After the first few rounds of the MLB Draft, the common assumption is that unselected prep players will head to college rather than sign a professional contract. The slot value quickly drops to a point where it\u2019s no longer worth it, and few teams have enough bonus pool money to land an impact prospect later in the draft.<\/p>\n
But in 2025, the Chicago Cubs<\/a> bought a lottery ticket in the sixth round\u2014and they may have hit the jackpot.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n With the 181st overall pick in the 2025 MLB Draft, the Cubs selected outfielder Josiah Hartshorn<\/a> out of Orange Lutheran High School in California.<\/p>\n The projected slot value for that pick was just over $355,000, but Chicago convinced him to pass on his commitment to Texas A&M by signing him for a $2 million bonus.<\/p>\n Hartshorn was ranked No. 108 on MLB Pipeline\u2019s draft big board, which gives you a sense of the value the Cubs were able to secure. He immediately slotted in as a top-10 prospect in the organization<\/a>.<\/p>\n While he\u2019s not considered a standout defender, Hartshorn\u2019s upside at the plate is what got him drafted\u2014and it\u2019s already starting to show in the minor leagues.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n \u201cWhen healthy, Hartshorn is a talented switch-hitter with ability from both sides of the plate,\u201d his draft profile on MLB Pipeline reads. It also praises his \u201csolid overall approach\u2026an understanding of the zone and raw power he can get to from either side.\u201d<\/p>\n Hartshorn did not make his professional debut in 2025 after signing, but after turning 19 in February, he was assigned to Low-A Myrtle Beach to begin the 2026 season.<\/p>\n Through his first two games, he\u2019s made quite the impression.<\/p>\n In 11 plate appearances, Hartshorn is 3-for-6 with a home run, two RBIs, five walks, and four runs scored. That\u2019s good for a 1.727 OPS.<\/p>\n It\u2019s obviously a tiny sample size, but it\u2019s an encouraging start for an outfield prospect whose game is built around offensive upside.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Even if he\u2019s not among the highest-ranked prospects right now, there\u2019s plenty of opportunity this season for Hartshorn to win over scouts, earn a promotion, and climb the Cubs\u2019 prospect rankings. If the bat performs the way some evaluators believe it can, top-100 prospect recognition isn\u2019t out of the question.<\/p>\n The Cubs\u2019 long-term outlook in the outfield is still somewhat unsettled. Pete Crow-Armstrong<\/a> is locked in with his contract extension<\/a>, but Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki are both approaching free agency, which could lead to significant turnover in the next couple of years.<\/p>\n Not that Hartshorn will be in the majors by 2027, but he could quickly rise through the system and become part of the conversation\u2014whether as a future piece of the core or a valuable trade chip.<\/p>\n Either way, his development\u2014and especially his offensive firepower\u2014is something Cubs fans should be watching closely in 2026.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"After the first few rounds of the MLB Draft, the common assumption is that unselected prep players will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":663261,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2399],"tags":[5,138,24,4245,161,84564,36,4,1586,991,84563,35,994,105],"class_list":{"0":"post-663260","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago-cubs","8":"tag-baseball","9":"tag-chicago","10":"tag-chicago-cubs","11":"tag-chicagocubs","12":"tag-cubs","13":"tag-hartshorn","14":"tag-ian-happ","15":"tag-mlb","16":"tag-mlb-draft","17":"tag-mlb-pipeline","18":"tag-orange-lutheran-high-school","19":"tag-pete-crow-armstrong","20":"tag-prospect","21":"tag-seiya-suzuki"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@mlb\/116347995072468760","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=663260"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/663260\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/663261"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=663260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=663260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=663260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}