Iowa Cubs manager Marty Pevey sits in his office at Principal Park about two hours before first pitch of his team’s Sept. 2 game against the Omaha Storm Chasers and closely examines his roster. Pevey, who is looking back at some of the big individual performances of the season, needs a reminder of who is still with the team.
“I’m looking to see who’s on the roster today,” Pevey says with a smile.
It’s easy to see why it can be a little confusing for the longtime Triple-A skipper. Iowa began its six-game series with Omaha having already made a whopping 177 transactions this season. But in the midst of all the moves have been some pretty remarkable moments for some of Iowa’s big prospects. Before the game, Pevey spoke about some of them.
Jonathon Long makes an impressive debut at Triple-A
One of the best hitters in Iowa’s lineup this season has been Jonathon Long. A ninth-round pick by the Cubs in 2023, Long has tore apart opposing pitching in his first season at Triple-A. In his first 124 games, Long hit .307/405/.489 with 20 doubles, 19 homers and an .894 OPS. The key for Long is finding a home defensively. He’s played first, third and the outfield. With a big bulk of his playing time coming at first, the question is, does he have enough power for the spot?
Pevey: “I think he’s had a wonderful year. First, we’ll start with his, how he is as a teammate. He’s a quiet guy, doesn’t say much, gets his work in. He is as prepared as anybody I have had here. He wants to be a major leaguer, and he is incredible, incredible. He still needs to work on his lateral range. But his hands and his throwing arm are outstanding.
“There’s nobody on our team that I would want up in a situation with a runner on third and less than two outs more than Jonathon Long. And that includes everybody on the team. He’s going to get that guy in. As you can see with his RBI totals.
“Number one, at first base, he’s got great hands. He’s going to come into more power as he gets older and stronger. Right now, he keeps his bat in the zone for a long, long time and his power is basically left center to right field line. And as he gets older and gets more mature, he’s going to pull the ball a little bit more and hit it in the air to the pull side.”
Moises Ballesteros makes a big jump in his development at the plate and behind it
One of the most talked about players heading into the season was catcher Moises Ballesteros. The 21-year-old catcher was coming off a big performance in 2024 at the plate. Still, there were concerns about whether or not Ballesteros could develop into a big-league catcher. The Cubs have called him up to the big leagues twice this season but kept him in a DH role during both stints. There’s no doubt Ballesteros can hit. During his first 108 games with Iowa, he tallied a .316 batting average with 29 doubles and 13 homers.
“Great bat to ball skills. He needs to tighten up his strike zone a little bit more because he can get the barrel on the ball anywhere in the strike zone and hit it hard. He’s another guy that will drive the ball. He’s 21 years old. He’s going to learn how to drive the ball in the air more often. The 50/50 pitches, he’s going to have to learn to stay off of just because he gets himself out and once he learns how to do that and look for a pitch in a certain spot, when he gets it, he’s not going to miss it because he already has the bat to ball skills but it’s just going to put him in a better position to be a more consistent hitter.
“From last year to this year, his receiving is 100% better. He is not taking pitches off. Not that he did last year. I think mentally he has gotten so much more mentally, his concentration levels have gotten a lot better especially to the pitches on his right side.”
Riley Martin has a big breakout season out of the bullpen
Perhaps the biggest surprise story of the season has been the emergence of left-handed reliever Riley Martin. The 27-year-old made his Triple-A debut with Iowa back in 2023. Martin showed some signs of promise in 2024 but still pitched to a 4.48 ERA in 43 appearences with Iowa. But this season has been a totally different story for Martin who has gone 6-2 with a 2.85 ERA in his first 42 appearances with Iowa in 2025.
“(The biggest difference is) in his mound presence. He’s made huge strides in his mound presence. Last year and even the year before, he allowed that he has no control of to affect him and this year, he has not, he’s more focused and his mound presence is way better.”
Connor Noland shows plenty of promise as a steady force in Iowa’s rotation
The most steady person in Iowa’s rotation this season has been right-handed pitcher Connor Noland. Noland, a ninth-round pick by the Cubs in 2022, appeared in 10 games with Iowa in 2024. During the 2025 season, he’s been a maintstay. Noland has gone 9-5 with a 4.10 ERA with 99 strikeouts in his first 118.2 innings of work.
“He reminds me a lot of, and I want to put this in context because he’s not there, but he reminds me a lot of Kyle Hendricks. The ability to command all his pitches. I would love to see him have a little more velo, maybe another six inches on his fastball. But he’s got natural four-seam cut and it keeps the barrels off the ball.”
Another name to keep an eye on is a familiar one
Caleb Kilian was once the biggest pitching prospect in the entire organization. But injuries and inconsistent play have kept Kilian from staying in the big leagues. Kilian even spent the majority of this season on the injured list. But he returned in August and has looked extremely sharp. Sporting a high 90s fastball, Kilian has allowed just one earned run in his last six outings after tossing a scoreless frame on Aug. 31.
“I think that Caleb Kilian is going to be a guy that we can count on in the future, coming out of the bullpen. He’s been 96, to 98. He’s got a very good slider and he is in the process of learning how to command his changeup.”
Tommy Birch, the Register’s sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He’s the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Five Iowa Cubs players who have impressed manager Marty Pevey this season
Reporting by Tommy Birch, Des Moines Register / Des Moines Register
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