We continue our look at the Chicago Cubs’ top 20 prospects today, with our eighth-ranked prospect, outfielder Kane Kepley. For a quick refresher, make sure you check out our other articles in the series:

#8 – Kane Kepley (University of North Carolina)

The Cubs selected the North Carolina native and former Tar Heel with the 52nd overall pick of the 2025 draft. The 22-year-old signed for $1.4 million and became the second outfielder the Cubs selected in as many rounds. The left-handed outfielder was viewed as a high-floor, defensive-minded player with plus speed. Standing at only 5-foot-8 and weighing 180 pounds, Kepley will not be among the Cubs’ power-hitting prospects, but is one of their best at putting the ball in play. He ranked as the 84th-best prospect in the draft, per mlb.com. 

What to Like
The first aspect of Kepley’s game to highlight is the hit tool. As mentioned earlier, he’s probably never going to be much of a home run threat, but he excels at making contact and getting on base. Originally a walk-on at Liberty, Kepley hit .310 with a .457 OBP as a freshman, then .330 with a .482 OBP as a sophomore. Upon transferring to UNC, Kepley slashed an impressive .291/.451/.444 against superior competition in the ACC. He has an excellent eye, and rarely swings and misses. Throughout his college career, he drew 136 walks with only 71 strikeouts. Last season with Low-A Myrtle Beach, he hit .299 with a .914 OPS in 131 plate appearances. He walked 25 times with only 15 strikeouts. According to mlb.com, Kepley is the only player in the pipeline except top prospect Moisés Ballesteros with a 60-grade hit tool. Competition will get much tougher as he works his way through the minors, but the bat has worked at every level for him so far.

Kepley’s defense is another strength. He is a natural center fielder with great instincts. Although he doesn’t have the strongest arm, his plus speed allows him to track down difficult fly balls. His speed also translates to the bases as well. His 45 stolen bases in 2025 were good for fourth in all of Division I ball. Once he arrived in A ball, he swiped 16 bags in only 25 games. He should be able to use his contact ability plus his speed to beat out ground balls for infield hits and turn bloops into extra bases. He could fit the “table-setter” description perfectly. 

What to Work On
The 5-foot-6 Jose Altuve has 255 career home runs, and has hit at least 30 twice in his career. We shouldn’t, then, blame Kepley’s lack of power entirely on his size. He has a flat swing and can hit the ball to all fields, but in 2025, he lifted the ball a bit more than a player without power should. 

Per FanGraphs, he had a 38.3% fly-ball rate, which is above the major-league average of 35%. For comparison’s sake, let’s take the fly-ball percentage of two very different hitters: Shohei Ohtani and Luis Arraez. Ohtani has a career fly-ball rate of 37.9%, while Arraez’s is 30.4%. Arraez has been the best high-contact, low-power player in baseball over the last half-decade, and is the type of hitter Kepley should strive to be. He will need to work on his launch angle to produce more line drives, though, and perhaps fewer unproductive, routine flies. 

What’s Next
Kepley is currently with the Cubs in Arizona. In parts of eight games, he’s collected three hits in 12 at bats, walking twice. Last week against the Dodgers, he put his speed on display, legging out this triple on a well-hit ball in the gap. He will surely be sent to minor-league camp in the next week or so, and will continue to develop. He proved himself last season in Low A, though, and could find himself in High A or even Double A to begin the 2026 campaign. According to mlb.com, his major-league ETA is in 2028, which tracks for a college draftee who hasn’t played even 30 professional games.

By the time Kepley arrives, the outfield could look a lot different. Both Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are free agents after this season. Randy Arozarena looks like he will be the top free-agent outfielder in the 2027 class, at 32 years old. Kevin Alcántara and 2025 first-rounder Ethan Conrad will get chances to prove themselves before Kepley, but the point is, there will be room in this outfield for Kepley by the time he’s ready—although center field is spoken for. It’s not uncommon for hitters with three years of college experience to reach the majors quicker than they’re projected to, when they first enter the pros. Should Kepley continue to hit for a high average and draw walks as he progresses through the minors, we could see him end up in Triple-A by the end of this season, potentially setting him up for a 2027 debut. 

There is some skepticism regarding Kepley’s MLB future, mainly because of his size and lack of power, but even if he doesn’t become a starter, his defensive prowess and speed would be a great asset off the bench.