Chicago Cubs: Baseball America releases Cubs Top 10 prospects

Over the past several years, the Chicago Cubs unleashed a wave of talented prospects. Men who have left an early mark on the world of professional baseball.

Not to mention, they have helped the Chicago Cubs end their 108-year championship drought this past Fall. One of the original pieces was shortstop, Starlin Castro who made his debut against the Cincinnati Reds in May of 2010.

Sadly, he was later moved to the New York Yankees in exchange for Adam Warren and a player who spent very little time with the Cubs. Once Castro left the farm system, the front-office went back to work.

Just a few years ago, Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, Kyle Hendricks, and Tsuyoshi Wada were called up to the big leagues. Alongside Anthony Rizzo, the young group of players managed to turn a few heads along the way.

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The following year was much better. Having Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, and Kyle Schwarber coming up to make a name for themselves as well.

Bryant went on to winning National League Rookie of the Year honors while Schwarber became a postseason hero. Someone who wasn’t expected to stay on the big league roster until Chicago had no choice but to keep him.

Wise choice as he helped lift the Cubs to their first LCS appearance since 2003.

The Future and Beyond

Now, with the men listed above, in addition to Albert Almora Jr. and Willson Contreras, it’s time to take a look at the future. A list of names who sit at the top of the list according to Baseball America.

Sitting at the top of the list is outfielder, Eloy Jimenez. Jimenez shined in last years’ Futures Game where he had two hits, a home run, and four RBI on top of a highlight play in right field. There’s no telling when he’ll be ready for major league action but we do know it’ll be tough to fit him in.

As of right now, the outfield consists of Kyle Schwarber in left, Almora Jr. and Jon Jay in center with Jason Heyward in right. Almora has been listed as the Cubs No. 3 prospect behind utility man, Ian Happ.

Happ, aside from Dylan Cease (No. 4), Oscar De La Cruz (No. 5), Trevor Clifton (No. 8), and Jose Albertos (No. 10), could have the easiest path. He’ll more than likely begin the year with Double-A Tennessee and work his way up to Triple-A Iowa.

So a time-table of anywhere between two to possibly three years could be the window of when he may debut. Who knows, it could happen sooner rather than later if anything happens to Ben Zobrist or Javier Baez.

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Long before the Cubs made another trade with the Yankees for Aroldis Chapman, both Gleyber Torres and Billy McKinney were considered Chicago’s top prospects. Now they’re making a name for themselves for New York.

Keep in mind, a few names on the current list could very well end up becoming trade chips. The Chapman trade showed us that no one is safe unless you’ve already shown your worth as a member of the major league club.