Prospects of the Week for Chicago Cubs Affiliates for the Week for 5/21-5/28

Chicago Cubs Single-A Pitcher of the week: LHP Jackson Ferris (19 Years Old)

1 G, 3 IP, 0.00 ERA, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K

Speaking of mature pitching, it’s kind of difficult to justify a guy that only pitched in a single game and only three innings of that game as the pitcher of the week, but Jackson Ferris is the exception to the rule. This is a player that the Cubs drafted who, as a junior in high school, “threw a no-hitter and a perfect game in his first two outings”.

That’s not a misprint. To do that as a junior in high school and then dominate again as a senior, and finally be so dominant with the Pelicans so far this year is nothing short of astounding. He’s 19 years old and so far this year through four starts he’s only given up five hits and four walks while striking out 16. The batting average against him is .135.

So is it the three innings he pitched this week that had him make this list? No. It’s the fact that he is the best player in the Cubs minor league system. Not the best left-handed pitcher, not the best pitcher, but the flat-out best player in the Cubs system that could potentially become a top-five prospect in all of baseball. 

There may be no such thing as a pitching prospect, but if I were to think of one as a Cubs fan, it would be Jackson Ferris. I’m not old enough to remember Kerry Wood or Mark Prior’s first game in a Cubs uniform, but this guy has as much hype (and talent) as either of them; we just have to hope he reaches his potential, and hopefully maintain that potential without injury for longer than the two of them did. 

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