NEWSLETTER
Normally, when a new set of Cubs prospect rankings come out, I’ll write up a pretty standard look at the list, pointing out any interesting placements or divergences from other opinions, and leave it there. I love prospect rankings, but there’s not always a lot of meat on the bones if it’s just a ranking.
The absolute opposite is true for Lance Brozdowski’s new Cubs Top-25 Prospect Rankings over at Marquee. It is an absolute treasure trove of useful information and context from one of the most trustworthy (and intimately familiar) voices in the Cubs prospecting world. I really, truly hope you take some time out of your day to give it a read if you’re at all into prospects.
Whether you’re looking for depth or just a few key hits on your favorite prospects to follow, you won’t find a better one-stop-shop than this:
Before I share a few of my favorite bits, I just want to point out much I enjoyed Brozdowski’s use of “Stuff+” to evaluate each pitch thrown by every one of the Cubs top pitching prospects. And I was even more interested to learn how some pitches are better than others EVEN IF they trail significantly in terms of Stuff+. It was just a good re-education on the value of balancing useful advanced analytics against the greater context and knowledge gained by, you know, actually scouting players. Really good stuff.
Okay, a couple of highlights, via quotes. You’ll have to check out Brozdowski’s post for the deeper understanding, because I’m pulling the money quotes here.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is ranked behind Brennen Davis according to Brozdowski, which I appreciate. Davis’ injury is arguably non-significant long-term, and also explains his early season struggles. Brozdowski also implies that the gap between Davis and everyone else in the Cubs system *coming into the season* was significant. PCA obviously did a lot to close that gap, but context is king here and Davis may still be the Cubs best prospect.
Given all the quality pitching talent added to the organization in the last 6 months or so, I was pretty (pleasantly) shocked to see how high Brozdowski was on Wicks. And the improvements to his slider are especially encouraging. According to Brozdowski, if Wicks can add just a little bit of velocity, he has “front-line starter” upside. That’s about as glowing of a review on Wicks as we’ve seen in a while, I think.
Uhm, wow. On all three of those quotes. This is that portion of the system Brett was discussing earlier today. None of these guys have quite exploded into consensus top-shelf/impact prospects yet, but they each are still quality prospects (and could be positioned for that next leap).
And finally, my favorite quote of the story ….
I just love that the Cubs have prospects as talented – with as much upside – as Daniel Palencia reasonably ranked this low in the system. 18th! And this is just another reminder of how impressive the 2021 Trade Deadline was for the Cubs front office. They got so much talent for so many rental players. They didn’t quite reach that level this year, obviously, but man … last season was transformative.
There is SO much more on each of the top-25 prospects in the Cubs system. Please take the time to check it out. You won’t regret it.
(Brett: I have to slide in with one of the quotes that stood out to me on Cristian Hernández, especially given how he hasn’t yet been raking in the ACL: “Talk to any individual in another organization that has seen the Arizona Complex League Cubs play this year and they’ll tell you to keep an eye on Cristian Hernández. The Cubs internally can’t stop talking about him and neither can other teams. There is no other player in the organization that has Hernández’s upside if everything clicks.” Hernández is making very loud contact, which is good at 18 – he’s just not yet making enough of it. Hearteningly, it’s not about bad swing decisions (very hard to work on), it’s just misses in the zone, which might be simply about development and mechanics.)
