Keith Law released his prospects lists for all 30 teams on Tuesday morning. Law views the Cubs’ system higher than other publications and recently placed six players from the organization in his Top 100 prospects ranking.
Keith Law ranked the Cubs as having the fourth best farm system in the game, 16 spots higher than Baseball America. Theo Epstein has said publicly that he feels the Cubs’ system is somewhere in the five to seven range after being ranked No. 1 prior to last season by just about every publication.
Law’s Top 100 Prospects list included six players from the Cubs’ system: SS Gleyber Torres (15), C Willson Contreras (27), 2B/OF Ian Happ (47), OF Billy McKinney (69), OF Albert Almora Jr. (88) and RHP Dylan Cease (91) … and OF Eddy Julio Martinez just missed the top 100.
Law pointed out the Cubs “promoted four stud prospects and it’s still a good system.” Law is not sure if Duane Underwood Jr. projects as a starter or reliever right now but thinks Pierce Johnson and Carl Edwards Jr. “are both clearly bullpen arms are this point.”
Pitching depth throughout the organization has improved. The South Bend Cubs should have a very good starting rotation when the season begins and there are projectable arms at every level.
Dylan Cease is the best pitching prospect in the organization with a very high ceiling. And Law feels Justin Steele has “the physical tools to develop into a fourth starter.”
Oscar De La Cruz is the sleeper in the Cubs’ system and Law thinks he could be the second best pitching prospect in the organization, behind only Dylan Cease, by the end of the year. Law called Jake Stinnett’s season “awful” in a league in which he should have dominated.
After the promotions of Kris Bryant, Addison Russell, Jorge Soler and Kyle Schwarber last year, Keith Law doesn’t see any room on the roster for a rookie, other than possibly Carl Edwards Jr., to make an impact for the Cubs at the big league level in 2016.
Keith Law’s Top Cubs Prospects for 2016
2015 Ranking in Parenthesis (NA – Not Available, NR – Not Ranked)
- Gleyber Torres, SS (5)
- Willson Contreras, C (NR)
- Ian Happ, 2B/OF (NA)
- Billy McKinney, OF (6)
- Albert Almora Jr., OF (7)
- Dylan Cease, RHP (NR)
- Eddy Julio Martinez, OF (NA)
- Duane Underwood Jr., RHP (8)
- Eloy Jimenez, OF (NR)
- Jeimer Candelario, 3B (NR)
Keith Law’s Beyond Top 10 Cubs List
- Oscar De La Cruz, RHP (NR)
- Justin Steele, LHP (NR)
- Carl Edwards Jr., RHP (9)
- Darryl ‘D.J.’ Wilson, OF (NA)
- Pierce Johnson, RHP (NR)
- Jen-Ho Tseng, RHP (10)
- Brad Markey, RHP (NR)
- Bryan Hudson, LHP (NA)
- Carson Sands, LHP (NR)
- Mark Zagunis, OF (NR)
- Donnie Dewees, OF (NA)
• Full Report from Keith Law on the Cubs’ System
2016 Cubs Prospect Rankings
- Baseball America’s Top 10 Cubs Prospects for 2016 [includes scouting reports]
- FanGraphs Top Cubs Prospects List for 2016
- Minor League Ball’s Top Cubs Prospects for 2016
- Baseball Prospectus’ Top 101 Includes Six Cubs Prospects
- Six Cubs Prospects Land in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 List for 2016
- Baseball America’s Top 31 Cubs Prospects for 2016
- Cubs System Ranked No. 20 in Baseball America’s Prospect Handbook
- Cubs System Lands at No. 4 on Keith Law’s Organizational Rankings
- Keith Law’s Top 100 Prospects Includes Six Cubs, Gleyber Torres Checks in at No. 15
- Three Cubs Prospects Ranked in Baseball America’s Top 100
- Cubs Eddy Julio Martinez Just Missed Keith Law’s Top 100 Prospect List