Cubs Insider
by Jacob Zanolla; Blake Cowell
The Cubbie Climb podcast focuses on Cubs prospect Brett Bateman and his journey through the minor leagues. Brett discusses the life of a ballplayer during a grueling baseball season, joined by co-hosts Jacob Zanolla and Blake Cowell, who help bring fans closer to the team they love.
Episodes
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Episode 11: Cabrera Trade, Bregman Signing, Cubs Convention
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they discuss the Edward Cabrera trade, the Cubs' signing of Alex Bregman, and Brett's experience at Cubs Convention.
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Episode 10: Season Recap, Postseason Preview, Bears are Hot
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they discuss the 2025 regular season, their thoughts on the upcoming playoffs, and the sudden resurgence of the Chicago Bears
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Episode 9: Home Stretch, Division Races, NFL is Back
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they discuss the upcoming month in baseball, several tight division races, and the return of the NFL.
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Episode 8: Shaw's Resurgence, All-Star Festivities, Trade Deadline Preparation
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they discuss Matt Shaw’s offensive breakout, MLB All-Star Week, and the upcoming trade deadline.
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Episode 7: Cubs are Cruising, Trade Deadline Chatter, NBA Free Agency
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they discuss the Cubs continuing to dominate on offense, the upcoming trade deadline, and what has been a hectic beginning to NBA free agency.
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Episode 6: Highlights Galore, No-Hitter for Knoxville, Devers to San Francisco
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they break down an action-packed two weeks for the Knoxville Smokies, along with some MLB trade drama!
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Episode 5: Bad Weather, Shaw Returns, Timberwolves Eliminated
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they discuss the abundance of rainouts, Matt Shaw's impressive return to Chicago, and the Timberwolves being eliminated from the playoffs.
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Episode 4: Hitting Logistics, Statistical Importance, NBA Lottery Drama
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they discuss the logistics of hitting, which statistics are important, and the recent NBA Lottery Drama.
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Episode 3: Minor Setback, Deep Farm System, NFL Draft
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they discuss a minor setback in Brett's health, the strength of the Iowa Cubs, and how their favorite teams fared in the NFL Draft.
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Quick Recovery, Hot Start, Breakfast Routine- Episode 2
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they discuss Brett's quick recovery, the logistics of having a leg kick, and their daily breakfast routine.
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Pilot- Episode 1
Join Jacob, Blake, and Brett as they set the stage for an exciting 2025 season. Brett discusses his rehab from injury, the new torpedo bats, and more!
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122. Pondering Cubs Upcoming Rule 5 Roster Decisions, Which Prospects Could Cubs Lose, More
The deadline for final rosters heading into the Rule 5 draft is November 15. We'll cover what Cubs players we think will be exposed to the draft, what players are most likely to be drafted, and who we think are the most intriguing prospects in the Cubs system.
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121. Davis and Canario Injuries, AFL Update, Jordan's All-Minor League Team
On today's episode, we talk about the recent injuries to Brennen Davis (back) and Alexander Canario (leg, shoulder), and how that impacts the Cubs system. We also delve into the Arizona Fall League and Jordan's all-minor league team.
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120. Greg & Jimmy's Final Show Together
It is the end of an era. Greg and Jimmy host their final episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast together. They spend the episode looking back on how much has changed, both in the Cubs farm system and for them personally, in the three years they have hosted this show together! Thank you to all the...
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119. The Third Annual Growing Cubs Award Show
It's that time of year again! Jimmy and Greg are back for an extra long episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast where they hand out seventeen awards ranging from Hitter of the Year to The Sean Barry Most Talked About Guy on the Podcast. They also begin the episode with some big news about the podcast.
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118. Revisiting Our Season Predictions, Arizona Fall League Roster Announced
The main event from this episode is Greg and Jimmy having some fun reviewing their season predictions from episode #92. But before they get into that, they take some time to talk Myrtle Beach and South Bend playoff baseball, Jared Young's MLB debut, and the newly released Arizona Fall League...
