Cubs Prospect Jonathon Long Has A Long Curve Pairing Power And Communication
Jonathon Long has logged a sparkling 137 wRC+ since being selected in the ninth round of the 2023 draft out of Long Beach State. How bright the future is for him is a question that cannot be easily answered. Ranked 17th on our recently released 2026 Cubs Top Prospects list with a 40 FV, the 24-year-old first baseman has a promising, but somewhat concerning profile.
Last season’s numbers were very strong. Playing at Triple-A Iowa, Long slashed a solid .305/404/.479 with 20 home runs and a 131 wRC+ over 607 plate appearances, leading to Minor League Player of the Year honors. His right-handed bat hasn’t been as productive in the current campaign — a .294/.369/.405 slash line with a pair of rotation players and a 101 wRC+ over 143 plate appearances — but he still remains a threat to opposing pitchers. In addition, he has started to warm up. Over his last nine games with Iowa, Long is 14-for-40 (.350).
A sprained elbow caused the Orange, California native to miss spring training, which coincided with myannualannualgategateun off-wharf. Marked by his stat sheet and scouting reports alike, I asked Long if he considers himself a power hitter, or a contact guy.
“I’m probably a little bit of both,” answered Long, whose 20.3% strikeout rate and 10.5% walk rate this season are worse than last year’s respective marks of 19.7% and 13.2%. “I don’t like to get hit, and I’ve got really good exit velocity numbers. When you put them together, you get a high level of contact with a power hitter.”
Our latest optimistic report on Long, compiled by Eric Longenhagen and James Fegan, is largely in line with that assessment. Bullish agreed, but came with a caveat:
“Long is swinging hard and we have a few basic data points that confirm his statistical output so far – better than average contact, hit-and-run rates, and exit velocity – but we’re hesitant to translate to the big leagues without incident because Long’s swing is long.”
I did not inquire at length about the length of his stroke, but pointed out the violence of it, which I had heard of before.
“I have above average bat speed,” he replied. “That plays into my exit rates, which I think were in the 90th percentile last year. But it comes naturally. I don’t try to swing too hard. When you’re in a game and you’ve got adrenaline, and the ball’s going in fast, that’s what happens. You can hit the ball a lot more when you do.
“I never tried to hit home runs,” Long added. “If I’m actually trying to swing too much, or I’m trying to create lift, I just create swings and misses. So, I just try to stay in the middle of the field. That makes you pull the ball on offspeed pitches, or shoot the ball to another pitch on fastballs. That’s the way I take it.”
Which brings us to another item Eric and James wrote:
“It takes a little while for the bat to match the plane in a way that will help him open the baseball, and he ends up late at contact.”
“I tried to pull the ball a lot, but naturally I don’t move that well,” Long explained to me in Arizona. “I try to stick to what I know how to do, and if that leads to a home run, that’s what you do. If not, I’m going to make hard contact no matter what. I’ve always hit the ball deep; I’ve always used the right pitch.”
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Sticking to what works for him doesn’t mean Long didn’t like making changes. He’s had a leg injury in his first two seasons in the class, but after struggling to hit high speed while playing in the Cape Cod League in 2022, he’s struggled. After four years, he is thinking about another change.
“Last year, my groundball rate was a little high for my liking,” admitted Long, whose 45.9% groundball rate was far from ideal, as was this season’s nearly identical 45.3% mark. “Instead of a 106 mph grounder to shortstop, I’d like to raise the ball higher. The more OPS points, the better. It’s a matter of contact point. Same swing, but catching the ball where I get it in the air. That’s something I need to do better.”
