Image Courtesy of the Chicago Cubs

It was almost 4 months ago to the day that the Cubs tore apart the roster and made a series of moves that we shaved the entire direction of the organization. In came a plethora of prospects. Shortly after that dismantling of the franchise, Baseball America released their midseason top Cubs prospect list. It was a jumbled mess of a long-time prospects and several of the players the Cubs just acquired. 

You wouldn’t think that a lot would change about a list that came out on August 4 and a new one almost exactly 4 months later. But there were a lot of changes in Baseball America’s new top 30 cubs prospect list because of the changes in the system.

Since the last list came out, Nelson Velasquez went on a tear and won MVP of the Arizona Fall League, Caleb Kilian pitched six perfect innings in the Arizona Fall League championship game, and most of the 12 players the Cubs acquired this summer got some action in at South Bend, Myrtle Beach, and Arizona. That’s a lot to take in and evaluate.

Because of all this newness and the number of new prospects, I said quite often the last four months that any Cubs prospect list is going to change greatly with each iteration. After Brennen Davis, it’s pretty much going to be a free-for-all each time as we’re dealing with a lot young players here, mostly between the ages of 19 and 22. There’s going to be some serious fluctuation.

Before the list came out, I checked BA’s top 100 and the Cubs still had two players on that list in Brennen Davis and Cristian Hernandez. Everybody and their mother knew that Davis would be at the top of the new list but would Hernandez be able to hold onto his number two spot? With Pete Crow-Armstrong usurp him? And just where would youngsters Reggie Preciado, Owen Caissie, Kevin Alcântara, and James Triantos land? Would Jordan Wicks even make it into the top 10?

We found out the answers to those questions and more today.

Here are the top 10.

1. Brennen Davis

2. Cristian Hernandez

3. Brailyn Marquez

4. Pete Crow-Armstrong

5. Jordan Wicks

6. Kevin Alcantara

7. Caleb Kilian

8. Owen Caissie

9. DJ Herz

10. Yohendrick Pinango

One big surprise that I did not see coming was the inclusion of Marquez at #3 after not playing all of 2021. In fact, the Cubs placed three left-handed starting pitchers in the top 10.

One player I thought they undervalued was Reggie Preciado and James Triantos was another. Both did not make the top ten, but should be close when their top 30 list rolls out soon. As well, Ryan Jensen did not make their top 10 but did on ours.

Overall, I am a little surprised how big BA went in on Kilian at 7. BA feels like Kilian could be a rotation piece as soon as the middle of 2022. They also see Kilian as a middle of the rotation type guy thanks to his new pitches.

I’m excited to see how this list compares to others. Prospects Live should be rolling out with their new list any day now. You can always check North Side Bound‘s group and individual lists and see how they compare to BA’s.