Cubs: Where Luis Devers ranks among team’s pitching prospects

Cubs prospect Luis Devers struck out eight batters in 5.0 innings on Thursday night, further building his stock. The 22-year old righty from Samana, Dominican Republic boasts a 1.91 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 9.4 K/9 and 1.8 BB/9 in 113 innings between Myrtle Beach and South Bend. His ERA in high-A alone is 0.96 in 46.2 innings. His efforts have helped his stock rise a bit, even onto notable prospect lists.

The organization is working hard to properly develop pitching. Per MLB Pipeline, 15 of the team’s 30 top prospects are pitchers. Devers is now among these top prospects.

Where Devers ranks among pitching prospects.

Devers is the 26th ranked Cubs prospect per MLB Pipeline. He is the 11th ranked pitching prospect, just ahead of Luke Little and behind Nazier Mule. Cade Horton is currently the highest ranked Cubs pitching prospect (4th overall) in the system. His projected MLB arrival time is 2024.

While not an overpowering pitcher, his ability to change speeds and put a lot of movement on his other pitches have been key to his success. His changeup is his best graded pitch (60) per MLB.com. Jordan Wicks, the team’s second-highest ranked pitching prospect, also has a wicked changeup graded a 65. Wicks and Devers have two of the best changeups in the system based on these grades.

It is worth noting that Devers is playing in his first full season above Rookie Ball. It will be interesting to see how various baseball outlets rank him this offseason after playing a full season in Single-A (both low and high). Devers is a recent addition to MLB Pipeline’s top 30 Cubs prospects and hopefully, he can continue to rise as other pitchers graduate to the MLB level over the next year.

By the end of next it is possible that Wicks, Hayden Wesneski, Caleb Kilian and DJ Herz will all graduate prospect status, with Devers among the leaders of the 2024-2026 wave of pitching prospects. Time will tell, but those notable pitchers previously listed are on the cusp or relatively close to MLB level ready.