Cubs' farm system has unsurprisingly cratered in MLB's post-deadline rankings

There's no arguing that Jed Hoyer came away a winner from the MLB trade deadline on paper. With the acquisitions of rental starters Kevin Gausman and Clay Holmes, controllable fireballer Ryan Zeferjahn, platoon outfielder Tyrone Taylor, and a long-term wild card for the pitching staff in Braxton Garrett, the front office addressed just about every need the Chicago Cubs had before the final stretch of the season. Now, the onus is on the players to finish out strong and continue pushing the Milwaukee Brewers for the division lead.

Of course, this all came with a cost. The Cubs managed to keep the majority of their top prospects, but they most notably lost Jefferson Rojas, who ranked as either their best or second-best farmhand, depending on the outlet. Shipping him off to the New York Mets for two rentals stings, but it was a testament to Hoyer's commitment to getting players that meshed best with their roster and style of play and to the rising prospects that made him more expendable. Alongside him, they sent off a recognizable name in Jonathon Long, who had been knocking on the door of the majors for a while, promising young pitcher Mason McGwire, and more to reconfigure the team.

By no means has the future been mortgaged to give Craig Counsell new weapons to succeed in October. To no one's surprise, though, it has dinged how evaluators view this farm system even further from where they started the year. MLB Pipeline had the Cubs ranked 23rd among all organizations during the preseason, but between the trades, injuries, and years of promotions, including both Pedro Ramirez and Moises Ballesteros this season, they're now viewed as the third-worst system in baseball. Only the Houston Astros and the San Diego Padres reside below them.

Between the relative youth of the talent left and the lack of advancement in top pitching prospects, evaluators aren't bullish on the Cubs' system right now. Brooks Caple and Kaleb Wing emerged as interesting arms, but Jaxon Wiggins has also been plagued by injuries, and the pitching-heavy 2026 draft class, headlined by the 23rd overall pick, Cade Townsend, hasn't had a chance to make an impression yet. There are good signs that things are improving from where the Cubs were, but there simply hasn't been enough to go on to express confidence yet, and nothing short of some meteoric breakouts will likely change minds before the offseason.

Despite the drop, the Cubs farm system is full of hope and promise

Yet, while the team's farm ranking is lower, it arguably feels better than when they entered the season. For one, this year has been defined by some exciting breakouts. Ayers' monstrous campaign now has the Cubs looking at him as the catcher of the future, with a chance that he could make his debut as soon as this year. His ascendance with a .303/.418/.578 slash line and 158 wRC+ in Triple-A made it easier to justify moving Ballesteros for a high-upside relief piece in Zeferjahn.

Then, there are the outfielders. Kane Kepley has kept raking in Double-A with a 182 wRC+, while Ethan Conrad recently earned the bump to High-A after turning the corner offensively in August. Josiah Hartshorn, meanwhile, has become close to a household name for Cubs fans because of his rapid growth into the team's top prospect. He's continuing to thrive at High-A at just 19 years old with a .282/.380/.527/128 wRC+ line, just cracking his 19th home run of the year on Tuesday.

Couple this with the fact that three of the latest draftees — Townsend, Caden Sorrell, and Myles Bailey — are in the team's top ten prospects with some exciting tools, and there's a lot of potential at play. The Cubs may have lost a lot of prospect talent, but positive developmental signs and a wider array of high-ceiling talent soften the blow. It's now on the organization to make the most out of that potential so that, by this time next year, some of these names are flying up prospect lists.

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