Josiah Hartshorn jumped into the No. 1 spot in the Chicago Cubs minor league system during the middle of the 2026 season, and the 19-year-old rising star ended his regular season by setting a new record at South Bend. The switch-hitter became the first Cubs prospect since Corey Patterson to reach 100 RBI in a season as a teenager in the minor leagues, and earlier in September, Hartshorn set the new record for RBI with the South Bend Cubs at High-A Ball.
The feat becomes much more incredible when you factor in Hartshorn’s playing time at the higher level in A-Ball, as he wasn’t promoted to South Bend until the final week of May. Last week, Hartshorn recorded his 82nd RBI of the season with the South Bend Cubs, a new club record, and he did it in only 79 games.
Oh, and Hartshorn set the record in style, blasting a mammoth home run to right field, his 18th at South Bend.
Since then, Hartshorn and the South Bend Cubs have wrapped up their regular season. Hartshorn ended his season with a slash line of .289/.411/.528 with 23 home runs, 110 RBI, 89 runs scored, and a 143 wRC+ in 122 games.
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Those are great numbers, but Hartshorn has become a legit top-30 prospect in MLB thanks to his even better numbers against tougher competition at High-A Ball. He made his South Bend debut on May 26, and in 83 games, Hartshorn posted a slash line of .297/.405/.560, while crushing 18 home runs, 17 doubles, and four triples.
And again, Hartshorn did this in his age-19 season! Not only that, but after being drafted in the sixth round out of high school in 2025, Hartshorn didn’t make his pro debut until this year. He dominated with Myrtle Beach for the first eight weeks of the year, and then the No. 1 Cubs prospect became the best player in the Midwest League.
The South Bend Cubs begin postseason play on Tuesday night against Quad Cities in the Division Series.
Looking ahead to the 2027 season, Hartshorn will almost certainly begin the minor league season at Double-A with the Knoxville Smokies. That in itself would be a great achievement for a 20-year-old prospect, but expectations will be sky-high for Hartshorn, who just might be in the outfield mix as soon as next summer for the Cubs if he ends up living up to the hype.
