Josiah Hartshorn stamps himself in Cubs prospect lore with yet another incredible milestone

It's hard to put the rise of Josiah Hartshorn in context. A sixth-round pick out of high school just one year ago, the 19-year-old has blossomed into the Chicago Cubs' No. 1 prospect just one year later. He's hitting .285/.403/.520 (139 wRC+) between two levels this year and will absolutely begin 2027 at Double-A with an eye on his MLB debut not long after.

At the very least, we do have historical comparisons for what he's doing right now. Just a few days ago, he became the first teenage prospect in the organization to reach the 20-homer plateau this century. The last player that young to accomplish the feat? Try Corey Patterson back in 1999.

Now, he's back at it again, securing his 100th run batted in thanks to his 21st homer. That club is just as exclusive, as he's the first teenage Cubs prospect to reach that mark since at least 2005.

It's also the first time since Matt Mervis in 2022 (119 RBIs) that any Cubs farmhand has driven in 100 runs in a single season, which should give you a pretty good idea about how good Hartshorn is doing right now.

Josiah Hartshorn has joined elite Cubs prospect company with 100th RBI in 2026

Mervis isn't a name we tend to associate with success nowadays, but he was a fast-rising prospect just like Hartshorn a few years ago. In that magical 2022 season, he hit an absurd .309/.379/.605 (153 wRC+) while climbing from High-A to Triple-A. He mashed 36 home runs in the process, barely losing out on the organization home run title to Iowa teammate Alexander Canario (who hit 37 that year).

However, Mervis was five years older than Hartshorn is now when he had his breakthrough campaign, and he never recaptured his magic after making his MLB debut in 2023. Perhaps the more apt comparisons are to Kris Bryant and Javier Báez, who also crossed the triple-digit RBI threshold during their incredible MiLB careers.

Báez (111 RBIs as a 20-year-old in 2013) and Bryant (110 RBIs as a 22-year-old in 2014) were both rewarded with consensus top-five prospect status following their breakout seasons. Yes, their pedigree was much stronger as top-10 overall picks in the draft, but Hartshorn was universally considered an advanced high school hitter who would need a huge over-slot bonus to sign. Should his slide to the sixth round really impact his prospect status now?

It's unlikely that we'll see Hartshorn leap that high in such a crowded prospect field in the minors, but top-20 status shouldn't be out of the question once offseason grades and rankings are published. And, regardless of where he falls on those lists, it's clear that he's becoming one of the best Cubs prospects in recent memory by the company he's keeping.

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