Checking in on the Chicago Cubs top 10 prospects so far this season

Chicago Cubs: Brailyn Marquez – SP, South Bend Cubs

Of all Chicago’s prospects, Brailyn Marquez is one of the most captivating of the bunch. Like Amaya, Marquez is 20 years old but already has extensive experience in professional baseball since signing with the Cubs in 2015.

In a few short years, Marquez has worked his way to Class-A South Bend where he is so far dominating the competition. Through his first seven starts for South Bend in 2019, spanning 30 total innings, Marquez is 2-0 with a 2.70 ERA. Impressively, he is striking out hitters at a ridiculous 33.1 percent strikeout rate. The walks have risen. However, that is to be expected to a point.

In his past two starts, Marquez has allowed a total of just two earned runs. He has also not allowed a home run in four straight starts. Within the scope of those two starts, it has been the first time Marquez has reached five innings, which is a sign of improvement. Outside of that, the young hurler has only allowed four earned runs one time.

Marquez is currently averaging a solid six strikeouts per game and despite the rising walk rate, is doing a decent job in keeping free passes at bay. Assuming he can continue on this path this season it would be no surprise to see him land with Myrtle Beach.