NEWSLETTER
I’m overdue for a full-scale system recap from 2023, and I want to do by creating an All-Star team for the best performances at each position. The rules here are simple: only minor league performance is recognized, and the best performance at each position gets acknowledged. Prospect status only comes into play as a tiebreaker.
Let’s dive in …
Catcher: Moises Ballesteros
Numbers: A/A+/AA, .285/.374/.449, 12.8 BB%, 15.8 K%, 131 wRC+.
Words: Only 40 players in the last ten seasons have had at least 20 plate appearances at the Double-A level at age 19 in a single season, and Moises’ cup of coffee to help the Tennessee Smokies championship run accomplished just that. As I eyeball that generally impressive list of players, I believe only one other (Keibert Ruiz) managed that as a catcher. Ballesteros played in 76 games this season behind the plate, and while that part of his game lags behind the bat developmentally, there’s still some optimism that he should continue with the pads. Offensively, Ballesteros was fantastic across three levels, never sporting a strikeout rate above twenty at any location. Moises’ strength is his plate coverage and his ability to hit the ball directionally in the appropriate spot based on pitch location. How the Cubs balance that phenomenal strength with a developmental plan to add in-game power is one of the things I’m most intrigued to keep my eye on in the season(s) to come.
Honorable Mention: Pablo Aliendo, Bryce Windham
First Base: Felix Stevens
Numbers: A/A+, .263/.345/.529, 9.7 BB%, 32 K%, 142 wRC+.
Words: Holy cow, what a competent season for first base in the Cubs organization. Jared Young had his best season in a Cubs uniform. Matt Mervis did what he could to prove he was better than Triple-A. Haydn McGeary showed his hit tool played at the upper levels. Reivaj Garcia was even great for the Pelicans!
But first base is a home run position, and so I ultimately had to choose the system leader in home runs to take home the honor here. Felix Stevens had batting practices and hot weeks in the past that suggested some big power was under the hood — heck, I may-have/sort-of called this power breakout to a degree — but I did not see 27 home runs coming. Stevens was in a tight race for home run leader in the organization, and then he hit ten in his final 33 games to seal the title.
There’s not a lot of nuance to Stevens’ game behind hunting and destroying mistakes, but kudos to the guy that did it the best this year. A bad season would have put Stevens future in the organization into question; instead, Stevens will be a developmental priority with an everyday job in 2024.
Honorable Mention: Haydn McGeary, Jared Young, Matt Mervis
Second Base: James Triantos
Numbers: A+/AA, .287/.364/.391, 9.6 BB%, 10.7 K%, 115 wRC+.
Words: This is a silly stat, but it speaks to what I love about James Triantos’ game: Triantos had five completely separate six-game stretches where he didn’t strike out this season. No one in the system seems as dangerous against those early-count strikes that pitchers try to steal — Triantos doesn’t take pitches off. I also think Triantos took to some instruction to be a little less trigger-happy on swinging on pitches just off the edges of the strike zone, which helped increase the walk rate.
I think the big question is how the body will evolve in the next 18 months, and what that allows for him both in terms of his fielding position and his isolated power.
Also want to note that this was the closest decision in the entire org — and prospect status did play a role in the final call — as Pedro Ramirez (listed below) was so absolutely fantastic for the Pelicans in the second half. Ramirez also has a knack for winning at-bats with his approach, and it felt like he was spraying line drives around as much as anyone in the final two months.
Honorable Mention: Pedro Ramirez
Shortstop: Luis Vazquez
Numbers: AA/AAA, .271/.361/.456, 10.2 BB%, 22.9 K%, 112 wRC+.
Words: I really think the player in all of professional baseball that has an across-the-board skillset most similar to Dansby Swanson might be the player Vazquez was in 2023. A dynamo defender with smart feet and soft hands, Vazquez’ weight room work paid off this season with 20 home runs. I really hope the Cubs add him to the 40-man roster — as tricky a fit as it may be — because I’m not ready to give up following this guy’s unique trajectory.
Shouts to Jefferson Rojas, who was so good in Extended Spring Training that he got the Cubs to buy into allowing him to basically skip the Arizona Complex League and instead unseat Cristian Hernández from the position in Myrtle Beach. He proved it a good decision early and often, with a mature swing that still showed out in a pitcher’s park. Big things are coming for this kid in 2024 or 2025, as he’s checking the boxes that tippy-top prospects usually have on their resume. (I’ll be snobby and point out: BN readers knew of him first.)
