Chicago Cubs Prospects: MLB.com’s Jim Callis weighs in

Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports

With all the focus this spring being placed on the kids in the minors (for the good or the bad), the Cubs have had the pleasure of watching Kris Bryant, Javier Baez, Albert Almora and more participate in big league camp. This has given the Cubs and their fans a first hand look at their future and everyone has continued pondering when we’ll see them at Wrigley or even if we will as a Cub.

Jim Callis, senior writer for MLB.com and MLBPipeline.com, has a great knowledge for top prospects all around baseball. With all the prospect talk swirling, if you tune into Twitter you`re bound to find some gold, and Cubs fans following Callis Tuesday afternoon got a treat. Callis answered several questions for fans with respect to some big storylines for Cubs prospects in 2014 and beyond.

Callis addresses some pressing matters for the Cubs’ future, including an interesting thought on the future theoretical solution of the logjam in the infield. Callis opines that Mike Olt is the odd man out in the group, Alcantara should be the future second baseman of the Cubs, and Javier Baez will take over at third. While that`s certainly an impressive group of guys, anything can happen. Performance, injuries, trades will all help resolve the surplus in the future, possibly even as soon as 2014.

The tidbit on Mike Olt was particularly fascinating, as it makes a considerable amount of sense. Theo & Jed need Mike Olt to really take that third base spot to open the season, they are smart enough to know Cubs fans are craving something interesting, or important to watch as soon as this season and a healthy Mike Olt will provide that. This all obviously depends on Olt`s shoulder fatigue, as the front office won`t want to take a chance if they can just let him get some at-bats down in triple-A. Long story short, the Cubs need Olt to lock down the position.

However, one of the most exciting topics Callis touches on is C.J. Edwards, of course acquired from Texas last summer. Callis, along with many other prospect gurus in the industry, believe Edwards can be a number one or two starter in the bigs depending on how his slim frame holds up. To hear such high praise on a Cubs pitching prospect instead of a Baez or Bryant is extremely refreshing. Not to mention, Callis also suggested fellow righty Pierce Johnson has top of the rotation potential.

The Cubs are in a great position starting this season. It’s certainly hard to accept that when you see the big league roster, but this year we’ll most likely get to see Baez, Alcantara, and even right-hander Kyle Hendricks. Some future positional “logjams” will clear from the cloudy haze, and the Cubs will hopefully gain a better perspective on where they stand in the rebuild. When the Cubs are getting such high praise from guys like Callis and Baseball Prospectus’ Jason Parks, you know the organization is heading in the right direction.

There’s a whole lot more Cubs talk on Callis’ account, including thoughts on Dan Vogelbach, Eloy Jimenez, and even righty Duane Underwood (remember him?), in other words, he’s a great follow for you fans interested in staying in tune with the industry’s views on Cubs prospects and their futures in the bigs.

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