Cubs: Hayden Wesneski already among team’s top prospects

Some still might be surprised the Cubs decided to deal Scott Effross, a very good bullpen piece with years of control, to the Yankees. Effross was the man who could put out fires and pitch late in the game, but now he wears a different set of pinstripes. With all of that said, the trade did bring back a very intriguing piece in Hayden Wesneski.

The 24-year old righty starter was one of the best-ranked pitching prospects in the Yankees system. He made 19 starts with Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders prior to coming over the Cubs, pitching to a 3.51 ERA, 3.99 FIP, 1.15 WHIP, 8.3 K/9, 2.8 BB/9 and .221 average against. Wesneski is a career 3.52 ERA pitcher and 9.6 K/9 in 248.1 MiLB games.

Hayden Wesnecki is already climbing Cubs prospects rankings

MLB.com already has Wesneski as the Cubs eighth overall prospect. He is just above outfielder Owen Caissie and below pitcher Jordan Wicks in the prospect rankings. Wesneski having the experience he has is very close to being MLB ready.

The right-hander is one of four prospects in the Cubs top 10 who are pitchers, including Wicks, Caleb Kilian (6) and DJ Herz (10). It is also worth noting that the newly acquired Ben Brown is just outside of the top 10 as the #11 prospect in the system. Brown came over in the David Robertson deal and will be heading to Double A Tennessee. All of these guys have the potential to be pitching for the Cubs by the end of next year. Wesneski could even see some time this year, but time will tell.

As for right now, Wesneski is on Triple-A Iowa’s roster and is set to make his Cubs organization debut Sunday.

This trade could honestly work out so well for the Cubs. Getting another potential future starter with a pretty good resume in the minors can pay off very well. Zero disrespect to the great job Effross did, but relievers are replaceable. The Cubs have done a good job over the years finding effective bullpen arms in all places. Plus the fickle nature of bullpen arms helps justify wanting to jump on getting potential top-value in a trade now.

Having starting pitching depth in the system should make people feel a lot better about the future. No, it is not guaranteed they will all work out, but developing as much pitching as possible is crucial to sustaining success. Fans remember well how the franchise failed to develop starting pitching post-World Series.