Cubs News: Pete Crow-Armstrong now a top 15 prospect in all of baseball

With speculation around a hypothetical extension for former NL MVP Cody Bellinger swirling of late, there's been a lot of focus on the organization's top overall prospect, outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong.

Crow-Armstrong has an .818 OPS in his first taste of Double-A action. The question with the former first-rounder has always been his bat, given his elite glovework in the outfield. The trade that brought him to the Cubs organization has the potential to rank among the best deals in franchise history, but we likely won't see him patrolling the Wrigley outfield until next summer, at the earliest.

Cubs rightfully view Pete Crow-Armstrong as a long-term centerpiece

Still, there's a ton of hype around Crow-Armstrong and the latest updates to the MLB Pipeline Top 100 rankings bear that out, with PCA checking in as the #15 overall prospect in the game right now. That's a dramatic jump from his #28 preseason ranking MLB.com handed him and it bodes well for his trajectory moving forward.

With Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki locked up through 2026, we know what the corner spots likely look like for the foreseeable future. However, Bellinger is likely to depart via free agency (but even if he stays, he can DH and play first, as well) - leaving a vacancy in center field that appears to be carved out for Crow-Armstrong.

Seeing Christopher Morel open 2024 as the starting center fielder while Crow-Armstrong puts the finishing touches on his development wouldn't be surprising - and you can bet we'll be keeping our eye on both of these guys as we head into the summer months.

Another Cubs-related note: Cade Horton, the team's first-round pick from last summer, was one of the biggest climbers on this prospects rankings update, jumping 21 spots from #89 to #68. The right-hander dominated at A-ball, making four starts with a 1.26 ERA while limiting opponents to a .157 average, already earning a promotion to High-A South Bend.