Once the system that was the envy of all the teams, it has steadily been depleted over the last few years from call-ups and a few trades along the way. But hey, they won a World Series in 2016 so it was all worth it for their fan base. Now comes the tough work for Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer as they try and rebuild the system they spent the first few years of their tenures building up in the first place. The system has produced great everyday players for them like Kris Bryant , Javier Báez , Willson Contreras , Albert Almora, Kyle Schwarber , and Kyle Hendricks following a trade. The trouble for the Cubs has been backfilling their pitching staff with homegrown prospects to this point, and as you’ll see reading through the write-up and watching the video, the pitching prospects are still not as strong as position players.

Org. Rank (100): 26

Division Rank (100): 4th

Top-100 Prospects: 2

Org. Rank (300): 29

Division Rank (300): 4th

Top-300 Prospects: 6

Affiliate

Level

League

DSL Cubs 1 & 2

Rookie Summer League

Dominican Summer League

AZL Cubs 1 & 2

Rookie League

Arizona League

Eugene Emeralds

Short-Season A

Northwest League

South Bend Cubs

Class A

Midwest League

Myrtle Beach Cubs

Class A-Advanced

Carolina League

Tennessee Smokies

Double-A

Southern League

Iowa Cubs

Triple-A

Pacific Coast League

 

Top Prospects In The System

Nico Hoerner

Pos. - SS  Ht/Wt - 5’11” 200 lbs.  Bats: R Throws: R Age: 22

Level - Triple-A  Drafted - 2018 (1.24)  ETA: 2020

Grades: Hit: 60 Power: 45 Run: 50 Arm: 55 Field: 55

Hoerner came up for a taste of the majors last year as the Cubs tried to make a late run at holding their playoff spot and gave Hoerner a shot for 20 games. Before the call-up, he had played 75 games, 70 at Double-A, with a .282/.305/.436/.741 slash line with three homers, 39 runs, 22 RBI, and eight steals and 20 additional extra-base hits. It shouldn’t be a surprise to see that stat line though as he’s a hit over power guy up the middle and has always been a guy that drawn almost as many walks as strikeouts in his career with 31 walks and 36 strikeouts. That’s what we’re now calling a throwback middle infielder as he plays very good defense and hits for average but has little power and steals a decent amount of bases. Based on the last few years of Cubs’ offense at the major league level, could use a type of hitter like Hoerner as they have a fair share of big boppers in the lineup but not a lot of work-the-count, get on base type guys that can hit in say the two-hole in a lineup. This coming year though, expect him to be with the big club for a big chunk of the year but he may not get the most playing time in the middle infield as of right now with Ian Happ , David Bote , Javier Báez , and Daniel Descalso all in the fold at second and short. Projecting him out though, he is a high average, .300-plus, and 15-steal type middle infielder when all is said and done.

Brennen Davis

Pos. - OF  Ht/Wt - 6’4” 175 lbs.  Bats: R Throws: R Age: 20

Level - Class-A  Drafted - 2018 (2.16)  ETA: 2022

Grades: Hit: 50 Power: 55 Run: 60 Arm: 55 Field: 55

Davis was a multi-sport athlete in high school in the Arizona Prep ranks and after a strong showing in the Area Code Games, he decided baseball was the path for him. His choice turned into a second-round pick by the Cubs in the 2018 draft and signing for $1.1 million. He uses that athleticism well on the baseball field with very good raw power and plus-speed from the right side of the plate and playing a good brand of defensive outfield. The overall hit tool is a bit below average right now but if the length of the swing, natural in his 6’4” frame, reduces, it should improve his ability to connect more regularly as he gets further along in the system. Playing 50 games at Class-A in 2019, he hit .305/.381/.525 with eight homers, 33 runs, 30 RBI, and four steals while managing a respectable 8.8-percent walk rate and a mid-18-percent K-rate. There is still a lot of filling out to do in his young and wiry frame being that he’s just 175 pounds at 6’4” which means he may lose just a step of speed as he matures and profiles more as a corner outfielder than a centerfielder long-term. That doesn’t mean that he won’t continue to steal bases as he moves up in the system and likely figures as a 25-30 steal per year candidate. That coupled with his power should make him a 25-25 or perhaps 30-30 type outfielder at his best while hitting tops .270.

