3 Cubs players fighting for their futures heading into the 2024 season

Two years ago, the state of the Chicago Cubs farm system left plenty to be desired, leading to the fanbase betting heavily on the top-ranked prospects and the haul that came over in the trade deadline deals that ended the Cubs tenure of Javier Baez, Anthony Rizzo, Kris Bryant and others.

Since that time, though, several of those new faces from two years ago have blossomed - and a combination of savvy trade deadline moves and strong draft positions have helped Jed Hoyer rebuild the team's minor league depth far more quickly than initially expected.

With the improved depth at pretty much every level of the organizational depth chart, though, the pressure is on several players to prove they have something to offer long-term. Let's look at 3 to see where they stand heading into 2024.

Caleb Kilian continues to show flashes, but still lacks consistency

After tossing two scoreless innings on Tuesday night, right-hander Caleb Kilian exited with Cubs trainers. The update wasn't great on Wednesday, with Craig Counsell calling the injury 'concerning' but one hopes it doesn't derail his entire campaign because Kilian is a guy who definitely has a lot riding on the 2024 season.

Part of the Kris Bryant trade back in 2021 along with Alexander Canario, Kilian ranked as the Cubs' #4-ranked prospect in 2022, before falling back to #23 last year and missing out on the top 30 altogether in this week's update from MLB Pipeline. No one is questioning his stuff, but the results just haven't followed.

Last season, he worked to a 4.56 ERA in 120 1/3 innings at Triple-A Iowa with a severely diminished strikeout rate. The handful of appearances at the big league level didn't go well either, so it's all eyes on the former top prospect in 2024 as he looks to get things back on track.

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It feels like the clock is ticking on Matt Mervis' time in a Cubs uniform

For all the hoopla that surrounded Matt Mervis' breakout 2022 season in the minors, there's little reason to believe the Cubs see him as a long-term solution at first base. This offseason, not only did they bring back Cody Bellinger, who will split time between center field and first, but they loaded up on depth at the latter position, trading for Michael Busch and bringing in no-risk flyers like Dominic Smith and Garrett Cooper, as well.

Busch will get plenty of runway early in the year to secure the job and with multiple bench options in the mix, there's just no clear path for Mervis to return to Wrigley anytime soon. Pair that with the fact the Cubs are even starting to get rising prospect Owen Caissie some reps at first and things quickly go from bad to worse for the former Duke standout.

Mervis' struggles in limited big-league action last year(.167/.242/.289 in 99 plate appearances) did him no favors and, as more time goes on, it feels more and more like his next big chance could come somewhere other than Chicago.