CHICAGO -- One of the stated goals for Cubs president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer has been to not only build a playoff team in the Majors, but create a farm system that can consistently impact the roster. Over the past two seasons, Chicago has put that on display.
Center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong -- MLB Pipeline’s top Cubs prospect at the start of last season -- was in the National League’s All-Star team’s starting lineup this year and is one of baseball’s bright young stars. Third baseman Matt Shaw and righty Cade Horton, who ranked Nos. 1-2 for the Cubs to begin this year, are now key pieces to the MLB group, too.
“It’s sort of rare to have a group of young position players that are basically Major League ready,” Hoyer said recently about the next wave waiting at Triple-A Iowa. “You’re not talking about guys who are two or three years away. Those guys are kind of ready to help us and I think they're going to help us this year. I think we’ve already seen the value of those types of players.”
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It explains why Hoyer held tight to Shaw, Horton and other highly-ranked prospects at the Trade Deadline last month. Said Hoyer: “Young players are the lifeblood of a team, and I think a lot of players are going to help us very soon.”
With that in mind, here is Pipeline’s latest, re-ranked Top 30 list for the Cubs, following the MLB Draft:
Here’s a look at the Cubs’ top prospects:
- Owen Caissie, OF (MLB No. 45)
- Moisés Ballesteros, C (No. 52)
- Jefferson Rojas, SS (No. 62)
- Jaxon Wiggins, RHP (No. 84)
- Kevin Alcántara, OF
Biggest jump/fall
Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the preseason list:
Jump: Grant Kipp, RHP (Preseason: NR | Midseason: 19) -- Kipp, 25, signed as an undrafted free agent out of Yale in August ‘22 and has quietly developed into an intriguing prospect. With one of the best curveballs in the system and a fastball that sits around 92-94 mph, the righty has posted a 3.41 ERA with 96 strikeouts in 87 innings for Double-A Knoxville this year.
Fall: Fernando Cruz, INF (Preseason: 9 | Midseason: NR) -- The Cubs signed Cruz with a $4 million bonus in January ‘24, but the 18-year-old prospect has struggled since turning pro. He hit .215 (.655 OPS) in the Dominican Summer League in ‘24 and then hit .165 (.564) in 24 games in the Arizona Complex League this year.
New to the list
Here are the players added to the Top 30 from outside the organization:
No. 6: Ethan Conrad, OF (first round of Draft)
No. 12: Kane Kepley, OF (second round of Draft)
No. 13: Kaleb Wing, RHP (fourth round of Draft)
No. 15: Josiah Hartshorn, OF (sixth round of Draft)
No. 18: Dominick Reid, RHP (third round of Draft)
No. 20: Kade Snell, OF (fifth round of Draft)
Best tools
Compiled by Pipeline expert Jim Callis:
Hit: 60 -- Ballesteros
Power: 60 – Caissie
Run: 70 -- Brett Bateman
Arm: 60 -- Caissie (Angel Cepeda, Cole Mathis)
Defense: 70 -- Bateman
Fastball: 65 -- Wiggins
Curveball: 60 -- Kipp
Slider: 60 -- Wiggins (Nazier Mulé, Jack Neely)
Changeup: 60 -- Reid
Control: 55 -- Brandon Birdsell