The inimitable Jason Parks of Baseball Prospectus has put together his publication’s mid-season top 50 prospects list, and the Chicago Cubs are faring mighty well. Each of The Big Three – Javier Baez, Jorge Soler, and Albert Almora – made the cut, and, indeed, are way up there. Soler is ranked 31st, Baez 17th, and Almora 15th.
Even better, Parks has indicated previously that if Cubs’ top 2013 pick Kris Bryant had signed in time for publication, he would have been in the top 30 as well. That’s four of the top 31 32 prospects in baseball. No, prospects don’t always pan out, and no, you can’t assume The Big Four will all contribute to the next championship. But having a large set of elite prospects is always a good thing, however you end up using them.
For what it’s worth, each of Soler, Baez, and Almora has risen in BP’s rankings since the offseason top 101 list – Soler is up five spots, and Baez and Almora are each up three spots.
The only downside here, if you absolutely need one, is that the Cardinals placed four on the list (all in the top 34), and the Pirates placed three.
(If you’re trying to speculate about a Matt Garza-Padres trade, you should probably be aware that BP ranks Padres catching prospect Austin Hedges at number 13. Don’t expect to be seeing him in any Garza deals.)