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

A promising start to a young career

Epstein has focused almost exclusively on pitching in recent drafts – especially with his higher picks. Last year, the Cubs took a pair of pitchers – Brendon Little and Alex Lange – with their first two selections in the draft. But they’re not who we’re here to talk about. Instead, we’re discussing Chicago’s twelfth-round pick from 2013 – right-hander Trevor Clifton.

One year removed from ranking eighth on MLB.com’s organizational prospect rankings, Clifton is searching for answers.

In 2013, the Tennessee native garnered the fifth-highest draft bonus handed out by the Cubs – $375,000. As The Athletic pointed out earlier this year, all seemed well.

The 6-foot-4 and 220-pound Clifton used his big fastball and solid secondaries to climb prospect rankings while pitching well in short-season ball in 2014, quite well in the Midwest League in 2015, and exceptionally well at Myrtle Beach in 2016, where he posted a 2.72 ERA (3.05 FIP) over 119 innings while striking out nearly 10 batters per inning, forcing his way onto many Cubs top-10 prospect lists.

2017 – the year the wheels fell off in a big way

Then, 2017 happened.

After getting off to a very solid start (3.34 FIP in his first 11 starts), he absolutely imploded at Double-A Tennesee. Before the sun set on his season, his numbers were as follows:

• 1.91 strikeout-to-walk ratio (down from a career-best 3.15 in 2016)
• 7.7 K/9 (down from 9.8 in 2016)
• 1.565 WHIP (up from a career-best 1.160 in 2016)
• 5.20 ERA (up sharply from a career-best 2.72 in 2016)

Organizational focus on young pitching

The promising big right-hander, seemingly on the short path to Chicago this time last year now has to battle for everything. He no longer holds a 40-man roster spot. But, still just 23 years of age, he has a lot of time left to get back on the right track.

More importantly, perhaps, he enjoys an organization focusing in a big way on developing pitching. After trading for Jose Quintana and shelling out $165 million combined to Yu Darvish and Tyler Chatwood this winter, the Cubs need some in-house answers in the years to come.

There’s little pressure on these young prospects to figure it out right now with the rotation under control for the next three years, minimum. But, on the same hand, there’s no way a lackadaisical approach to the game is every tolerated in the Cubs’ affiliates.

Clifton is a part of a larger organizational strategy we’ve mentioned a few times already. In 2016, the Cubs drafted 13 pitchers with 14 picks. Last year, their first five picks were pitchers. Of their Top 30, 21 are pitchers – more than any other club in Major League Baseball.

The main problem for a guy like Clifton is getting lost amongst all the depth in the farm system. You either keep trucking along and gr

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inding it out or risk these low-level guys taking your roster spot. And, believe me, Chicago has a lot of those lower-level talents chomping at the bit for their shot.

Is everything lining up perfectly?

Another interesting bit in the Cubs’ MLB.com Top 30 breakdown? Looking at when these guys are projected to crack the big league roster. 11 of the 30? Set for a 2021 debut in the Windy City. Which lines up right near the end of the current core’s championship window.

Can Epstein and the Cubs put together another level of enviable young talent – except one pitching-focused? You’d be crazy to doubt the man. And with guys like Trevor Clifton still battling, I think we’re going to see more pitching than you’re used to hit the Confines in the years to come – struggles notwithstanding.