The only reason Vazquez got the nod here was he had 200 extra plate appearances. I recognize Jefferson Rojas for his status as BASH leader in the system.
Honorable Mention: Rojas, duh.
Third Base: B.J. Murray Jr.
Numbers: AA, .263/.382/.462, 15.1 BB%, 23.8 K%, 128 wRC+.
Words: Murray hit the Injured List with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for exactly 15 days in April 2022. Since his return on April 27, I’m quite sure that no one in the Cubs organization was around a baseball field more in the 17 months that followed. During that time, Murray advanced three levels, won two minor league championships, played in both the Arizona Fall League and the World Baseball Classic, and for good measure, won a really fun Home Run Derby.
You can sense that Murray has learned something and applied those learnings from all those experiences, as he just keeps showing improvement in all facets. He’s better at third base, he’s accessing his power more than ever. He never compromises his strike zone, with double-digit walks in every month this season. In a league where pitchers were using a weird baseball to punish hitters with upper third four-seam fastball after upper third four-seam fastball, Murray was basically his league’s best at judging where the top of his strike zone was. And after that ball went away? .296/.400/.512 with a 21.7 K%
If the Cubs don’t find a long-term solution at third base this winter — because the options aren’t great — don’t be shocked if Murray continues his progression in 2024 and ends up in Chicago.
Honorable Mention: No one else was considered.
Outfield: Owen Caissie, Yonathan Perlaza, Pete Crow-Armstrong
Numbers
Caissie: AA, .289/.398/.519, 14.4 BB%, 31.1 K%, 144 wRC+.
Perlaza, AAA: .284/.389/.534, 14.0 BB%, 21.9 K%, 130 wRC+.
Crow-Armstrong, AA/AAA, .283/.365/.511, 9.2 BB%, 25.8 K%, 127 wRC+.
Words: What. A. Group. I listed it above in the order that I would put these guys in for their work this season, and I think you could make a case that they would be 1-2-3 among hitters at any position system-wide. Let’s start with Caissie, who I would also name Player of the Year for his 144 wRC+ in Double-A at age 20. People just don’t do that. The power hitter we insisted that Caissie would eventually be in A-ball is here; those fly balls to left-center are now home runs to right-center. This guy is absolutely built for the Wrigley power alleys, and he’s wired to constantly improve and get better; expect more contact with the same power in 2024.
Perlaza is a Professional Baseball Hitter if you’ve ever watched one. No one in the organization played at the upper bounds of their skillset more often in 2023 than Perlaza, who found a way to reach base in what seemed like every game he played, and continued to just be one of the minor league’s best at running into doubles-or-homers most frequently. He’s set for minor league free agency here, and if the Cubs were to let him go, I’d hope his agent can find a Major League contract lurking out there somewhere.
It’s such a bummer that the PCA narrative took on a negative turn based on 19 Major League plate appearances, because his season was a categorical success. All those things that were exciting during his massive 2022 breakout — the step forward in power, the speed on the bases, the exciting plays — showed out even more often in 2023. His season ended with too much swing-and-miss in the final two months, but I know that outlined a really clear attack plan that PCA will hit hard this winter. The Cubs should absolutely still be eyeing the Prospect Promotion Incentive draft pick for next year, because I could absolutely see Pete win Rookie of the Year in 2024.
Honorable Mention: Christian Franklin, Kevin Alcantara, Ezequiel Pagan, Bradlee Beesley
Starters: Cade Horton, Brandon Birdsell, Ben Brown, Brody McCullough, Michael Arias
(I’ll throw the individual pitching numbers at the bottom of the post.)
Words: The 2022 Draft was a massive investment in bringing a sustainable pitching pipeline into the organization. So it’s pretty re-affirming to see five of the 10 starting pitching slots (including honorable mention) used on pitchers from that draft. The star, of course, is Cade Horton, the Cubs best pitching prospect in 20 years. Horton’s ability to garner swing and miss while spending as much time in the strike zone as he did is not something you see very often. Plus, he took huge developmental steps forward after each promotion: first with the curveball upon arriving in South Bend, and then with a new changeup grip in Tennessee.
