MESA, Ariz. – The Cubs felt fortunate to see outfielder Ethan Conrad – considered one of the more polished collegiate bats in last summer’s class – still on the board when their pick arrived in the Draft’s first-round last summer. He has the potential to swiftly climb up the system and prospect rankings.
Conrad’s professional debut, however, remains in a holding pattern. On Sunday, Cubs director of player development Jason Kanzler noted that the 21-year-old outfielder is dealing with a lower-back issue that will likely keep the prospect sidelined for the first month of the Minor League season.
“I don’t have a concrete timeline,” Kanzler said at Sloan Park. “He’s probably going to miss roughly a month, but past that, it’s very fluid.”
Kanzler said there was “no acute injury event” that led to the back injury for Conrad, who is ranked No. 3 on Pipeline’s Top 30 list for the Cubs and has the potential to crack the Top 100 overall list this year. Under these circumstances, the Cubs plan on being cautious with Conrad’s comeback, allowing him the runway needed to return at full strength for his first Minor League season.
The Cubs picked Conrad with the 17th overall selection ($3,563,100 signing bonus) in the first-round of the 2025 Draft out of Wake Forest, while the outfielder was coming back from a left shoulder injury. Chicago’s scouting team felt Conrad was the caliber of hitter who easily could have been drafted in the first 10 picks, but the injury situation contributed to his still being available for the Cubs.
Prior to transferring to Wake Forest, Conrad slashed .389/.467/.704 for Marist as a sophomore and then finished second in the Cape Cod League in batting (.385) in ‘24. He was off to a strong start last spring with the Demon Deacons (seven homers, eight doubles, 27 RBIs and a 1.238 OPS in 21 games) before the shoulder injury, which required season-ending surgery.
“When he was doing his hitting work with us on the backfields and in the cages,” Kanzler said, “it is impressive. It’s loud tools. It’s exactly what we expected when we drafted him. He’s got tools. He’s got skills. So, we’re just going to manage this right now so we can get him back on the field.”