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117. Who's Hot, What We're Looking Forward to Next Year, and Who Is Legit After This Season
Greg and Jimmy are back this week for a long episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast for you folks! First, the guys discuss the recent Cubs debut of Hayden Wesneski and where he fits into the Cubs rotation moving forward. Then, the guys discuss who is hot in the system, who they are looking forward…
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116. Will PCA be in Chicago Next Year, Ranking the South Bend Pitchers, Spike Curve vs. Sweeper Slider
Greg and Jimmy channel their inner Stephen A and Skip this week as they come to you guys with some pressing topics. They start off the show by discussing the difference between spike curves and sweeper sliders and why the Cubs might be pivoting on the pitching development side of things. Then…
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115. The Myrtle Beach Pelicans Incredible Season, Brennen Davis is Back, and Cubs Debuts
We are back for another episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast! Greg and Jimmy take some time to discuss one of the best Myrtle Beach Pelican's season in recent memory, Brennen Davis back on the field, and the recent promotions of Javier Assad and Nicholas Padilla to the Chicago Cubs.
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114. Prospect Injuries, New Rankings, Rule Five Draft Talk
The guys had teased it long enough! After mentioning the Rule Five Draft crunch for nearly a full season, Greg and Jimmy make some predictions as to who the Cubs might protect on the 40-man roster this offseason. Before that, they try not to speculate about Miguel Amaya and Jordan Wicks injuries...
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113. The Road to Wrigley and Who's Hot
Greg and Jimmy are back in your ears after all of the trade deadline and draft craziness to give you folks an update on how the current Cubs minor league players are performing throughout the system. First, Greg and Jimmy discuss the new Marquee Sports Network show the Road to Wrigley, and then...
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112. New Prospects and Trade Deadline Analysis
Even though the Cubs weren't as active on the trade market as we expected them to be, there are still three newly acquired prospects to tell you about! After talking about the trade deadline fallout from the MLB team's perspective (2:30), Greg and Jimmy discuss Hayden Wesneski (14:45), Ben Brown...
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111. Who is Next Up to Chicago After the Trade Deadline?
Believe it or not, this episode isn't entirely dedicated to the upcoming MLB trade deadline, although Greg and Jimmy spend the back half of the episode discussing who might get called up from Iowa to replace the traded Cubs players in the Majors. Before that, they dig into some news and notes...
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110. Who Is Hot, Promotions, and Miguel Amaya Is Back
Greg and Jimmy are back this week to discuss the top Cubs prospects! They go into detail about the prospects in the system who are hot in the month of July, recent promotions, and Miguel Amaya's first couple of games in AA Tennessee.
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109. Recapping the Entire MLB Draft
The title describes this one pretty well. The Cubs 2022 Draft class is complete and Greg and Jimmy took to the podcast to break down the entire thing. They start off the episode by giving their thoughts on the front office's draft strategy before talking about nearly every pick from #1 (Cade...
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108. Breaking Down Our Own Midseason Prospect Lists
In another specialty episode, Greg and Jimmy take a look at their personal midseason prospect Top 25 lists and answer each other's questions about why they ranked certain guys where. They start off at the top and work their way through until they explain why Brailyn Marquez didn't fall on either…
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107. Pre-Draft Show With Draft Expert Greg Zumach
With the draft quickly approaching, Greg and Jimmy bring back Greg Zumach to discuss who the Cubs could be eyeing for the 7th pick in this years 2022 MLB draft. Greg Zumach then goes on to discuss the Cubs potential draft strategy, guys who are climbing up people's boards, and who the Cubs could…
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106. Who Will Replace Willson Contreras at Catcher and Making Sense of Caleb Kilian
It's time for another mailbag episode as listeners went above and beyond in sending in plenty of questions for Greg and Jimmy to answer on the show. The guys spend some time at the beginning of the show talking about the brilliance of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans playoff run (2:05) before digging…
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105. Next Relievers Up to Chicago, Jensen Tweaks, Devers Dominance, Young to the Show?
