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Chicago Cubs: Latest Baseball America prospect ranks should excite fans
As is customary around this time, Baseball America releases its Top 100 prospects list for the upcoming year. While the Chicago Cubs did see one prospect drop from the ranks, the club landed three future stars on the list.
It’s the best time of the year. The time when we grow ever closer to pitchers and catchers reporting and the time when the newest, most up-to-date prospect list is dropped. For fans of the game and especially for those who love prospects, it is like Christmas in January. For the first time in a while, Chicago Cubs fans have something to be excited about.
In August of last year, Baseball America published its top organization talent rankings by team (subscription required). Not surprisingly, the Cubs landed at 29th overall, out of 30 franchises. While that part stings, especially in the wake of the rumors surrounding the current core, there is still a lot that should attract excited fans about the crop who are working their way through the pipeline.
Baseball America’s Top 100 list is a consortium of the best prospects in the game. So sure, the Cubs may not have the best prospect in baseball or even a prospect considered in the top ten, but that should not stop people from looking towards the future of this club and the talent waiting.
Chicago Cubs: SP Brailyn Marquez, Class-A Advanced, No.37 overall
Making his way as the “top” Cubs prospect on the top 100 list is a 20-year-old fireballer, Brailyn Marquez. Nothing more can be discussed about this kid other than the strong likelihood of his status as the future ace of the starting rotation on the north side.
Marquez signed with the Cubs way back in 2015, for a mere $600,000. At the time, the team saw a kid with a tantalizing fastball and developed a hope that one day he could be a star. So far, so good. Marquez made his debut on BA’s Top 100 last season and has reached it again due to his continued dominance on the mound.
After signing, Marquez spent 2016 and 2017, respectively, at rookie ball. He dominated in his first year, posting a 1.48 ERA with a 3.19 FIP in 54 2/3 innings. The following season was not great, as Marquez struggled to a 5.52 ERA. He did, however, find his strikeout groove, posting a 26.1 percent strikeout rate.
In 2018, Marquez seemed to figure things out completely. Across Low-A Eugene and Class-A South Bend, Marquez posted a collective 3.18 ERA in 54 2/3 innings, finishing with a 2.77 FIP at Class-A. Last season things got going. He was named the 2019 Minor League Player of the Year by Baseball America. Marquez also posted a 1.17 ERA during a seven-game stretch between South Bend and Class-A Advanced Myrtle Beach.
According to the Baseball America (subscription required) scouting report, Marquez’s fastball reached 102 mph 24 times last season. He brings a nasty slider to his mix and is continuing to develop his change-up, which could end up as a nice out pitch down the line. Still a season away, Marquez’s ETA is 2021. While fans want to see what the kid can do with major league hitting, the Cubs have taken the correct approach in his development, and that means Marquez has the exact makings of a star.
Chicago Cubs: SS Nico Hoerner, Double-A, No.40 overall
Sliding in slightly behind Marquez on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list is shortstop Nico Hoerner, who rolls in at number 40 overall. Hoerner experienced a meteoric rise to the majors last season, just a year after the Cubs drafted the 22-year-old in the first round out of Stanford.
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Hoerner is an electric player. He will be someone we look back years from now and lay claim that he played with his heart on his sleeve. Destroying minor league competition, Hoerner moved from rookie ball through the ranks to the majors across just two seasons.
In 2018 in a small sample size at South Bend, Hoerner slashed .400/.471/.667. Last year at Double-A Tennessee, Hoerner followed it up by slashing a respectable .284/.344/.399 in 70 games, striking out at only a 10.5 percent rate.
The Cubs elected to move Hoerner from Tennessee to the Show following an injury to Addison Russell, and Hoerner did not disappoint. In 20 games for the Cubs, Hoerner slashed .282/.305/.436 with three home runs and 17 RBI. He kicked his career off in style, with a three-hit, four-RBI performance on the road in San Diego in his debut.
Hoerner’s first major league home run came just four days later, at Wrigley Field. It was an exciting moment for everyone. While it is unlikely Hoerner breaks camp with the team, it is clear he is their future at second base. Javier Baez is the staple at shortstop, and Hoerner can provide the boom the club needs for years to come.
Chicago Cubs: OF Brennen Davis, Class-A, No.94 overall
It is truly a wonder how this kid fell to the second round of the 2018 Amateur draft. Brennen Davis now has two seasons under his belt and seems to be only getting better at baseball. The Cubs selected Davis out of high school, and they have loved what they have already seen from him.
Davis played baseball and basketball in high school, which could have been a deterrent for most teams. What Theo Epstein and company saw in Davis, however, was a budding outfield star who could contribute at the highest level. Davis had previously committed to Miami but forewent that commitment after Chicago offered him a $1.1 million signing bonus.
In 18 games in rookie ball, Davis slashed a resounding .298/.431/.333 with a 13.9 percent walk rate, .387 wOBA, and 132 wRC+. After the team moved him to South Bend, Davis responded stronger. Before a finger injury ended his season, Davis was slashing .305/.381/.525 with eight home runs, nine doubles, and a 160 wRC+.
Davis is an exceptional fielder, having just a single error across 511 2/3 innings and has been talked about as the future center fielder of the franchise. He significantly improved his speed from his first year to last year, which will play well to his strengths.
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On a recent podcast from Baseball America, they discussed Davis and expect him to be the starting center fielder for the Cubs in 2023. It’s a way down the line, but Davis is a prospect who may not be getting the love compared to the likes of Marquez and Hoerner, however it is okay. The Cubs have a unique talent in Davis, and it would not be a surprise to see him rise to the Show before the 2023 projection.