2 overlooked Cubs pitching prospects are demanding more attention lately

To put it mildly, the Chicago Cubs have had a rough go of it when it comes to pitching talent this year. Cade Horton is done for the year. Justin Steele recently suffered a setback in his rehab from elbow surgery. To add insult to injury, Matthew Boyd was sidelined with a torn meniscus that required surgery. That's just the rotation; the bullpen has struggled with enough injuries that Chicago turned to former White Sox closer Liam Hendriks on a minor league deal earlier this week.

When a team as good as the Cubs have been so far this year is being held back by injuries, it's more important than ever to have up-and-coming talent on the farm. Whether those players will impact the big league club this year or be trade chips for the front office to utilize this summer, it's extremely valuable for the club to have them on hand. The Cubs' farm system is typically viewed as skewing more towards hitting talent, but two pitching prospects have opened eyes so far this year.

The most talked about of those two prospects is right-hander Kaleb Wing, who was drafted in the fourth round of last year's draft and only recently converted to pitching after spending most of his time as an amateur on the infield. Baseball America's Bryan Smith recently lauded Wing for his strong start to the year, noting the elite ride on his four-seam fastball and describing his changeup as a "60/65 pitch" on the 20 to 80 scale. Wing's made just two starts so far, but has already struck out 14.

Wing is still years away from the majors given that he's just 19 years old and currently pitches in the Arizona Complex League. The same can't be said for 23-year-old righty Brooks Caple, who was drafted in the ninth round back in 2024 and has mostly flown under the radar throughout his time in the organization.

That's starting to change, as Caple struck out 29.9 percent of his opponents in his first five starts of theyear to earn a promotion to Double-A. In his debut at the new level, he fired off 3 2/3 scoreless innings while racking up six strikeouts. That's garnered him plenty of attention in prospecting circles, and Fangraphs recently went as far as to rank Caple ahead of Wing as the #9 prospect in Chicago's farm system.

Cubs face dilemma between the present and future with prospect breakouts

There's just one problem for president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer and the rest of the front office as Caple and Wing break out: Neither pitcher is especially likely to impact the Cubs this year. That leaves them likely to be in a position this summer where they'll need to choose between the present and the future.

The Cubs' system is deep in young hitting talent, with Moises Ballesteros and Matt Shaw impacting the club at the big league level while Kevin Alcantara, Ethan Conrad, Kane Kepley, and Jonathon Long (among others) work their way through the minor leagues. The same cannot be said when it comes to pitching. Jaxon Wiggins is a consensus top-100 prospect, but beyond him the cupboard was quite bare entering this year.

The emergence of Caple and Wing certainly helps on that front, but the front office must now decide how to use this newfound prospect capital. If a deal for an impact starter like Freddy Peralta were within reach, would Hoyer surrender one of these up-and-coming young arms to seal the deal? Or would the team be better served holding onto them ahead of a winter where Shota Imanaga, Jameson Taillon, and Boyd are all slated to reach free agency?

While it's important for the Cubs to get those decisions right, it's important to remember that this is ultimately a good problem to have. Any organization in baseball would love to be torn between holding onto a talented prospect or using them as a trade chip in a blockbuster. That's clearly preferable to the alternative of not having enough prospect talent to get a deal done, even if a perfect world would see the Cubs churn out pitching prospects often enough to fill holes internally.

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