There it is. The final major top 100 prospects list of the pre-2023 rankings season. We got FanGraphs earlier this week, and today we get Prospects Live.
Much like the FanGraphs list, there are four Chicago Cubs prospects named to the list. But, much like all the lists that have preceded this week, it’s a slightly different set of Cubs prospects making the cut:
18. OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, 60 OFP
56. OF Kevin Alcántara, 55 OFP
71. RHP Cade Horton, 55 OFP
89. OF Brennen Davis, 50 OFP
Some thoughts and reactions …
Hey, Cade Horton! That’s his first top 100 list appearance, though multiple others had him knocking on the door. The Prospects Live crew ranked seven 2022 draft picks ahead of Horton on this list, so you can tell immediately that it was a bit of a draft-heavy list this year. That’s probably a factor in Horton making the cut, though the 55 OFP straight out of the draft for a guy who SOME saw as SOLELY being about going under-slot is high praise. This ranking, in fact, suggests that the Prospects Live crew believes Horton was drafted right about where he should have been, irrespective of his bonus slot (and how the Cubs used it to get a second first round talent in Jackson Ferris in the second round).
As we’ve discussed before on Horton, the main reason he doesn’t appear on these lists, generally, is because the track record of top-100-type performance was limited to just a handful of college starts. He’s gotta show that, further removed from Tommy John surgery and strictly focused on pitching, he can be that guy in pro ball. If he does it in the first two months of the season, almost regardless of the level, my guess is he appears on all midseason top 100 updates. He would’ve shown at that point that he was, indeed, the best college pitcher in the draft last year, and he’s got front-half upside.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe Horton’s appearance means the Cubs had NINE different prospects appear on major rankings lists this year (the above four, plus Jordan Wicks, Owen Caissie, Matt Mervis, Cristian Hernández, and Hayden Wesneski). Having four consensus top-50 types would obviously be preferable, but having nine (or more) guys who are all at least WORTHY of top 100 consideration? That’s quality depth.
It was close to unanimous this year that PCA and Alcántara are the top two prospects right now in the Cubs’ system. That seems fair to me, and each could climb further if they keep showing out to open the 2023 season.
Nice to see that Brennen Davis’s back issues and mostly-lost 2022 season hasn’t sullied his good name for every service. I don’t really have a beef with those who wouldn’t have him in the top 100 right now, but I think if he shows he’s healthy in the first half, and if he’s as productive as he ever was, then I think he needs to be right back on all lists. There is still a potential future star there. But the health stuff is not a minor consideration.
NEWSLETTER
