Chicago Cubs Top Prospects: Midseason Top 30 Chicago Cubs Prospects (#5-1)

The Chicago Cubs have a minor league system that features some top-level talent and is also filled with players that project to be major league contributors.

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Number 1

Pete Crow-Armstrong OF

Age: 21 Years Old

Level: AA Tennessee Smokies

Joined the organization via: Javier Baez Trade with New York Mets

2023 Stats: .283/.360/.506 11 HR, 17 2B, 5 3B, 23 SB, 55 RBI, 59 R

Like I said with Alcantara, if Pete Crow-Armstrong wasn’t in this system, Alcantara would be the top player in the organization. That’s not necessarily specific to Alcantara though because I’m not sure I could count five prospects in all of baseball that I’d rather have than PCA. 

Crow-Armstrong is hitting for average and power this season with 23 stolen bases while playing above-average defense in center field. He was named to the MLB Futures Game and he’s shown his ability to hit in clutch situations with multiple walk-off hits so far already this season. I’m not sure what else he has to do to earn the call-up to AAA Iowa but it could come at any moment. 

He has legit 20/20 potential considering his plus bat speed and his plus footspeed on the bases and I wouldn’t put it against him to reach that plateau several times in his career. 

Crow-Armstrong is in a difficult position. He’s the top prospect and the first Cubs prospect in the MLB top-ten since the World Series winning crop came through years ago. Matt Mervis has already experienced what it’s like to have that level of expectation attached to your debut, but Crow-Armstrong has it even tougher because not only is he a top prospect but he’ll be replacing a gold-glove/silver-slugger/former MVP center fielder in Cody Bellinger.

There is a chance that the moment will be too big for him whenever he does get that call to the majors, but if there’s anyone in the system that will be able to handle it, I’d bet on him. The tangibles are impressive but the intangibles are even more so and he has the ability to join Dansby Swanson at the major league level as the leaders in the clubhouse on what should be a very good complete Cubs team at the mid-point of the 2024 season.

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