We all know just how wild the Cubs prospect rankings are once you get past Brennen Davis at the top. We’ve talked about it here and it’s been discussed on national publications — there are a good handful of guys that are “in the mix” for top 100 spots.
Up to this point, though, we haven’t really seen anyone featured outside Davis and Cristian Hernandez.
That just changed dramatically with the publication of Baseball Prospectus’ Top 101. FOUR Cubs players graced their list and the names might surprise you:
27. Brennen Davis
67. Owen Caissie
79. Reggie Preciado
101. James Triantos
Let’s first start by acknowledging the fact that none of Hernandez, Pete Crow-Armstrong, or Kevin Alcantara are among the names present here. Add those three to the mix and you’re looking at SEVEN North Siders that find themselves right in the mix of some of the very best prospects in baseball.
Now, the negative… if you can call it that. Believe it or not, Davis coming in at No. 27 is actually the low-end of where we are now accustomed to seeing him. I truly believe that Brennen is a top 15 prospect, but if we are nitpicking about him being ranked 12 spots lower, that’s a pretty good problem to have.
We’ve put off discussion about Caissie, Preciado, and Triantos long enough.
Owen Caissie at No. 67 is the most pleasant surprise of the entire prospect ranking season so far. We know the power is legit, but this is some serious belief in his hit tool to continue to progress as he climbs the organizational ladder. Both scouts and data gurus alike are falling in love with Caissie’s bat and apparently the BP writers are willing to lead the media charge.
I ranked Reggie Preciado No. 2 on my list earlier this winter. His frame, athleticism, and ability to switch hit is what really got me amped up about him. His ranking at No. 79 puts him pretty firmly on BP’s list and the numbers he put up in the ACL back up this placement. I’m glad Preciado got this love as it feels like those of us in Cubs fandom have gravitated more toward Kevin Made, Alcantara, Caissie, and Hernandez.
Another guy Cubs fans have fallen in love with is James Triantos, and here he is barely sneaking into the back of BP’s list at 101. I feel like we’ve spent the entire offseason watching national publications play chicken with the idea of being the first group to throw Triantos into their rankings and we have finally seen the first shot fired. Honestly, this alone could really open up the floodgates for Triantos to litter Top 100s by the time mid-season rankings roll around.
Be sure to check out the entire list at Baseball Prospectus where you can also read about some guys (including Cubs) that they had just on the outside looking in.
To see where the North Side Bound writers placed all these talented Cubs in their rankings, you can always check our list out here at the site!
Feature photo of the Rojo Bros (James Triantos & Owen Caissie) by Rich Biesterfeld (@biest22)
Impressive, but this also fuels my belief Hoyer should probably move a couple of these guys for ML talent soon. I know everyone is convinced the Cubs have decided to just sit back and collect prospects until 2023-2024 but the situation is the Cubs have already built a stockpile with depth and redundancies + will be adding talent with a top 10 pick later this summer.
Hoyer taking advantage of a trade market he did alot of work to create, one that puts a premium on extreme youth and light track records, just makes sense to me. Honestly the negative reaction alone to him trading teenagers after he was bashed, often, for acquiring teenagers is something I really *want* to see for entertainment purposes
What major league talent could these prospects get. Not enough to make the Cubs a playoff contender. They need to stay the course and keep on stockpiling talent. Hopefully a new core will come of it