Baseball America released its ranking of the top 100 prospects in baseball on Thursday night following the hour-long special on MLB Network where the top 50 were unveiled.
The Cubs placed two prospects in the top 10, five in the top 50 and seven players on Baseball America’s ranking of the best young players in the game.
Javier Baez and Kris Bryant cracked the top 10. Baez was ranked fifth while Bryant slipped into the top 10 at number eight. C.J. Edwards (28), Albert Almora (36), Jorge Soler (41), Pierce Johnson (87) and Arismendy Alcantara (100) round out the list of players in the Cubs’ system in Baseball America’s top 100.
The Cubs and Pirates both placed seven players in Baseball America’s top 100, tied for second behind the Red Sox (8) and ahead of the Astros (6) and Rangers (5).
While the rankings from the various publications vary slightly, the general consensus, based on last year’s performances, is the Cubs have some of the best young talent in the game. These players are prospects, as Theo Epstein recently pointed out again, and should be considered just that until they are producing wins at the big league level.
Here’s a quick rundown on how the players who are considered to be the top young talent in the Cubs’ system were ranked by other publications.
Baseball Prospectus
- Javier Baez (4)
- Kris Bryant (17)
- Albert Almora (25)
- Jorge Soler (45)
- C.J. Edwards (81)
- Arismendy Alcantara (83)
- Pierce Johnson (100)
Keith Law
- Javier Baez (7)
- Kris Bryant (15)
- Jorge Soler (26)
- Albert Almora (28)
- C.J. Edwards (67)
- Arismendy Alcantara (71)
FanGraphs
- Javier Baez (4)
- Kris Bryant (6)
- Albert Almora (21)
- Jorge Soler (49)
- Arismendy Alcantara (52)
- Pierce Johnson (77)
- C.J. Edwards (78)
Jason McLeod discussed the Cubs’ system in detail recently on MLB Network Radio with Mike Ferrin and Jim Duquette. Click here to read the transcript of the interview.
The Cubs’ system received numerous accolades this winter with all of the pre-season rankings and lists. With Spring Training underway, the hard work has begun again to ensure the players continue to improve, move up the system and eventually turn all of the praise into wins.