By Townhall Chicago News Staff
Several Chicago Cubs prospects are competing in the Arizona Fall League with the Mesa Solar Sox, headlined by 18-year-old hitting prospect Juan Cabada and right-handed pitcher Dominick Reid.
Cabada, the Cubs’ No. 12 prospect, is the second-youngest player in the AFL at 18 years old. He signed for $1.5 million out of the Dominican Republic in 2025 and batted .283/.387/.434 in his initial Arizona Complex League stint before an abdominal strain sidelined him for three months, according to MLB.com.
“I’ve never been out for 2-3 months in my career, so it was very hard,” Cabada said through translator Chanel Zapata, according to MLB.com. “One of the things that I did during that time was to work on my mentality.”
Cubs farm director Jason Kanzler praised Cabada’s maturity and ability at the plate earlier this year.
“Juan has a really advanced bat for his age,” Kanzler said, according to MLB.com. “His maturity is impressive too. He comes from a military family, which manifests how he goes about his business.”
Reid, the Cubs’ No. 28 prospect and a 2025 third-round pick out of Abilene Christian, has emerged as one of the AFL’s top pitchers. Through his first three outings, Reid allowed just two runs across 12 innings while leading the league with 14 strikeouts, including four against Top 100 overall prospects, according to MLB.com.
Reid has expanded from a two-pitch hurler at the time of his draft to deploying as many as six offerings: four-seam fastball, sinker, cutter, curveball, changeup and sweeper.
“The ceiling for a guy like that is the Major Leagues, right?” Mesa Solar Sox manager Daniel Wasinger said, according to MLB.com. “He’s a competitor, man. He goes out there, he competes, he wants to be out here.”
Outfielder Kade Snell, a 2025 fifth-round pick out of Alabama, also made the AFL roster after missing seven weeks of the regular season with a broken wrist. Snell batted .269/.350/.426 with nine home runs and 19 steals in 81 games at High-A South Bend before the injury, according to MLB.com.
“I was very grateful,” Snell said about the AFL opportunity, according to MLB.com. “I just wanted to prove myself. I know I got cut down 40-something games, so it was good to get out here and start playing again.”
The Cubs also sent catcher Miguel Useche to the Salt River Rafters. Useche batted .281/.372/.468 with 13 home runs in 89 games between High-A and Double-A during the 2026 season, according to MLB.com.
Last year’s AFL produced a breakout for Cubs catching prospect Owen Ayers, who won the league’s Breakout Player of the Year award and jumped to No. 2 on Chicago’s prospect list and No. 89 overall, according to MLB Pipeline.
The AFL regular season runs through Nov. 14, with the championship game at Peoria Sports Complex. All games are available to stream free on MLB.com and MLB.TV.
