2026 September Farm Report: NL Central

Well, Trey Ebel is a lot like his older brother. At least based off early returns.

Brady Ebel finished the year with 98 walks in the Carolina League, which led the circuit even though he was promoted in August. Trey, in nine contests, walked 11 times. Now, he did strike out nine times, and that is something to watch given how many pitches he’ll take. But despite the .179 average, Trey’s start in full-season ball wasn’t a bad one.

Speaking of first-round picks, 2025 second-round Frank Cairone made it to full-season ball. Cairone made one start in Low-A Wilson before the end of the regular season, striking out four and walking three over 1.2 IP. The left-hander sat 88-89 MPH with his fastball during that initial outing.

Infielder Eric Bitonti worked his way up to Double-A after a strong final few weeks in High-A Wisconsin. Bitonti tied for the league lead in hits (20) over his final 15 games of the year with the Midwest League. He was also tied with Daniel Dickinson, the 22-year-old who finished with 61 stolen bases and 90 walks after he slid to the sixth round in July 2025.

Up in Double-A, it was more of the same with Dylan O’Rae & Jesús Made, who finished among the group of the 10 lowest Whiff% in the Southern League over the final three plus weeks (I’ll get to that later on). Plus, as expected, big power numbers from Andrew Fischer. Fischer had 11 home runs over his final 20 games, most in the circuit.

Also, he had the second-highest Pull FB% over the final few weeks. Again, not a shock.

Cardinals

If Rainiel Rodriguez becomes what he very well may likely be, the Cardinals could have a good problem to have: too many MLB catchers.

Rodriguez continued to erupt over the final three plus weeks of the Texas League season. He slashed 403/.488/.806 with eight home runs and 11 extra-base hits. And with that success came a lot of balls to the pull side. The 19-year-old finished 2026 with 27 home runs and 58 extra-base hits between two levels.

Jesús Báez, meanwhile, finished one home run shy of a 40-home run campaign with Double-A Springfield. Báez had nine home runs over the final 19 regular-season contests of 2026, moving to 39 in total this year.

Moving down to High-A, the Peoria Chiefs had two of the best swing-and-miss men in the Midwest League over the last few weeks of 2026. One was Brandon Clarke, who struck out 17 over his final 10 innings at the level and will go to the AFL for more work. The other is Jacob Odle, one of those pitchers who the club will make a Rule-5-related decision on this year.

Odle struck out 26 over 14 IP, giving him 143 over 96 total innings in 2026.

The final few weeks were also relatively kind to outfielder Ryan Mitchell & Alexander Frias, two of the Cardinals’ youngsters with high upside. Both Mitchell & Frias flirted with .400, as far as their on-base percentages went down the stretch.

Dee Kennedy, after a monstrous year with Kansas State, didn’t put up wild numbers in his brief run with Palm Beach. However, he did make a lot of contact down in the Florida State League.

Cubs

Prospects can be funny, which is why banking on a guarantee isn’t an ideal option. However, the Cubs do have plenty of outfield depth for the future.

Josiah Hartshorn was a monster over the final few days of his tenure with South Bend, before he was bumped up to Double-A Knoxville. Hartshorn slashed .354/.515/.688 with four home runs, eight extra-base hits, and 17 walks over 15 games. Plus, a tidy 18.2% Whiff% from August 20 through September 6, which ranked among the top six in the league.

Hartshorn, in his first pro season, showed the complete package: hit tool, pop, and a keen eye at the plate.

Kane Kepley only batted .160 over his final 21 contests with Double-A Knoxville. Kepley, though, walked 15 times and stole 15 stolen bases. The former UNC Tar Heel finished the year with 70 stolen bases and 120 walks over 125 contests.

The tools are there, between the speed and hit tool. Kepley also struck out 15% of the time overall this season.

Caden Sorrell, one of the Cubs’ two second-rounders from 2026, had quite the few weeks with Low-A Myrtle Beach. Sorrell was a big power hitter at A&M, and he belted five home runs in 22 contests with the Pelicans.

For those who read our September AL West farm report, Sorrell has the highest Pull FB% from August 20 through September 6, giving off the idea of what kind of hitter he is. However, he also had the highest Whiff% in that span. Small sample size, yes. Sorrell did strike out 32 times over 22 contests.

And as noted above, Nazier Mulé missed a lot of bats in the Midwest League down the stretch for South Bend, Remember, the Cubs have to protect the New Jersey native on the 40-man roster this November or expose him in the Rule 5 Draft.

Pirates

The Pirates’ top two picks, and many of the picks made in the top 10 rounds from this past July, didn’t debut this season. Chris Rembert was one of the lone exceptions.

Rembert slashed .284/.415/.343 in his first games as a pro. Even though the former Auburn standout didn’t hit for a lot of pop, Rembert still got on base aplenty.

High-A Greensboro just missed out on the South Atlantic League title. But nonetheless, it was a great year for the Grasshoppers, particularly down the stretch. Jared Jones (7), Tony Blanco Jr. (6), Edward Florentino (5), and Wyatt Sanford (5) all finished in the top six in home runs down in the SAL over the final two plus weeks of 2026.

Axiel Plaz hit .386 with four home runs during that stretch. Plus, he finished with a Whiff% in the top 10 of that circuit. Topping that list was Dylan Palmer, who took his plus hit tool from the college ranks to the pros in 2026. Palmer finished the year with 17 hits over his final 12 regular-season games.

Murf Gray finished his breakout 2026 with 20 hits, four of which were home runs, over his final 19 games with Double-A Altoona.

And up in Triple-A, Mitch Jebb finished with 32 hits over his final 27 games in Indianapolis, fourth-most in the International League.

Reds

Justin Lebron had no problems with High-A pitching in his initial taste of the pros.

Lebron slashed .258/.333/.484 with four home runs and six extra-base hits, plus four stolen bases, over his final 15 regular-season contests. The Reds’ 2026 first-rounder wound up with eight home runs over just 23 games with High-A Dayton, quite the impressive feat given he played a full college season and then some this past spring.

He was one of several players to help carry Dayton to the 2026 Midwest League playoffs, including Ty Doucette. Doucette, a 10th-rounder from 2026, quietly posted a .947 OPS this season between the FCL, High-A, and Double-A. The former Rutgers infielder had 19 hits, six of which were home runs, over the last 14 games of his year with the Dragons.

Alfredo Duno didn’t hit a home run over his final 14 games with Chattanooga. However, Duno hit .364 in that span, including five extra-base hits.

Lastly, it was a tale of two stories in Low-A Daytona. Ichiro Cano had 14 hits over his last 11 regular-season games with the club, posting a Whiff% among the three lowest in the FSL (see above). Steele Hall, meanwhile, slashed .111/304/.167 in his last 10 games with the Tortugas.

His 18 strikeouts were tied for third-most over the final two plus weeks.