Man, I figured FanGraphs was going to be the high service on the current Chicago Cubs farm system, but today’s release of Baseball Prospectus’s top 101 list has me thinking BP is relatively high on them, too.
The Cubs landed four prospects in the top 101, with another two who got some discussion as being close. And not one of those six is Cristian Hernandez, who WAS on the just-released Baseball America top 100. That right there keeps on telling the same story about the non-Brennen Davis top prospects in the Cubs’ system: so many of them are potential top 100 types, either now based on upside and projection, or soon in the future.
2022 Prospects: The Top 101
by Jeffrey Paternostro, Jarrett Seidler, and BP Prospect Staff
Free to read!https://t.co/hdkcZe4zdK pic.twitter.com/g1dNpKgktb— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) January 20, 2022
The four in the top 101: OF Brennen Davis (27), OF Owen Caissie (67), INF Reggie Preciado (79), and INF James Triantos (101). And the one who just missed:
The Top 101: Just Missed (2022)
by BP Prospect Staffhttps://t.co/rVV4oCa6wl pic.twitter.com/MnigirQQSo— Baseball Prospectus (@baseballpro) January 20, 2022
Outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong, who was discussed this morning as one of a handful of prospects at BA who could jump onto their top 100 by the end of this year, shows up on the same kind of list at BP – basically, a good shot at being a top 101 prospect next year if he shows he’s good to go this season. I like reading that he’s used the time away from the field to get bigger and stronger, as he’s in that developmental window where you really like to see projectable prospects add that good muscle weight (since they are developing their pro swing anyway).
If you are a big believer in Hernandez showing out in his stateside debut this year, and if you buy that Caleb Kilian and Jordan Wicks are going to be great to open 2022, then clearly, the Cubs are about to have at least nine top 101 prospects, right? Maybe D.J. Herz makes it an even 10? (Of course all that won’t actually happen. But it’s fun to think about.)