Brailyn Marquez

Pos. - LHP  Ht/Wt - 6’4” 185 lbs.  Bats: L Throws: L Age: 20

Level - A-Advanced  Signed - August 2015  ETA: 2021

Grades: Fastball: 65 Curveball: 55 Changeup: 50 Control: 45

Marquez was signed for $600,000 in 2015 when the Cubs couldn’t resist his projectable 6’4” frame and low-90s velocity at such a young age. He’s now improved the velocity to 95-97 after getting consistent work with the Cubs development staff and work in the weight room making him perhaps the hardest throwing lefty in the minor league ranks in any organization. That’s all well and good, but there are some questions left with him still after being treated with kid gloves to this point in that he’s thrown just 153.1 innings in three pro seasons. He also has, to this point, a hard to repeat three-quarters delivery that makes controlling and developing the secondary stuff tough for him. The fastball isn’t in doubt in terms of being an out pitch, but the potential plus power curve also shows as a slurve from time-to-time when he gets on top of it, and it becomes far more hittable. There’s also a developing changeup as well that is currently just below-average. In 103.2 innings split between Class-A and High-A last year, he put up a solid 3.13 ERA and a 128:50 K:BB ratio, most of those strikeouts came on the good fastball but as he moves up he will need those secondary pitches to be refined so that he doesn’t become a one-pitch guy and easy to figure out. Marquez has the stuff to be a number two starter if all goes well with his development, but more likely than not he will be a mid-rotation starter or a high-velocity southpaw out of the pen in a few years.

Miguel Amaya

Pos. - C  Ht/Wt - 6’1” 185 lbs.   Bats: R Throws: R Age: 20

Level - A-Advanced  Signed - July 2015 ETA: 2021

Grades: Hit: 50 Power: 50 Run: 35 Arm: 55 Field: 60

The Cubs have a history of developing catchers through their system, whether they remain behind the dish or not i.e. Kyle Schwarber and then Willson Contreras . Amaya is the next in that line, though there are some questions as to whether or not he’ll have the same hit and power tools that the aforementioned prospects did. Amaya is coming off a full season at High-A with a slash line of .235/.351/.402 with 11 homers, 57 RBI, 50 runs, and two steals. For a catcher, the average is usually expected to be lower, but this was lower by his own standards than even the year before at Class-A when he hit .256 while the rest of the slash line was nearly identical. The positive note for Amaya is that over the last few seasons, he’s seen his pull-percentage drop from 59-percent in 2016 to 45.6-percent last year while hitting to the opposite field has increased, showing that he’s working the ball to all fields better. His defensive ability is what initially put him on the prospect radar and his arm has only improved since turning pro as has his pop times. Amaya profiles as an average hitting catcher with pop to match and shouldn’t be a liability defensively or calling games making him an everyday catcher type prospect.

Cole Roederer

Pos. - OF  Ht/Wt - 6’0” 175 lbs.  Bats: L Throws: L Age: 20

Level - Class-A  Drafted - 2018 (2C.77)  ETA: 2022

Grades: Hit: 50 Power: 55 Run: 55 Arm: 50 Field: 50

There’s a chance that Roederer actually has the highest offensive ceiling of any prospect in the system...that is if everything pans out. His draft stock took a tumble thanks to a non-throwing shoulder injury in his senior year of high school and a seemingly strong commitment to UCLA but that didn’t stop the Cubs from drafting him in the Comp. B round and paying an above slot price for him. The tools are there for him to be a .300 hitter with 25-home run pop and capable of stealing 15 bags but there is a lot that has to go right for him to turn into that after a step backward in his first full season at A-ball. He slashed .224/.319/.365 with nine home runs, 60 RBI, 45 runs, and 16 steals in 108 games at South Bend. While the slash line doesn’t look great he did have a .285 BABIP and .325 wOBA with 23 XBH aside from the nine homers so there is something there to match his profile. Roederer is a pull-happy hitter from the left side of the dish at 52-percent last year and his 25-percent K-rate can’t go much higher if he hopes to make the most of his hit and power tools. Defensively the arm profiles at either center or left and with the chance that he loses a step as he continues to physically mature, he will likely move over to left field as he advances through the Cubs’ system. Again, there is a lot to hope for from Roederer with a line for your fantasy team that could be .290-.300 with a .350-.360 OBP given his ability to draw double-digit walk-percentages and 25-15 in the home run and steals category, or he could be more like a .260 hitter with 15-20 home run pop and 12-15 steals if he loses more than a step. He definitely warrants watching though.

Prospects To Watch For

Like the other teams this far down the rankings, there may not be the elite guys to count on at the top, but there are guys that have a tool or two right now to build around in the Cubs system. Let’s look at some of those prospects a bit further down the ranks of the system.

