The off-season look at the prospects in the Cubs; system continues today with FanGraphs ranking of the top young players in the Cubs organization.
FanGraphs pointed out the Cubs’ system “is strong although somewhat top heavy” and the “top 10 list starts to taper off after no. 8.” FanGraphs thinks the overall depth in the system is “above average” and the Cubs “feature one of the most enviable one-through-four group of prospects in the game.”
Javier Baez topped FanGraphs look at the Cubs’ system for the third year in a row with Kris Bryant, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler and Arismendy Alcantara rounding out the top five.
FanGraphs is a little higher on Pierce Johnson than C.J. Edwards and Kyle Hendricks cracked the top 10, and rightfully so. Hendricks has the make-up and the stuff to be a successful big league pitcher, he just doesn’t light up a radar gun or feature an out-pitch and that keeps him off most prospect lists.
Most believe the Cubs have seven to eight of the top 100 prospects in the game in their system. The positive publicity the Cubs have received down on the farm is more than welcome. The Cubs front office and development staff now have the task of turning the prospects into productive big league baseball players.
FanGraphs Top 15 Cubs Prospects for 2014
2013 Ranking in Parenthesis – NR – Not Ranked, NA – Not Available
- Javier Baez, SS (1)
- Kris Bryant, 3B (NA)
- Albert Almora, OF (2)
- Jorge Soler, OF (3)
- Arismendy Alcantara, 2B/SS (NR)
- Pierce Johnson, RHP (NR)
- C.J. Edwards, RHP (NA)
- Dan Vogelbach, 1B/DH (5)
- Arodys Vizcaino, RHP (6)
- Kyle Hendricks, RHP (NR)
- Jeimer Candelario, 3B (12)
- Christian Villanueva, 3B (9)
- Duane Underwood, RHP (14)
- Eloy Jimenez, OF (NA)
- Neil Ramirez, RHP (NA)
FanGraphs’ Full Report on the Cubs Top 15 Prospects
Cubs 2014 Prospect Rankings
- Baseball America’s Top 10 Cubs Prospects for 2014
- Minor League Ball’s Top Cubs Prospects for 2014
- Baseball Prospectus Top 10 Cubs Prospects for 2014