👋 Good morning!
Some things simply do not make any sense.
Bill Belichick missing out on a first-ballot election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame is one of those things.
We’re talking about an eight-time Super Bowl champion, a three-time coach of the year and one-time executive of the year.
Make it make sense. You can’t. That’s about as silly as silly gets. And it’s possibly the greatest snub of all-time.
The Future
Pitchers and catchers report in two weeks!
We’ll talk more about spring training, expectations for the season, etc., when we get a little bit closer to kicking things off in Arizona.
But we’re in the dog days of the winter sports schedule. Lucky for us, ESPN and The Athletic released their giant top 100 prospect lists this week.
Let’s take a look at the group of youngsters on the rise for both the Cubs and White Sox:
Caleb Bonemer, 20, INF
ESPN: No. 34
The Athletic: No. 44
MLB Pipeline: No. 61
Acquired: 2024 MLB Draft (No. 43 overall pick)
CHGO White Sox’s Sean Anderson called Bonemer the White Sox’s best prospect on yesterday’s show.
Why? It’s simple. Bonemer was baseball’s only 19-year-old to rack up at least 10 home runs, 30 doubles, 20 stolen bases with a 150-plus wRC+ last year.
More importantly, he’s the prospect proving the White Sox are finally capable of a competent draft process.
Billy Carlson, 19, INF
ESPN: No. 100
The Athletic: No. 66
MLB Pipeline: No. 73
Acquired: 2025 MLB Draft (No. 10 overall pick)
Carlson reminds me a bit of Pete Crow-Armstrong — an A++ defender that also happens to be a completely unknown commodity in the batter’s box.
It worked out for the Cubs. And like Crow-Armstrong, the defense is good enough to make Carlson an everyday guy, almost regardless of what his bat provides. Anything extra becomes gravy. But that’s way down the road.
Braden Montgomery, 22, OF
ESPN: not ranked
The Athletic: No. 30
MLB Pipeline: No. 36
Acquired: Via trade with Boston Red Sox on Dec. 11, 2024 (Garrett Crochet to Red Sox for Montgomery, Kyle Teel, Chase Meidroth and Wikelman Gonzalez)
Not exactly sure how Montgomery slipped through the cracks for ESPN. Oh wait, I know — it’s the White Sox.
Considered the White Sox’s best prospect, Montgomery’s an excellent defender and decent switch-hitter wrapped into one. He broke his ankle in college and fractured his foot last summer but still produced in the Arizona Fall League, slashing .366/.527/.634 in 55 plate appearances.
Noah Schultz, 22, LHP
ESPN: No. 96
The Athletic: No. 95
MLB Pipeline: No. 49
Acquired: 2022 MLB Draft (No. 26 overall pick)
Schultz, who hails from Naperville, Ill. and attended Oswego East High School, is, for good reason, considered one of baseball’s best left-handed pitching prospects.
Standing 6-foot-10, he struggled a bit in Triple-A last year with a 9.37 ERA in five appearances. But his sinker touches 98 mph. That’ll play — at some point.
Hagen Smith, 22, LHP
ESPN: not ranked
The Athletic: No. 58
MLB Pipeline: No. 72
Acquired: 2025 MLB Draft (No. 5 overall pick)
Smith struck out 108 batters in 75.2 innings in Double-A with the Birmingham Barons last season. He also walked 56. Still, Smith found ways to wriggle out of trouble, tallying just a 3.57 ERA over 20 starts.
He’s a fast-riser through the White Sox’s system but is another guy they’ll ease through considering Smith’s injury history. He had Tommy John surgery in high school and was sidelined last year for a few weeks with a less severe elbow ailment.
Kevin Alcántara, 23, OF
ESPN: not ranked
The Athletic: No. 41
MLB Pipeline: not ranked
Acquired: Via trade with New York Yankees on Jul. 29, 2021 (Anthony Rizzo and cash to Yankees for Alcántara and Alexander Vizcaino)
Alcántara is a bit of a fallen star in the Cubs’ prospect pool. Despite making his big-league debut on September 25, 2024, Alcántara appeared in only 10 games with the Cubs last season.
In a crowded outfield, Alcántara doesn’t really have a spot unless the Cubs opt to let him ride the bench as a rotational piece, which wouldn’t really benefit his developmental process.
Moisés Ballesteros, 22, DH
ESPN: No. 51
The Athletic: No. 47
MLB Pipeline: No. 55
Acquired: International free agent signing on Jan. 15, 2021
It’s still up for debate whether Ballesteros will break camp at the major league level, but he’ll absolutely contribute for the Cubs at some point. In 20 MLB games last season, Ballesteros collected five extra-base hits and slashed .298/.394/.474.
The question that remains surrounds his potential role. He can certainly help out as a left-handed designated hitter but he’s still trying to make it work as a catcher in the minor leagues.
Jefferson Rojas, 20, INF
ESPN: not ranked
The Athletic: No. 79
MLB Pipeline: not ranked
Acquired: International free agent signing on Jan. 15, 2022
Rojas’ greatest attribute at this point is his plate vision, whiffing only 21 percent of the time last season. That’s pretty exceptional for a 20-year-old. Everything else is coming along at a slower pace. His defense is average and his actual numbers at the plate are lagging behind, but he’ll be on this list for the Cubs for a while.
Jaxon Wiggins, 24, RHP
ESPN: No. 83
The Athletic: not ranked
MLB Pipeline: No. 58
Acquired: 2023 MLB Draft (No. 68 overall pick)
Cade Horton thrived when given his shot in the majors last year. Wiggins might not be as highly-touted, but he’s the last blue-chip pitching prospect left in the Cubs’ system. Maybe he debuts out of necessity this season but I think a more realistic ETA for Wiggins is sometime in 2027.
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Wild 4, Blackhawks 3 - F/SO: Talk about an absolute gut punch. The Blackhawks led 3-0 in this game.
They had their chances to put it away, failing to convert on five power plays, including three in the third period and overtime.
FYI, the Blackhawks haven’t scored a power-play goal since January 10th. In that span, they’ve failed 22 consecutive extra-man advantages.
Teuvo Teravainen scored 1:19 into the first period in his return from a six-game absence due to an upper-body injury. Ryan Donato added his 11th goal of the year and Ilya Mikheyev tallied his 10th.
Still, the Blackhawks have just one win against the Wild in their last 18 tries. Yeesh.
Greatest American Hero: Patrick Kane’s assist on Alex DeBrincat’s goal for the Detroit Red Wings (💔) last night tied Kane with Mike Modano for the most points (1,374) in NHL history by an American-born player.
Finalist: Bears assistant general manager Ian Cunningham is being brought back for a second interview with the Atlanta Falcons for their general manager vacancy.
Cunningham, 40, has served in his role with the Bears since 2022. Before that, he was the Philadelphia Eagles’ director of player personnel in 2021.
🐻 Hoge & Jahns
12:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bears
1:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Cubs
2:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Blackhawks
3:00 on YouTube
📺 CHGO White Sox
4:30 on YouTube
📺 CHGO Bulls
Pregame at 5:30 on YouTube
🏀 Bulls at Pacers
6:00 on CHSN
📺 CHGO Bulls
Postgame on YouTube
Something on your mind? Rate this issue and leave a comment, question or topic to discuss!
Talk to you tomorrow!
– P.N.