Rafael Morel

SS Age: 18 ETA: 2023 Rookie Ball

Morel is one of the youngest players in the Cubs’ system as he only has one year of rookie ball under his belt to this point, but the makings are there for him to be a prospect to watch. In the 60 games at rookie ball, he slashed .283/.373/.448 with a .319 BABIP and .395 wOBA and .195 ISO. The counting stats were solid too with four homers, 50 runs, 32 RBI, and 23 steals not to mention the 21 XBH aside from the home runs. The slight-framed shortstop at 5’11” and 165 pounds should continue to add muscle to the frame as he matures and gets on a regular weight training schedule. He has a short, right-handed swing that is more of a flat swing rather than an uppercut type which also generates a lot of pull contact right now. In the 60 games he played, Morel posted a 60.8-percent Pull-rate along with a 41.6-percent ground-ball rate. His speed and defense are his two best traits at the moment but there is a lot of development left and he could wind up being a solid middle infielder with nice steals upside down the road.

 

 

Adbert Alzolay

RHP Age: 24 ETA: 2020 Triple-A

Alzolay for a time, a while actually, was the Cubs’ top pitching prospect, then he got to Triple-A. In 105 combined innings between 2018 and 2019, Alzolay posted a 4.54 ERA, 4.64 FIP, 5.17 xFIP with a 1.34 WHIP, .300 BABIP, and 3.8 BB/9. There were some good notes with a 10.1 K/9 rate and 26.1-percent K-rate but in general he was hit way too hard and didn’t keep the ball in the park with a 1.2 HR/9 mark. Part of his issue is that he’s mainly a two-pitch pitcher with his mid-90s fastball and sharp, late-breaking curveball both being plus offerings on the 20-80 scale. The third pitch is a changeup but that’s still developing and is a below-average pitch. If he can develop his changeup, he’s got a better chance of sticking as a starter prospect but if he’s more of a two-pitch guy, the bullpen is more in line with where he’ll fit long-term.

 

 

Ryan Jensen

RHP Age: 22 ETA: 2022 A-SS

He was drafted in the first round of the 2019 June draft and the former Bulldog, from Fresno State, has an interesting profile. From the 2019 MLB Draft Analysis: “The first reach of the draft is Jensen going 27th to the Cubs as he hovered around 100 in most rankings, including mine. He possesses a great fastball that explodes towards home and holds the 97-98 mph velocity into the seventh inning of his starts this year. However, aside from the above-average slider, there isn’t much else to his profile. Jensen’s frame isn’t the biggest around and that might limit him to more of a relief role in the long-term, especially if his third pitch, a changeup, doesn’t develop. The fastball is hard to miss and might be the best of that pitch in the draft, but one pitch doesn’t get you to the majors alone.” With a devastating fastball-slider combo, his ultimate spot might be as a future closer for the Cubs however, in his first taste of pro ball, he started all six of his appearance but only averaged two innings a start. In those 12 innings he struck out 19 and walked 14, which isn’t a great sign in a very small sample size either.. 

 

 

Chase Strumpf

2B Age: 21 ETA: 2022 Class-A

Strumpf followed Jensen as the Cubs’ second-round pick in the 2019 June draft and he profiles as a bat-first second baseman who has a better hit tool than Nico Hoerner and more power too, but the fielding is only adequate at the position. He went through three levels after being drafted last year making it from rookie ball to A-ball before an injury ended his season in late-August. During his 39-game taste of pro ball, he slashed .244/.374/.400 with a .774 OPS in 135 at-bats though, in 89 at-bats at Low-A he hit .292/.405/.449. He will likely be pushed pretty quickly through the system as the cubs have a history of moving guys they like through the system faster than expected and soon with some tweaks to his line-drive stroke he could be a 15-homer, 10-steal middle infielder on the North Side.

 

 

Christopher Morel

3B Age: 20 ETA: 2022 Class-A

If the last name seems familiar, you’ve been paying attention because Christopher is actually the older brother to Rafael, mentioned earlier. Morel plays the hot corner and a bit of shortstop and at 20 years old, he’s just about as lanky as his younger brother being 6’0” and 140 lbs and the hope is that he’ll get more of his raw power into games as he adds more muscle and weight to his frame. In the meantime, he’s played 188 games between two years of rookie ball, a half a season at Low-A, and last year at A-ball with a combined slash line of .243/.308/.382 with 16 homers, 107 runs, 91 RBI, and 33 steals. Most of those steals (23) came in 61 games at rookie ball when chopping down would-be base stealers isn’t a main part of the game. Don’t expect the speed to stick as he develops and gets physically bigger but the power should improve. Eventually, Morel should be a 20 home run bat hitting about .260 at the hot corner who may throw in a handful of steals throughout the season.