Picture of Cristian Hernandez by Rich Biesterfeld

The biggest question for fanbases as publications drop their respective Top 100s is “how many [prospects] will my team have?”. Baseball America has answered that question for Cubs fans with a not surprising, but cautious two prospects listed on their Top 100. Brennen Davis (16) and Cristian Hernandez (81) both land on BA’s hallowed ranking.

We’ve covered Baseball America’s top 10 Cubs prospects previously so make sure to check it out.

Seeing Brennen Davis’s name should not come as a shock to anyone who reads our articles. Brennen was the unanimous top Cubs prospect in the North Side Bound Rankings. Brennen’s inclusion to BA’s list at 16 overall also jives with similar rankings as he finished the season in the top 15-25 prospects in similar publications.

Baseball America has been high on Cristian Hernandez since he first signed with the Chicago Cubs and he was already listed as a Top 100 prospect by Baseball America. While fans wait for the budding superstar to make his debut stateside in 2022, BA isn’t here to slow the hype-train on Hernandez describing the 18-year-old as having a potentially impact bat at shortstop.

Since Baseball America’s Top 10 Cubs prospects is already out, it’s no mystery for who would have been next on the rankings. Brailyn Marquez is still ranked third in the system. His disappearance from the Top 100 is another unsurprising change to the rankings. After missing the entire 2021 season due to COVID and an injury occurring during his ramp-up, Marquez is one of the biggest question marks entering the 2022 season. But 100 mph lefties don’t grow on trees. Hopefully that left arm is throwing bullets this spring.

Baseball America is notoriously stingy when it comes to ranking young prospects. They place a heavy-emphasis on players who have succeeded at AA or above. When evaluating the Cubs system in that context, two Top 100 prospects fits the overall perspective quite well, even if one of them (Hernandez) doesn’t match.

The Cubs system is on the rise, but it may be next season or even the year after for fans to see names litter Baseball America’s Top 100.

Be sure to check out our rankings while you are here to compare which prospects we have in our top 10.