Cubs manager Craig Counsell stepped out of the Wrigley Field dugout Wednesday afternoon to meet 2025 first-round draft pick Ethan Conrad on the warning track.
They talked for a few minutes, looking out on the field where Conrad hopes to play in the not-so-distant future.
“Being here is just unreal,” Conrad said Wednesday before the Cubs’ game against the Brewers. “It’s awesome. I really just try to take it all in. It’s so beautiful here. And it feels like home.”
Every year the Cubs bring their first-round pick to Wrigley Field during a home series. For Conrad, the No. 17 overall pick this year, it was his first-ever trip to Chicago.
Cubs 2025 first-round pick Ethan Conrad meets Craig Counsell pic.twitter.com/EokxaAwWKn
— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) August 20, 2025
Before stepping onto the field with his family, Conrad met several current Cubs, including 17-year veteran Justin Turner, first-time All-Star Pete Crow-Armstrong and rookie Matt Shaw.
Turner kept their conversation light, making signing-bonus related jokes. And Conrad connected with Shaw over the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, where they played on rival teams a couple years apart.
“When you play in that league, you hear the legends about how he did really good and hit all these home runs,” Conrad said. “That’s when I first heard of him.”
Not that long ago, Conrad wasn’t sure what a left shoulder injury would mean for his draft stock. During a game in March, the Wake Forest outfielder dislocated his shoulder and tore his labrum on a full-speed dive. Weeks later, he underwent surgery.
“A really stressful time,” Conrad said on draft night. “I didn’t know what was going to happen with the draft, and I was really upset not being able to help my teammates out. And then being able to get selected 17th is just super crazy. I wasn’t expecting it, and I’m just super grateful, and I’m super excited to get going.”
Conrad’s been at the Cubs’ Arizona spring training complex for the past month, working with the club’s medical and strength and conditioning staff.
He said he’s scheduled to start swinging next week, and he could even get in live batting practice before the end of the minor-league season.
“It’s been going well, and it feels great,” said Conrad, who could lean on the experience of tearing his right labrum in high school. “It’s just, you’ve got to be patient during it. That’s been the biggest thing.”
Tucker remains out
Right-fielder Kyle Tucker was out of the lineup for the third consecutive game Wednesday, after sitting for the entirety of the doubleheader Tuesday. The Cubs hope the time off will help their struggling star reset on offense.
“We’re going day by day,” Counsell said. “At the start of this, for me, this was going to be two days because you have to give it some time. We’ll just go from there.
Horton on track
Counsell said that he is “optimistic” that right-hander Cade Horton will make his start Saturday, after exiting his appearance Monday with a blister on his right middle finger.
“We’re just happy with how it looks and how it feels,” Counsell said.