Chicago Cubs Prospects: The farm system is extremely balanced and absolutely loaded

Recently we discussed the lack of balance in the projected starting rotation for the Chicago Cubs going into the 2024 season. Balance is something that is almost mandatory in order for a team to have success, especially the kind of sustained success that Cubs’ fans have to be hoping for after a second complete rebuild in ten years.

Fortunately, the long-term balance of this team has been evident over the last two weeks as MLB Pipeline has rolled out its top ten prospects at each position. They rolled out top tens for RHP, LHP, catcher, first base, second base, third base, shortstop, and outfielders for a total of 80 players making their lists.

The Chicago Cubs led all teams with eight players appearing on one of those lists with no other team having more than five.

Beyond that, the Cubs also had a player represented on seven of the eight possible lists which again led the league in terms of representation (with the lone position of exclusion being at shortstop where 2023 first rounder, Matt Shaw, was snubbed). 

26 of the 30 total MLB teams had at least one player appear on a top ten list with the exceptions being the New York Yankees, the Houston Astros, the Oakland Athletics, and the Atlanta Braves.

Obviously, when looking at the teams that don’t appear on the list there is a fair amount to like about the major league roster, so the farm system being a little further off shouldn’t hurt those fanbases' feelings (with the clear exception of Oakland, who for some reason just can’t seem to do anything right at all).

The lone list that the Cubs didn’t appear on was shortstop. However, there’s reason to expect that won’t be the case for much longer as we had five shortstops appear in our list of the top-20 prospects in the system, and that doesn’t include former top-100 prospect, Cristian Hernandez, who appeared at 24. 

This farm system is incredibly balanced. It is loaded from top to bottom and you’d be hard-pressed to find a system in baseball that has more MLB-ready talent or high-upside youngsters at the lower levels. 

MLB Pipeline’s top 100 prospects list will be coming out soon and it’s reasonable to assume that the Cubs will be well-represented there, but regardless of how that list comes out, it’s important to remember that any problems that this team faces with injuries this season can be solved from within thanks to the depth they’ve built.

If you're interested in checking out our take on the top prospects in the Chicago Cubs farm system going into the 2024 season here's everything you need:

More Chicago Cubs Prospect News