The Chicago Cubs Top 10 Prospects

June 15, 2012; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein before the game against the Boston Red Sox at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Chicago Cubs have been in rebuild mode for half a decade. During that time they have endured some tough seasons, not seeing the playoffs since 2008 and not having a winning record since 2009. They have had five straight fifth place finishes during that stretch, a feat that got worse with the Houston Astros moving to the American League. They went from finishing second to last to last place for the last two seasons.

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Since 2011, the Cubs have quietly been making progress however. That’s when they hired Theo Epstein, part of the brain trust that helped end the “Curse of the Bambino” drought in Boston. Now, he has been building the farm, preparing the Cubs for a run in the very tough NL Central. Youngsters like Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, Arismendy Alcantara and Kyle Hendricks have the Cubs trending in the right direction. So do their top 10 prospects.

Baseball America recently released the Chicago Cubs Top 10 Prospects. There are some very familiar names to baseball junkies on the list, some of which may be major league ready this season. One thing is for certain: with big moves this offseason bringing in Joe Maddon and Jon Lester, the Cubs may not be cellar dwellers much longer.

10. Duane Underwood: The Cubs 2012 second round draft pick had his best season in the minors last year. The 20-year old, right-handed pitcher went 6-4 for the Cubs Class A Kane County Cougars, posting a 2.50 ERA while striking out 84 over 100.2 innings.

9. Pierce Johnson: Another right-handed pitching prospect makes the list, and as they say, you can never have too much pitching. Johnson was drafted in the first round in 2012 by the Cubs and had a sensational season for the Double-A Tennessee Smokies after being promoted from Kane County. He went 5-4 with a 2.55 ERA and 91 strikeouts over 91.2 innings pitched.

8. Gleyber Torres: One of the many promising short stops in the Cubs system, Torres made his debut with the organization last year. The 18-year old, Venezuelan sensation split time between Rookie ball and Low-A in his first year. He hit .297 with two home runs, 33 RBI and 10 stolen bases. He struggled with the glove, posting a .881 fielding percentage upon his promotion, but he has time to work the kinks out.

7. Albert Almora: The 20-year old, former first round pick fell slightly in the rankings from last season. The sixth overall pick in the 2012 draft struggled in his Double-A debut in 2014, dropping him from last season’s No. 4 ranking to this year’s seven slot. His big problem is patience at the plate as he rarely draws a walk. In 508 at bats last season, he walked 14 times which explains his .291 on base percentage.

6. Billy McKinney: McKinney, the left-handed hitting outfielder, came over from Oakland in last year’s Jeff Samardzija/ Jason Hammel blockbuster. The former first round pick’s power numbers dipped once arriving in High-A Daytona, but he still slashed a decent line: .301/.390/.432.

5. C.J. Edwards: Edwards is the third and final right-handed pitcher to make the list. The former 48th round draft pick of the Texas Rangers came over in the Matt Garza trade a couple of years back. He doesn’t have the wins to show for it, but the 23-year old has fantastic peripherals to support the high ranking. In 12 starts over two levels last season, he was 1-2 with a 2.35 ERA and 54 strikeouts over 53.2 innings pitched.

Aug 30, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Chicago Cubs right fielder Jorge Soler (68) hits an RBI single against the St. Louis Cardinals during the first inning at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Rovak-USA TODAY Sports

4. Kyle Schwarber: Schwarber didn’t take long to make his presence felt. The 2014 Cubs first round draft pick (fourth overall) exploded onto the scene in a big way. The left-handed hitting young star in the making showed his versatility by splitting his time almost evenly between catcher (20 games behind the plate) and the outfield (36 games in left field). His fielding percentage was nearly identical at each position: .981 at catcher and .985 in left field. He is quite the model of consistency.

Schwarber ascended the ranks quickly, going from Low-A to High-A with a brief top at Single-A ball in between. Rather impressively, he won a Player of the Week Award at each level on his way to being named a Cubs Organizational All Star. His slash line over the course of his debut season was .344/.428/.634 as he added 18 home runs and 55 RBI. The sky is the limit for the budding star.

