Earlier today we discussed Keith Law’s Top 100 Prospects, and it was there where I discussed the idea that teams try to either win a championship or hold the title of the best farm system. The Chicago Cubs had the best farm, back in 2014-16, and that won them a World Series. But, the Cubs are a special case and not every team that builds a strong farm is destined to win a title. For every Cubs championship, there are the Tampa Bay Rays or Oakland Athletics. Teams that might build a strong roster, but roster turnover leaves a poor taste in fan’s mouths and teams that are never quite good enough.
The Cubs look to be interested in building a strong system again, which is typically detrimental to the MLB roster. So far, for their efforts, the Cubs have found three prospects make their way to MLB’s Top 100.
- 60. Brailyn Marquez, LHP
- Marquez made his MLB debut in 2020, look for him and his 101-MPH lefty arm to earn 10+ starts in 2021. He has electric, top of the rotation stuff, as long as he can command his fastball, his secondary stuff will be amazing.
- 61. Brennen Davis, CF
- Davis is still another year out, but he has developed his hit tool – especially discipline and power – while showing a ton of progress in center. Scouts believe he will be able to stay in CF, after an earlier thought that he would need to move to a corner spot.
- 89. Miguel Amaya, C
- The growth of Amaya has been nothing short of spectacular. He is the sixth-highest rated catching prospect in baseball. During his time at the alternate site in South Bend, Amaya turned heads of everyone in the Cubs organization. They knew he was going to be good, but he started to fill out and his power tool came around at the plate. Already looking to be a plus defender, he went from a Single-A player to potentially winning a 2021 roster spot.
The Cubs will likely see a pair of shortstops enter the top 100 by the end of the summer. Some of this is because a number of “prospects” will fall off this list due to MLB promotions, but also because several players have yet to see real action because of COVID-19 in 2020. While some will be down on the Cubs system, there are a ton of pieces that will be making a lasting impression soon.
Look at Chase Strumpf, he is currently the seventh-highest rated second baseman right now. They have a trio of shortstops in Ed Howard, Reginald Preciado, and Yeison Santana that will fill this list in the coming years. There are also highly thought of prospects in Kohl Franklin and Burl Carraway. Then the ever so rich catching core, which outside of Amaya includes Ethan Hearn and Ronnier Quintero. I have a hunch on Christopher Morel (3B) and Owen Caissie (OF) as future dudes as well.
A lot of people crap on the return the Cubs got when they traded Yu Darvish and Victor Caratini, myself included, but the return – while young – seems to be filled with future big-league players.
Essentially, the Cubs minor league system will soon look stacked – and that doesn’t include players they’ve yet to receive in future trades (assumed deals in 2021). I wouldn’t sleep on this system just yet. It is coming back around, and it will do so quickly.