With the MLB trade deadline looming, Greg and Jimmy take a long look at what current Iowa relievers might be making the trip up to Chicago soon (3:45). After that, the guys get into some deeper individual analysis, breaking down the mechanical tweaks to Ryan Jensen's arm motion (19:50), the fade…
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104. The Kevin Alcantara Game, Who Deserves a Promotion, Buy or Sell, and Yovanny Cruz is Back
Greg and Jimmy are back with this week's Growing Cubs Podcast, fresh after watching the Kevin Alcantara Game where had had 8 RBI's. After discussing the Kevin Alcantara Game (3:30), the guys discuss who deserves a promotion (16:15), debate players to buy or sell (32:00), and discuss Yovanny…
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103. Caleb Kilian's MLB Debut, Brennen Davis Has Back Surgery, and Yohendrick Pinango Showing Off His Power
Caleb Kilian was added into MLB Pipeline's top 100 prospects recently, and now he has made his debut for the Chicago Cubs! Greg and Jimmy start their discussion with Kilian's recent start on June 4th against the Cardinals. Also, they talk about the recent news of Brennen Davis' recent back…
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102. Velazquez Promotion, Morel Deserves to Stay, Luis Devers' Shimmy
The guys hit both ends of the spectrum in this episode as they cover prospects in the Majors and young kids all the way down in Myrtle Beach. They lead off the episode with the big news that Nelson Velazquez has been promoted (8:00) before explaining why Christopher Morel has earned a more...
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101. The One With Morel, Hughes, Kilian, Ball, Strumpf, Made, and Little
There are plenty of great prospect performances happening down on the farm and Greg and Jimmy dig into some of them in this episode. Tune in to this episode for info and analysis on Christopher Morel (2:00), Brandon Hughes (11:25), Caleb Kilian (20:40), Bryce Ball (29:45), Chase Strumpf (35:35),...
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100. Injury Updates, Promotions, and a Look Back at the System in 2019
It is episode 100 of the Growing Cubs Podcast! Greg and Jimmy provide updates on the injuries of top prospects Ed Howard and Brennen Davis (3:55), give updates and analysis on the first massive wave of promotions in the system (13:40), and finally the guys end the podcast by reminiscing on…
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99. Mailbag Episode: PCA's Timeline, Howard's Adjustments, Morel's Ceiling, Unofficial Top Tens
Greg and Jimmy dip into their mailbag to answer 14 different listener questions about all kinds of players from top prospects Brennen Davis, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Ed Howard to more off-the-radar guys like Richard Gallardo, Jake Reindl, and Yeison Santana. They finish off the episode by giving...
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98. MLB Draft, Best Pitching Performers, Luke Little, Alexander Canario, PCA, and Triantos
Greg and Jimmy are back with another week of the Growing Cubs Podcast. In light of the recent NFL draft, the guys discuss how to grow the MLB Draft (5:55) and then discuss some of the best pitching performers this year (20:12), Luke Little's dominant pitching performance (33:10), Alexander...
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97. Rating our Levels of Concern & Excitement in the Early Going
There have been enough minor league games for Greg and Jimmy to have thoughts but not necessarily conclusions. They spend this episode giving out ratings for 14 total players based on two questions: On a scale from 1 to 10, how worried are you about Player X? And on a scale from 1 to 10, how...
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96. The Pitch Clock, New 40-Man Additions, and 2022 MiLB Debuts
It has been another exciting week during week two of Cubs minor league baseball. Jimmy and Greg discuss the new pitch clock implemented in minor league games (5:10), the players DFA'd and put on the 40-man roster (22:00), Riley Martin's superb piggyback outing (40:00), Kohl Franklin and Riley...
