Cubs: When will we see the team’s top prospects in Chicago?

Cubs have a lot of guys who are still a ways off

The Cubs have a couple intriguing guys who could find themselves into the Top 100 eventually, but won’t be seen in the majors for quite some time. Ed Howard, Ryan Jensen and Chase Strumpf are all players that may have a huge impact down the line in Chicago.

Howard was the Cubs’ first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and was seen by many as the best shortstop in the class. Howard is touted as an ace fielder and has great speed. His bat is his biggest question mark but he’s just 18 and still has yet to play a minor league game due to COVID-19 leading to the cancellation of last year’s minor league schedule.

Despite all of this, he’s already the Cubs fourth-best prospect and will likely find his name on the Top 100 list soon. But his young age and amount of development needed likely means we won’t see the hometown hero until 2024 or 2025 at the earliest.

Ryan Jensen was drafted a year before Howard in the first round of the 2019 draft. The Fresno State product has a fantastic 70-grade fastball and a decent slider. However Jensen still needs to develop a truly reliable third pitch and needs to work on his control. Throw in the fact that Jensen has yet to pitch above Low A, and it’s unlikely we see him in the majors anytime soon even though he is already 23.

Chase Strumpf may be the most intriguing infield prospect currently in the Cubs system. The 2019 second-round pick has loads of offensive potential at second base which Nico Hoerner hasn’t exactly excelled at yet. Strumpf is one of the best power bats in the system and made his way quickly up to A ball before not being able to play in 2020.

Strumpf was showing off just how much potential he has offensively and if he can pick up in 2021 where he left off, he may be ready to take the role of starting second baseman in 2023 or 2024.