Welcome back our countdown of the top 25 prospects in the Cubs system. For an introduction and an explanation of the rankings, check out yesterday’s introduction. Also a reminder. Clicking on the player’s name will take you to their milb dot com page.
16. Pierce Coppola. LHP. DOB: 12/17/2002. 6’8”, 245. Drafted 7th round (2025) Florida.
Coppola is a true mystery box prospect because it’s hard to know what the Cubs are going to get out of him. He was one of the top high school left-handers in 2021, but he had a firm commitment to Florida. With the Gators, he managed just 49.1 innings over four years as back and shoulder injuries kept him on the shelf more than on the mound. He managed seven starts in his redshirt junior season in 2025 and struck out 43 batters in just 21.1 innings. That was enough for the Cubs to take him in the seventh round.
Unlike most pitchers the Cubs draft, Coppola’s low inning total at Florida meant that he made his professional start in Myrtle Beach last year. He only threw eight innings over three games, but Coppola struck out 14 batters and allowed just two runs for a 2.25 ERA. On the downside, he did walk nine batters in those eight innings.
Coppola is a huge left-hander whose fastball sits 91-to-93 miles per hour with good movement and an odd release angle. His best pitch is his low-80s slider that has a lot of movement on it. Maybe too much, as he can struggle to throw it for a strike sometimes. A sinker gives Coppola a third pitch for right-handers.
It’s easy to dream on what a fully-healthy Coppola could do in a major league rotation. At 6’7”, it’s also not hard to see him adding a little velocity when he doesn’t have to deal with injuries. There’s certainly some mid-starter potential here.
Of course, Coppola staying healthy might not be something he’s capable of. He does have a kind of odd three-quarters delivery and his size works against him there. The good movement he gets on his pitches also works against him because he’s currently not capable of throwing strikes consistently. It’s easy to say there’s a lot of relief risk here and honestly, a profile like this is much more likely to be a reliever. Maybe there’s a chance he can be a starter, but it wouldn’t be terrible if he ended up a a left-handed weapon out of the bullpen.
Coppola is a work in progress. If he can stay healthy and if he can throw strikes, he’s got some tremendous upside. Whether he starts the season in Myrtle Beach or South Bend, innings pitched and strikeout-to-walk ratio are the two things to look for in Coppola this year. If he takes a step forward, he’s likely a top ten prospect next year.
Here’s Coppola’s highlights with the Florida Gators last year.
17. Brandon Birdsell. RHP. DOB: 3/23/2000. 6’2”, 240. Drafted 5th round (2022) Texas Tech.
Last year at this time we were looking at Birdsell making his major league debut some time in 2025. Instead, Birdsell missed the first two months of the season with elbow soreness. He came back in June and made eight starts—four rehab appearances and four with Iowa—before his elbow acted up again and he underwent elbow surgery. The Cubs were unclear on whether it was Tommy John surgery for Birdsell or something less invasive, but in either case, Birdsell is going to miss all of 2026 recovering.
At least Birdsell pitched quite well in his four starts for Iowa. He went 1-1 with a 3.38 ERA over 18.2 innings. Birdsell struck out 18 and walked eight.
This year’s report on Birdsell is the same as last year’s. He has a four-seam fastball in the 93-to-95 mph. He compliments that with an upper-80s cutter. He also features a curve and a changeup. He’s going to have to improve that change if he wants to retire left-handed batters in the majors.
But Birdsell’s biggest strength is is command and control. He generally can paint the corners with that cutter and knows how to locate the fastball well. Birdsell generally doesn’t walk many batters. His strikeout totals aren’t bad, but he doesn’t really miss enough bats to be a top starter.
The outlook for Birdsell this year is the mostly same as last year. He’s a potential number 4/5 starter. But beyond moving his timeline back, the surgery complicates things because Birdsell was expected to be a durable innings eater. He was a top ten prospect in the system last spring and he would be again this year if he were healthy. We just have to wait and see what 2027 brings for Brandon Birdsell.
Here’s Birdsell striking out six in Iowa in July [VIDEO].
18. Erian Rodriguez. RHP. DOB: 11/23/2001. 6’3”, 190. Drafted 13th round (2021), Georgia Premier Academy.
Rodriguez took a big step forward this past year with a solid season at High-A South Bend. In 12 starts, Rodriguez pitched 64 innings and went 6-4 with a 2.81 ERA. He struck out 58 and walked 22. That earned him a short, four start promotion to Double-A Knoxville where he held his own with a 3.54 ERA, although the walk totals went up and the strikeout totals went down.
