Minor League Ball’s top 175 prospect list is now out, courtesy of John Sickels. So if you’re looking for some prospecting plaudits today, here’s where you’re going to want to look.
The Cubs who made the cut:
1. Kris Bryant
5. Addison Russell
7. Jorge Soler
19. Kyle Schwarber
52. C.J. Edwards
108. Albert Almora
126. Pierce Johnson
135. Billy McKinney
Carson Sands, Gleyber Torres, Jen-Ho Tseng, Duane Underwood, and Dan Vogelbach made the “in the picture” group, in no particular order, and all were right there for consideration in the 150 to 175 range, according to Sickels.
The Soler ranking is the one that really sticks out, as Sickels appears to be higher on the Cubs outfielder than most other prospect pundits. Having three of the top seven prospects in baseball is just LULZ.
I love that three of the five “in the picture” prospects for the Cubs are pitchers, which is emblematic of where the Cubs stand on the pitching side: so much high-upside talent in the lower minors, and so many guys who could break out this year. You could easily include guys like Jake Stinnett, Daury Torrez, Justin Steele, and Rob Zastryzny, among many others, in that group.
How’s this for a bold prediction: by the end of the 2015/16 rankings season this time next year, the Cubs will have two pitchers who are consensus top 100 prospects in the game, but who did not appear on a top 100 list at all this year. (I also think Gleyber Torres probably shows up on many of those lists next year, but I’m sticking to pitcher thoughts today.)