behind it. He also carries a curveball with distinct 12-to-6 shape and a cutter, sinker, and changeup that give him sequencing options in longer outings.
The season-long picture is more complicated. The 5.38 ERA and elevated hit and home-run totals reflect what happens when his margin for error narrows against upper-level lineups with a fastball sitting 91-92 mph. Over the last 30 days, the ERA has pulled back to 4.02 across 15.2 innings, with 12 strikeouts and a 1.15 WHIP, showing the better version of him is still present. His 20.1 percent whiff rate on the season sits right at his 2025 level, suggesting the stuff has not backed up, but the walks and hard contact are harder to explain away. The projection is a long reliever or up-down arm, and this outing fits that profile neatly: he can be very good in a defined role when the slider is working and he sequences efficiently. A five-inning no-hit performance at Triple-A, even accounting for the luck component, is a game that keeps him relevant on a depth chart heading into roster decisions.
Quick Hits
Grant Kipp (AAA, RHP, Rank: 23) · worked three innings, allowing two hits and one run while striking out three and walking one on 44 pitches, generating seven swinging misses. The outing was not his cleanest of the month, but it fits a September stretch that has been his best run at Triple-A: a 2.16 ERA over 8.1 innings in the last 30 days with a 29.4 percent strikeout rate and no home runs allowed. The season ERA at Iowa sits at 5.09 across 40.2 innings, driven by a 13.5 percent walk rate that has been the persistent problem, but the last four outings suggest the command has ticked toward something more workable. His curveball and slider are both average or better, and the 27.7 percent combined strikeout rate across Triple-A and Double-A this year confirms the swing-and-miss is real. I would not sleep on him as an up-down option if the walk rate keeps behaving.
Owen Ayers (AAA, C, Rank: 9) · had a tough week at Iowa, going 2-for-19 with a double while drawing three walks and striking out five times in seven games. The week dragged his last-30-day line to .216/.337/.338 with just one home run over 89 plate appearances, a noticeable step back from the pace he set at Double-A earlier this season. The contact rate has held around 72.8 percent in that stretch, consistent with his season mark, but the power output that made his combined slash of .289/.403/.526 with 25 home runs so compelling earlier in the year has quieted considerably at Triple-A. The 15.2 percent walk rate for the season is real and carries over to Iowa, so the approach is not breaking down, but Triple-A pitchers are clearly attacking the swing stiffness that the scouting profile flags. The grades still grade out: 55 power, 60 makeup, enough receiving to stay behind the plate. One rough month does not rewrite the season.
James Triantos (AAA, 2B, Rank: 10) · went 5-for-16 with no extra-base hits and no walks or strikeouts this past week at Iowa. The contact is always there with Triantos: an 84.8 percent contact rate on the season and just 57 strikeouts across 484 combined plate appearances. But the zero-walk week is a reminder of the profile's ceiling concern. He has a 6.8 percent walk rate at Triple-A this year and an aggressive 51.1 percent swing rate, both of which cap his OBP against upper-level pitchers who can live off his willingness to put borderline pitches in play. The 27 stolen bases and .300 average at Iowa this year are not nothing, and a 55 hit tool with legitimate speed plays. The question is whether the bat-speed and power limitations ever let him do more than that against better competition.
Ethan Conrad (A+, OF, Rank: 4) · was activated from the 7-day injured list by South Bend on September 16 after missing nearly a month with a back injury. No game logs have surfaced yet in the return window, so the first order of business is just getting him back on the field. He split time across three levels this year, posting a .245/.325/.436 line with four home runs across 123 plate appearances at Low-A before a brief High-A look. At just the rank-4 spot in the system, there will be plenty of attention paid to how he looks once he starts playing regularly again.
Ethan Flanagan (AA, LHP, Rank: 24) · was activated by Knoxville on September 21 after spending nearly a month on the 7-day injured list. He logged two scoreless innings with three strikeouts in his only Double-A appearance of the season before the placement, and his 3.56 ERA and 74 strikeouts across 65.2 innings at High-A South Bend earlier in the year are a reasonable foundation. No game action yet in the return window, but getting him back on a mound at Double-A this late in the season is a useful developmental tick.