Some late-season strike-throwing problems shouldn’t make us forget the successful season for Ben Brown. The dude struck out 130 hitters in 92.2 innings, and I still think his hard curveball is the best single pitch in the organization. I support a plan of breaking Brown into the Major Leagues in middle relief before bringing him back out to starting in 2025.
It caught me a bit off guard at just how competent Brandon Birdsell pitched this year. Obviously he had loads of big-time college experience, but he’s just really good at staying within his strengths and missing small. The stuff needs a 20% boost across the board for the highest level, but if he gets there with the execution he showed this season, watch out. You could say similar things about Brody McCullough, particularly when he was in Low-A and he could throw in-zone fastballs by most of the hitters. The four-seam/curveball combination is really good here; let’s be watching those early 2024 starts close to see what the Cubs add/tweak next.
Michael Arias struggled when he got to High-A, though I think that had to do more generally with overall fatigue than the level being too challenging. Arias’ slider isn’t always a weapon for him, and he’s not yet dialed with fastball command to pitch in the upper third as often as he should. But the step forward with his changeup was one of the most exciting things for me to watch this season.
Honorable Mention: Jackson Ferris, Jordan Wicks, Walker Powell, Marino Santy, Connor Noland
Relievers: Luke Little, Frankie Scalzo Jr, Jose Romero, Eduarniel Nunez, Sheldon Reed, Johzan Oquendo, Adam Laskey, Blake Whitney
Words: I know people were really upset with David Ross about his usage of Alexander Canario and Pete Crow-Armstrong, but for my money, it was Luke Little’s lack of September usage that hurt the Cubs bottom line the most. It was clear after an outing or two that his stuff just is ready to work in the Majors; that heavy fastball mixed with a sweepy slider that just kept getting better as the year went along.
Scalzo was a guy that worked really hard to raise the floor on the raw characteristics of both his fastball and slider last offseason, and then translated it onto the field with amazing execution. Romero’s breakout was one that basically escaped me until the Cubs put him on their Arizona Fall League team, causing me to notice that he basically had two different two-month stretches where no one in the Carolina League could touch him. Once Johzan Oquendo left Myrtle Beach after an incredible stretch, Romero was ready to take the role and run with it.
Sheldon Reed and Adam Laskey were two guys that pitched better in 2022 than their results indicated, and it was really not particularly surprising to me that they succeeded like they did this season. Blake Whitney is one of the organization’s more underrated pitchers, as his stuff is very solid (if just a hair below MLB quality) and his execution is always excellent.
Honorable Mention: Manny Rodriguez, Zac Leigh, Eligio Paredes, Koen Moreno, Bailey Horn.
Pitching Numbers
Horton: A/A+/AA, 88.1 IP, 2.65 ERA, 2.89 FIP, 33.5 K%, 7.7 BB%.
Birdsell: A+/AA, 107.1 IP, 2.77 ERA, 3.84 FIP, 21.9 K%, 7.2 BB%.
Brown: AA/AAA, 92.2 IP, 4.27 ERA, 4.11 FIP, 32.6 K%, 14.3 BB%.
McCullough: A/A+, 86.1 IP, 3.44 ERA, 3.17 FIP, 30.8 K%, 8.8 BB%.
Arias: A/A+, 81.1 IP, 4.09 ERA, 3.41 FIP, 31.3 K%, 14.5 BB%.
Little: A+/AA/AAA, 63.2 IP, 2.12 ERA, 3.06 FIP, 37.6 K%, 15.1 BB%.
Scalzo: A+/AA, 72.2 IP, 2.35 ERA, 3.55 FIP, 24.3 K%, 8.3 BB%
Romero: A, 48.2 IP, 2.77 ERA, 3.62 FIP, 32.1 K%, 10.8 BB%.
Nunez: A+/AA, 46.1 IP, 3.11 ERA, 4.14 FIP, 29.6 K%, 15.5 BB%.
Reed: A+, 53.1 IP, 3.38 ERA, 3.64 FIP, 28.9 K%, 11.9 BB%.
Oquendo: A/A+, 54.1 IP, 2.32 ERA, 3.49 FIP, 30.4 K%, 17.4 BB%.
Laskey: A+/AA, 54 IP, 4.33 ERA, 3.70 FIP, 25.7 K%, 8.7 BB%.
Whitney: AA/AAA, 70.1 IP, 3.20 ERA, 3.71 FIP, 26.9 K%, 9.6 BB%.
