2026 Iowa Cubs Position Previews: First Base
The next position featured in our biweekly series is one that the Cubs feel incredibly comfortable with at both the MLB and Triple-A level. We begin a journey around the infield with a look at first base, a position that features the return of two of the most impactful hitters
The next position featured in our biweekly series is one that the Cubs feel incredibly comfortable with at both the MLB and Triple-A level. We begin a journey around the infield with a look at first base, a position that features the return of two of the most impactful hitters in Chicago and Iowa from 2025.
Michael Busch built on a strong 2024 season with a career-best campaign in 2025. In the regular season, he played 155 games and posted a .261 batting average with 34 home runs 90 runs batted in and an OPS of .866. That performance paled in comparison to what he did at the top of the lineup in the postseason when he became one of the most dangerous hitters in baseball. Busch finished with eight his in 27 at-bats, four of those leaving the ballpark. The Cubs also signed veteran Tyler Austin to provide depth behind Busch and potentially in the outfield. The 34-year-old has been playing in Japan since 2020.
With the situation at first base in Chicago laid out above, it leaves little room for one of the top hitting prospects in the Cubs organization to break through. The position figures to be one of the strongest on the roster for the Iowa Cubs with the likely return of the Cubs Minor League Player of the Year and the potential addition of one of the Double-A level’s most productive hitters from 2025. Let’s talk more about Jonathon Long and BJ Murray.
Jonathon Long
The 24-year-old Long was the winner of the aforementioned honor named after Buck O’Neill as the top position player in the farm system last year. A unanimous top ten prospect in the organization among publications who specialize in such rankings, fans will get plenty of chances to see long before the regular season begins. He is scheduled to play for Chinese Taipei in the World Baseball Classic and has been invited to MLB spring training. Long was one of the linchpins in a loaded I-Cubs lineup in 2025, blasting a career-best 20 home runs and becoming the first Iowa Cubs to drive in more than 90 runs since 2011. Finishing the year with a .306 batting average and .883 OPS, the product of Long Beach State was the International League’s first base representative on the postseason all-star team. If Long can repeat last season’s exploits, the Cubs will have to consider adding Long to the 40-man roster or using him as a premium trade chip at the deadline.
BJ Murray
The native of the Bahamas is also part of the group of non-roster invitees heading to Sloan Park. Murray, 26, spent much of the 2024 season with the Iowa Cubs and hit just .204 despite connecting for 11 home runs. In that stint in Des Moines, he received most of his playing time at third base. He never made it back to Des Moines in 2025, however, playing the entire campaign with Double-A Knoxville at their brand-new ballpark. If he was unhappy to be back in Double-A, he took out his frustration on Southern League pitchers, leading the circuit with 91 RBI and finishing second with 10 home runs. He also ranked among the league’s top five hitters in slugging percentage, OPS, walks, extra-base hits and total bases. The reason I mention him as a potential first baseman in Iowa is that for the first time since 2022, he played more games at first than any other position. The Florida Atlantic product was a top 20 prospect in the Cubs farm system just a couple of years ago. Another big season at the highest level of Minor League Baseball could help him jump back on the radar.
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