Chicago Cubs: Trevor Clifton plummets on MLB.com Top 30 rankings

As the Chicago Cubs seek to develop homegrown young pitching talent, one of their more promising arms, Trevor Clifton, is trending downward in a big way.

There are few organizations that have enjoyed as much success developing internal talent as the Chicago Cubs – at least in recent years. Under Theo Epstein, homegrown talent such as Kyle Schwarber, Kris Bryant, Albert Almora, Ian Happ and Javier Baez have become big league mainstays.

Paired with the likes of Anthony Rizzo and Addison Russell, this group played a huge role in the team’s recent three-year run of success that saw the Cubs bring home a World Series title and make three straight National League Championship Series.

But now fans are already casting a wary eye to the future. Though still several years away, Chicago’s championship window will close – likely when these young players get to test free agency for the first time. With such fears embedded in their hearts, eyes are on the horizon – at the next wave of prospects.

We all know the elephant in the room. The Cubs traded away some top Minor League talent in the last two years, including Eloy Jimenez, Dylan Cease and Gleyber Torres. Between these trades and graduation to the Majors, the organizational depth isn’t what it was – at least not in terms of impact talent.