Despite a high leg kick, Rodriguez has a quick, compact delivery that gives the hitter a different look. He’s mostly a three-pitch pitcher, with a 93-to-95 mph fastball that can touch higher at times. It’s also “heavy” and can induce a lot of ground balls. He combines that with a mid-80s slider that’s his put-away pitch. He has a decent changeup to use against left-handers. Rodriguez is more of a ground ball pitcher than a strikeout pitcher and he does walk a few too many hitters.
Rodriguez has a chance to be a number-five starter, but he’s more likely destined for the bullpen. There, he might be able to add a little velocity and get a few more swings and misses on his four-seamer.
In any case, Rodriguez should return to Knoxville to start the season. If the Cubs decide to move him to the bullpen, he could move up to Iowa fast and be in line for a major league debut later this year. If they leave him as a starter, he’s a longer-term project.
Here are highlights from a seven-inning complete game shutout that Rodriguez threw in June.
19. Angel Cepeda. SS/INF. B:R, T:R. DOB: 10/29/2005. 6’1”, 170. International free agent (2023) Dominican Republic.
Although Cepeda was born in the Dominican Republic and moved back there to avoid the draft and sign as a free agent, he’s actually spent the majority of his life in New Jersey and played for Team USA’s under-14 team. The Cubs gave him a $1 million bonus as an international free agent in 2023.
Cepeda is toolsy young player with a fair amount of projection left in him. He has average power right now, having hit eight home runs in 100 games for Low-A Myrtle Beach last year, but there does seem to be room for him to add power as he ages and become and above-average power hitter. Even eight home runs in a challenging hitting environment like the Carolina League and Myrtle Beach is pretty impressive for a 19-year-old.
Last year he spent the entire season with the Pelicans, going .249/.339/.375 with eight home runs and 27 steals. He could afford to pull the ball more as a lot of his hits (and home runs) are going to right field. He’s not a burner on the base paths, but he is an intelligent base runner who plays faster than his raw foot speed.
Defensively, Cepeda is losing a step as he adds weight. He can probably still play a decent shortstop, but third base seems to be his long-term position. He does have a strong enough arm to handle the hot corner. He would also do well as a second baseman.
The biggest issue with Cepeda right now is his contact skills as he struggles with breaking pitches from right-handed pitching. A 31 percent strikeout rate in Low-A simply isn’t going to cut it as he moves up the ladder. He also has a pretty wide platoon split, as he destroyed left-handers last year and struggled against righties. Were it not for these red flags, Cepeda would rank a lot higher.
Cepeda will take on South Bend as a 20-year-old in 2026. If he can learn to make more contact, he very well could be a top ten prospect this time next year.
Here’s Cepeda muscling out an opposite field home run last April.
20. Brett Bateman. OF. B:L, T:L. DOB: 3/19/2002. 5’10”, 170. Drafted 8th round (2002) Minnesota.
I still feel that Bateman was born 40 years too late. In the mid-eighties, Bateman would have been a strong center field and leadoff hitter prospect with strong contact skills and the ability to steal 50 bases a year. But in the Year of our Lord 2026, Bateman’s complete lack of power likely dooms him to a reserve outfielder role.
Bateman’s game is making contact, mostly on the ground, and drawing walks. In his first season in Double-A last year, Bateman played 94 games ands hit .261/.376/.307 with two home runs and just nine doubles. While Bateman makes a lot of contact when he swings (and he rarely swings at bad pitches), he doesn’t make a lot of hard contact, even on the ground. That’s become more of a problem as he moves up the system and he can no longer take advantage of poor infield defenders.
But Bateman’s strike zone judgment means his on-base percentage stays high, even when the hits aren’t falling in. He’s also a plus defender in center field, even if his arm is below average. Maybe he doesn’t cover as much ground as Pete Crow-Armstrong (who does?), but he certainly gets to a lot of fly balls that other center fielder don’t.
Bateman has 70 speed (on the 20-to-80 scale), but he needs more experience stealing bases, He was caught six times in 25 attempts last year. With his raw speed, Bateman should be stealing a lot more than that and at a much higher success rate. I’m confident he will, assuming he gets on base enough to get a chance.
Bateman will likely start 2025 back in Knoxville. He needs to make more hard contact and improve his stolen base percentage to get promoted to Triple-A Iowa. He projects out as a fourth outfielder with a lot of value as a defensive replacement and a pinch runner. If he can make a little harder contact, he could be a valuable pinch hitter as well.
Here’s a three-hit game that Bateman had last May. [VIDEO]
Tomorrow: Prospects 11 through 15.
