Over the last three years, the Chicago Cubs have shown a willingness to part with talent from their farm system to upgrade their MLB roster. Whether it has been an offseason move or at the trade deadline, the organization hasn’t been afraid to take away from its pipeline if it felt they could solidify what it has seen as a playoff-caliber roster.In that time, the Cubs have parted with numerous prospects, including Cam Smith, Owen Caissie, Zyhir Hope, Jackson Ferris, Ty Johnson, Ronny Cruz and Alfonsin Rosario. Some of those deals have worked out well — trading Ferris and Hope brought in Michael Busch, their long-term answer at first base. Others don’t look great now — parting with Rosario for Eli Morgan almost immediately went wrong and losing Cruz in the Michael Soroka deal looks like a mistake.That the Cubs have the depth to make moves both big and small is what matters most. Not being able to do so was something Theo Epstein lamented during his later years with the club. While the pitching in the minors may not be up to snuff, the Cubs do have an improving system with plenty of bats.“I think it’s been a really good season so far for our system, position players in particular,” team president Jed Hoyer said. “I think we’ve had a lot of real breakouts, which has been good.”Hoyer often talks about how baseball is a young man’s game. The season that Pete Crow-Armstrong is putting up proves his point. Hoyer also pointed to infielder Pedro Ramírez as someone who may not have been on the radar last summer, but has now become an important depth piece for the big-league club.MLB cracks down on using AI in dugouts“The players that people are talking about as trade chips at this point, those are players that next year may well be impacting us,” Hoyer said. “I think you have to always keep that in mind.”Still, some of these players are important because they can be used in trades. While the Cubs World Series odds will largely dictate their aggressiveness this deadline, they won’t be hamstrung by a lack of talent in their system.Here are some names to know, not including those who were drafted this summer, as the trade deadline approaches.After a draft in which the team used 16 of their 21 picks on pitchers, the organization feels much better about the future of its pitching. That has made the Cubs much more willing to move arms who might have seemed unlikely to go just a few weeks ago. Top among them would be Jaxon Wiggins. Once the obvious top pitching prospect in the system, Wiggins may have fallen a spot after the Cubs took Cade Townsend with their first pick in this year’s draft. Wiggins has one of the best fastballs in the minors, but a balky elbow has limited him to just 22 1/3 innings across three levels this season. If another team is enamored with Wiggins, he could be had in the right deal, but probably not for a rental.Brooks Caple, a ninth-round pick out of Lamar University in 2024, is having a breakout season. He looks like a potential back-of-the-rotation piece for the future and would be a quality piece to move in a trade. Jostin Florentino had a velo pop last season, but still isn’t at a plus level there. He has an impressive sweeper and the velo bump (to the 90-91 range) at least makes him interesting. After missing some time, Will Sanders is back in the Triple-A rotation and has delivered a 3.21 ERA with a 28.2 percent strikeout rate over his last six starts. Dominick Reid, a 2025 third-rounder, was looking solid in A ball, but he has a shoulder injury and is unlikely to be on the mound again before the deadline. Prior to the draft, Kaleb Wing was probably the organization’s second-best pitcher and would have been a valuable trade piece for a controllable starter. But he has an injury that is likely to sideline him for the rest of the season. Mason McGwire has seemed to figure things out and is another name to keep in mind when the Cubs look to add at the deadline.As Hoyer hinted at, this system’s greatest strength lies with its bats. The top two names to know are Jefferson Rojas and Josiah Hartshorn. After struggling as a 20-year-old in his stint at Double A to end last season, Rojas is thriving this summer, displaying power along with his usually strong bat-to-ball skills. Hartshorn has torn through the minors and, at 19, could make it to Double A soon. Even Triple A isn’t out of the question if the Cubs choose to be aggressive. Either would be the centerpiece of a big deal that would get the Cubs the type of front-of-the-rotation arm they’d love to acquire but may be hard to pry away.The organization is still high on Ethan Conrad, last summer’s first-round pick who has been slowed by injuries and only just recently made it to a full-season affiliate. It’s hard to gauge his value right now, which makes him unlikely to be moved, considering he hasn’t been able to show what he’s worth.When Hoyer talks about a player who could impact the team next season, Owen Ayers is a name that immediately jumps to mind. The catcher dominated in the Arizona Fall League and has continued to rake through three levels, reaching Triple A recently, where he’s still performing at a high level. Catchers tend to develop slower, so even though Ayers turned 25 in June, he could still evolve into a quality player for the big-league club in short order. If the right deal came along, the Cubs won’t make him off limits. But Carson Kelly is a pending free agent and Ayers, a switch-hitter, could eventually pair well with Miguel Amaya behind the plate.It feels like James Triantos has been on Cubs prospects lists for a while now. The 2021 second-round pick is still only 23 and quietly hitting .310 at Triple A. Already on the 40-man roster, Triantos mostly plays second and third, making it unlikely that he can break through with the Cubs, especially with Ramírez passing him on the depth chart. A trade might be best for him and his career. Kane Kepley should have a lot of value as well as someone who takes his walks and hits for average while playing plus defense in center field. With Crow-Armstrong a fixture at the highest level, Kepley looks like someone who could be a part of a solid offer at the deadline.There are likely to be many other names bandied about over the next few weeks. Other organizations may be enamored with the data they see for young players in the Dominican Summer League or Arizona Complex League and hope to catch lightning in a bottle. Wilfri De La Cruz wasn’t on many radars a year ago and was enough to pry Andrew Kittredge away from Baltimore last summer.Ultimately, the Cubs have a much better system than what many believed entering the season. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers have better overall systems, allowing them to outbid the Cubs, should they want to, if competing for the same player. But the Cubs should have enough to add the pitching they need at the deadline. Whether it’s the big-name closer or top rotation arm the fans desire is the big question.