Chicago Cubs named their Minor League Player and Pitcher of the Year |
CHICAGO – The Chicago Cubs today named infielder Jonathon Long the Buck O’Neil Cubs Minor League Player of the Year and right-handed pitcher Jostin Florentino the Vedie Himsl Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year.
Long, 23, was named the Cubs’ Minor League Player of the Year in his third professional season, playing 140 games with Triple-A Iowa. During the campaign, he set career-marks in games, average (.305), doubles (23), home runs (20), RBI (91), walks (79) and OBP (.404). He paced all Cubs minor league players in runs (86), hits and RBI, while finishing second in walks and OPS (.883). Following the season, he was named an International League Post-Season All-Star. The five-foot 11-inch Long reached the Triple-A level for the first time in his career in 2025, playing the entire season with the club. During April and May, the right-handed hitting infielder batted a combined .350 (62-for-177) with nine doubles, two triples, eight home runs, 38 RBI, a .426 OBP and a .985 OPS. He posted his first of two hitting streaks of at least nine games this season from May 8-16 (nine games), going 17-for-38 (.447) during the stretch. Long recorded a season-high 10-game hitting streak from Aug. 27-Sept. 6 (14-for-39/.359). Long, a ninth-round selection by the Cubs in the 2023 First-Year Player Draft out of California State University, Long Beach, has batted .294 (295-for-1,004) with 48 doubles, three triples, 44 home runs, 175 RBI, a .398 OBP and a .878 OPS in 280 career games across three seasons in the Cubs organization. The Orange, Calif., native finished the 2025 season ranked by MLB Pipeline as the Cubs No. 7 prospect. Florentino, 20, went a combined 5-5 with a 2.43 ERA (22 ER/81.1 IP) and 101 strikeouts in 16 games (14 starts) between the Rookie Level ACL Cubs and Single-A Myrtle Beach in 2025. The righthander began the campaign with the ACL Cubs, going 1-2 with a 3.76 ERA (9 ER/21.2 IP) in five games (four starts). He struck out 34 batters, compared to five walks across his 21.2 innings in the Arizona Complex League. The six-foot Florentino was promoted to Myrtle Beach for the first time on June 7 and finished the campaign with the Pelicans, going 4-3 with a 1.96 ERA (13 ER/59.2 IP) and 67 strikeouts in 11 games (10 starts). He allowed three runs or fewer in 10 of his 11 outings with Myrtle Beach, including in nine-straight from June 27-Aug. 22, posting a 1.26 ERA (7 ER/50.0 IP) during the run. The stretch included a six-outing streak of allowing one run or fewer (0.55 ERA) from June 27-Aug. 1. Florentino was named the Carolina League Pitcher of the Month for July, going 1-0 with a 0.43 ERA (1 ER/21.0 IP) and 26 strikeouts in four games (three starts) during the month. Following the campaign, he was named to the Carolina League Post-Season All-Star team. A native of Azua, Dominican Republic, Florentino is 10-8 with a 2.61 ERA (44 ER/151.2 IP) in three seasons with the Cubs. He signed with the club as a free agent on January 15, 2023. The Buck O’Neil Cubs Minor League Player of the Year Award The Cubs Minor League Player of the Year Award is named after the legendary John “Buck” O’Neil, who spent 33 seasons (1956-88) in the Cubs organization as a scout, coach and instructor. A first baseman and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs, Buck managed Ernie Banks and Gene Baker when the two signed with the Cubs. As a scout for the organization, Buck signed future Hall of Famers Lou Brock and Lee Smith, as well as MLB veterans George Altman, Oscar Gamble and Joe Carter. As a mentor, O’Neil was instrumental in the development of Hall of Famer Billy Williams. After several seasons as a minor league and spring training instructor, O’Neil was promoted to the Cubs major league coaching staff in 1962 to become the first African American coach in MLB history. A driving force behind the creation of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, O’Neil was a long-time chairman of the institution and was an advocate for inducting Negro League players into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In 2006, O’Neil was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom - the United States’ highest civilian honor. Two years later, he was honored by the Hall of Fame with the creation of an award in his honor - the Buck O'Neil Lifetime Achievement Award – an award to be given not more than once every three years to honor an individual whose extraordinary efforts enhanced baseball's positive impact on society, broadened the game's appeal, and whose character, integrity and dignity are comparable to the qualities exhibited by O'Neil. O’Neil was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in July 2022. The Vedie Himsl Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award The Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award is named after A.B. “Vedie” Himsl, a former minor league pitcher whose time with the Cubs spanned 32 seasons through 1985. He joined the organization as a scout, and a year later in 1953 co-authored the final scouting report recommending the signing of Ernie Banks – the first African American to play for the Cubs. By the late 1950s, Himsl added roles as roving pitching instructor and minor league coordinator to his scouting duties. Himsl joined the Cubs major league staff as pitching coach in 1960 and served as part of the College of Coaches system through the 1964 season. In 1961, Himsl was named the first Head Coach in MLB history, serving three stints in the role during the season. He also served as Head Coach for many of the team’s minor league affiliates during the College of Coaches era. Himsl joined the front office in 1965 serving as the Assistant Director of Player Development and Procurement for four years. After a two-year stint as Director of MLB's Central Scouting Bureau, he returned to the Cubs in 1971, and a year later was promoted to Director of Scouting, a position he held until retiring after the 1985 season. Himsl continued to consult with the Cubs on scouting matters for well over the next decade.