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95. Dominant Pitching is the Storyline in MiLB Opening Week
The first week of the minor league season is in the books and the guys couldn't be more excited to finally analyze players doing new things on the field. They broke this episode up by running affiliate by affiliate starting at the lowest level: Myrtle Beach (2:15), South Bend (17:30), Tennessee...
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94. Cubs Minor League Roster Preview
Jimmy and Greg are back for the last episode of the Growing Cubs Podcast before the 2022 minor league season kicks off! This episode is another off the cuff discussion about where various prospects are rostered to start the 2022 season. Jimmy and Greg give their insights on what they are excited...
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93. Who Will Be the Next Top 100 Prospects, Spring Training Breakdown
The guys begin this episode the same way they left the last one: with one major prediction. They discuss how many Cubs prospects will be featured in MLB Pipeline's Top 100 list a year from now. They then get sidetracked with a bit of Jason Heyward/Michael Hermosillo/Brennen Davis debate before...
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92. Spring Training Prospect Updates and Season Predictions
Live Cubs spring training baseball is now being played and Greg and Jimmy give updates on the prospects who are catching their eye. Then, they give their season predictions on Cubs prospects who will bounce back, win pitcher of the year, hitter of the year, and the first to homer in 2022.
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91. 40-Man Roster Prospects Are Back, Spring Training Hype
The guys start the episode with some sad news as Drew Gray went down with Tommy John surgery recently (2:00). In an effort to bring the mood back up, they spend the rest of the episode talking about 40-man roster prospects that are back in action (7:30), the non-roster invitees to Spring Training...
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90. Affiliate Previews and Rundown
With the start of the minor league season coming up, Greg and Jimmy are alone this week and will return back to weekly recordings. This episode the guys break down each affiliate and what players they are looking forward to watching play in 2022. Plus, Greg and Jimmy give predictions on which...
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89. Preseason Roundtable: Answering Listener Questions
Minor league spring training is just a couple weeks away, so Greg and Jimmy team up with regular guests Greg Zumach and Todd Johnson of North Side Bound to prepare for the upcoming season. The four guys answer listener questions covering everything from their affiliate to watch this year to the...
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88. Cubs Prospect Bryce Windham
It took 88 episodes, but Greg and Jimmy are finally joined with the first ever guest catcher on the Growing Cubs Podcast! Bryce Windham sits down with the guys for a full hour to discuss his decision between playing baseball versus basketball in college, how he converted to catching his senior…
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87. Marquee Sports Network's Lance Brozdowski
Marquee Sports Network's Lance Brozdowski joins the show to give his perspective on Cubs prospects! The crew starts off the show by talking about Lance's atypical route to being a multimedia producer by way of accounting school. After dabbling in some advanced analytics conversation, Lance gives...
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86. Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year DJ Herz
Greg and Jimmy are back in 2022 with another interview! This time, they have one of their better interviews yet with Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year DJ Herz. On the podcast, DJ discusses his incredible 2021 season, his pitch grips, his success in both football and baseball during high…
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85. Myrtle Beach Pelicans Broadcaster Sam Weiderhaft
We're joined by another broadcaster! This time it is Sam Weiderhaft of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans! Sam talks about his wild journey to the Pelicans mic while giving plenty of fun tidbits about the prospects that graced his ballpark last year. Come for the Ed Howard content, stay for his Buddy…
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84. Rule-5 Draft News and Interview with Prospect Max Bain
Although there is no major league phase of the Rule-5 draft yet this year, Jimmy and Greg break down the Cubs moves in the minor league phase of the Rule-5 draft, including draftee Conner Menez. Next, the guys welcome back Max Bain to the Growing Cubs Podcast for the third time. Max discusses his...
About this show
The Cubbie Climb podcast focuses on Cubs prospect Brett Bateman and his journey through the minor leagues. Brett discusses the life of a ballplayer during a grueling baseball season, joined by co-hosts Jacob Zanolla and Blake Cowell, who help bring fans closer to the team they love.
Hosted by
Jacob Zanolla; Blake Cowell