CHICAGO -- The Cubs' training complex in Arizona has been a hive of activity for most of this winter, with select prospects participating in a unique offseason-long camp. It will continue to hum along as a group of Minor Leaguers begin a minicamp later this month leading up to their Spring Training.

Jed Hoyer, the club's president of baseball operations, has talked repeatedly about building "the next great Cubs team." Some pieces to that puzzle might already be in place as his front-office group surveys the fields in Mesa, Ariz., in the coming months.

"It's an exciting time to be involved with player development here," said Jared Banner, who recently took over that department's top job. "The talent, it's everywhere around us. And it's our job to make the most of it."

Banner was recently promoted to the role of vice president of player development, following a year spent as the VP of special projects for the Cubs. He takes over for Matt Dorey, who was elevated to vice president of player personnel on Hoyer's staff.

Banner spoke with MLB.com this week to discuss his new role and other aspects of the Cubs' Minor Leagues. Here are the highlights of that conversation:

On being able to plan for a normal Minor League Spring Training and season, following the pandemic-impacted 2020 and ’21 campaigns:
Banner: "It's really an exciting time for the staff and the players. To be able to get a full camp and a full season in is a dream come true after the past couple years. So, we plan to take advantage of every moment we have together out on the field and continue working hard to get better every day."

On the offseason camp (housing, food and other resources provided by the Cubs) that has taken place for a group of around 30 prospects from November-February in Arizona:
Banner: "First, we have to thank Jed and the ownership group for giving us the resources to do this. I think it gives us a chance to provide an opportunity for the players to be with our [strength and conditioning] staff, be with our coaches during the offseason, build their bodies, continue to build their fundamental skill sets all offseason -- and in a wonderful training environment, which not everyone has when they go back home, right? It's just continuing their development, and they took real advantage of it. They showed up; they were committed to it. There was a ton of intensity and energy to the workouts. You can really see their improvements already."

On that type of offseason camp environment potentially building chemistry for players climbing the organizational ladder together:
Banner: "We spend so much time on the tangible things that we can measure. How much stronger guys are getting. How much harder they're hitting the ball. How their stuff is evolving on the mound. Things like that. But, yes, I do often think that there are some additional benefits just from the guys getting to know each other, spending an offseason together without the pressures of the season, spending time together away from the ballpark. They're all Cubs. They're all teammates. They will all, hopefully, be a part of our future. I think there was a level of chemistry built."

On his year spent as the Cubs' VP of special projects, following two years in the Mets' player development department and 11 previous years in the Red Sox’s front office:
Banner: "It was a great experience for me, because I got to touch a lot of different portions of the organization. I spent a lot of time working with our [research and development] staff on some of our modeling. I got to spend a lot of time in player development, working with Dorey and our other staff. I got to do a little bit of amateur scouting work. I got to spend a lot of time with Jed and our front office staff, and obviously we had a pretty impactful [Trade] Deadline. There was a lot to learn, and this is a great organization with a lot of really smart people that I had the chance to learn from. I thought it was one of my favorite years of my career."

On the state of the Cubs' farm system, following the wave of prospects added in the past year via the MLB Draft, international market and trades:
Banner: "I think there was already a lot of talent within the organization. Guys like Louie [Eljaua, VP of international scouting], Dan [Kantrovitz, VP of scouting] and Dorey have done a great job with finding talent. Then you add in the trades from last year and the recent Draft we just had, it's an exciting time."

On his goals as he takes over the lead role in the Cubs' player development system:
Banner: "I just want us to be very process oriented in development. We want to take an evidence-based approach to helping our players get better, right? So, we do a lot of research, we do a lot of reading, we do a lot of learning. And we want to be ever-evolving when it comes to how best to teach our players and provide them with resources and opportunity to grow."