3. Jorge Soler: Most people familiar with baseball have heard the big righty’s name by now. The 22-year old right fielder is the latest Cuban prospect to seemingly be ready to make a big splash in the MLB. If Soler doesn’t start the year in right field for the Cubs, he surely will finish it.

Soler absolutely pulverized the lower levels in 2014. He slashed .400/.500/.640 in Rookie ball and the .415/.494/.862 in Double-A. He took a step back when he got to Triple-A, but in reality, he was still pretty darn good at .282/.378/.618. Solar earned a Player of the Week award at his stop in Tennessee in Double-A and was one of the Cubs’ Organizational All Stars for 2014.

Soler made it up to Wrigley at the end of August and would stay. He earned his keep and quickly acclimated himself to big league ball. He slashed a .292/.330/.573 line in his first taste of the big leagues. He added 5 home runs and 20 RBI in just 24 games. Soler’s downside has always been his fielding, but even that won’t keep him down much longer. He did commit two errors in his small sample size and posted a rather unimpressive .958 fielding percentage (nearly 30 points below league average) but the youngster has plenty of time to make adjustments.

Oct. 14, 2014; Mesa, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs shortstop Addison Russell plays for the Mesa Solar Sox during an Arizona Fall League game against the Scottsdale Scorpions at Salt River Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

2. Addison Russell: Russell was the centerpiece in the trade that sent Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel to Oakland at the trade deadline. The 20-year old shortstop is considered a top 15 prospect in all of baseball by just about every expert in the ranking biz. He has done nothing so far to not justify those lofty expectations.

Russell, the 11th overall pick in the first round of the 2012 draft had another solid season in 2014. He has the rare blend of offense and defense. He was awarded the best defender and best hitter for average honors in the Oakland As system after his debut 2012 season and he hasn’t missed a step since. His 2013 season was highlighted by taking home the High-A Rookie of the Year Award as well as an invite to the MLB Futures Game. And then he switched cities.

It must have been a bit painful coming to Chicago with what appeared to be an opening in the As lineup for a shortstop in 2015, especially being blocked by young star Sterlin Castro on the Cubs. But the Cubs can only hold Russell back so long. He put up yet another solid season in Tennessee at Double-A after going the Cubs, slashing .294/.333/.536 while belting 12 home runs and putting up a .990 fielding percentage at short stop. The question isn’t if he will be the next Chicago shortstop, it’s when.

Mar 10, 2014; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant prior to the game against the San Francisco Giants at Scottsdale Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

1. Kris Bryant: Bryant, the 23-year old third baseman of the future for the Cubs, was named the Best Defensive Third Baseman in the Pacific Coast League last year. That is simply amazing, considering the offensive output he had. Bryant was arguably the most complete player in the minor leagues last season.

Bryant put up MVP numbers in both Double-A and Triple-A last season en route to both the Baseball America and USA Today 2014 Minor League Player of the Year Award. The Cubs first round pick (second overall) in the 2013 draft out of the University of San Diego has done nothing but terrorize opposing pitchers at every level since the first time he swung a bat.

His 2014 season consisted of three Southern League Player of the Week Awards, two of which came in consecutive weeks. After he put up a .355/.458/.702 slash line at Double-A with 22 home runs and 58 RBI, he first received an invite to the MLB Futures Game and then headed off to Iowa in Triple-A. There, he slashed a .295/.418/.619 line with 21 more home runs and 52 RBI.

His fielding improved greatly at the hot corner when he moved up from Double-A to Triple-A cutting his errors in half (from 14 to 7) despite having more chances at the higher level. He finished the season with a .944 fielding percentage. The improvement he showed as the season went on was highly encouraging.

Bryant is a Top 10 prospect in all of baseball according to just about every ranking. It seems as if he will have one more year at Triple-A, as Theo Epstein is thinking about trying him in the outfield. If Bryant puts up another half season like last year though, we will see him in Chicago much sooner than later.

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