3 Chicago Cubs prospects who deserve a September call-up

#1: Pete Crow-Armstrong

If the Cubs' top prospect wasn't already on the team's radar for September call-ups, he sure is now. Pete Crow-Armstrong has been flying through the minors and seemingly taking to every step of his journey like a duck to water. His incredible performance has made him a consensus top 20 prospect in the game with the highest ranking, MLB Pipeline, throwing him at #7 overall. Even though he was expected to arrive in 2024, his recent performance has only further increased the chance he'll get a cup of coffee here in 2023.

PCA recently made the jump to Triple-A and hasn't missed much of a beat since his arrival. In 49 plate appearances so far in Iowa, he's sporting a stellar .275/.408/.575 slash line with eight walks and three home runs so far. That's a small sample size, but it speaks to the mix of discipline and solid power he brings to the table. It's also a continuation of what he's done throughout the minors this year. Across both Double and Triple-A, his line goes to .287/.376/.533 line with 17 homers across 493 plate appearances.

Offense isn't even PCA's greatest tool. That, of course, is his 80-grade glove which is the highest rating a prospect can possibly achieve. We've seen plenty of examples of the center fielder making some mind-boggling plays in the outfield grass and it's hard not to grow excited about seeing that kind of play at Wrigley Field. The Cubs would have a bit more roster flexibility with him around, giving them another elite defender to spell Cody Bellinger in the outfield.

In all reality, PCA was always going to be at least floated as a possibility for a call-up this year thanks to his all-world defense. Thanks to the strides he's taken in Triple-A, and in the minors in general though, he feels like a very strong candidate at this point to make his big league debut when September rolls around, especially with Carter Hawkins even acknowledging he's on the radar. There's still time for him to hit a roadblock, but he's simply too talented to keep down much longer.