Picture of Cristian Hernández by Rich Biesterfeld
Throughout the lockout fans waited for MLB’s official prospect outlet, MLB Pipeline to release their rankings. Now that baseball is back, Cubs fans can celebrate prospects dazzling on the field as well as in prospect articles. MLB Pipeline provides Cubs fans with a not surprising, but cautious two prospects listed on their Top 100. Brennen Davis (15) and Cristian Hernández (92) both land on the official Top 100 ranking.
We’ll be providing a breakdown on the Cubs complete Top 30 from Pipeline when it drops next week.
Brennen Davis
Scouting grades from MLB Pipeline: Hit: 50 | Power: 60 | Run: 60 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 60Â
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 placement at 15 overall also fits well with other rankings as he finished the season in the top 15-25 prospects in similar publications.
On Brennen, Pipeline offers praise for his skill set while also dropping a 60 overall player grade on him. According to Pipeline
Davis offers one of the better power/speed combinations in the Minors. His bat speed, still-projectable strength and the leverage in his 6-foot-4 frame give him well above-average raw power, and he taps into it by launching flyballs to all fields. He’s a plus runner, though he’s still learning to make the most of it on the bases
Cristian Hernández
Grades per MLB Pipeline: Hit: 55 | Power: 55 | Run: 60 | Arm: 60 | Field: 55 | Overall: 55Â
Cristian Hernández has consistently been ranked high by Pipeline since he came on the International Free Agency radar. While fans wait for his stateside debut, Pipeline provides an exciting assessment alongside an area for future (present?) improvement
An extremely advanced hitter for his age, Hernandez [sic] has a smooth right-handed stroke with plenty of bat speed. He has good feel for the barrel and exhibits patience at the plate as well as a willingness to use the entire field. While he should have plus raw power once his projectable 6-foot-2 frame fills out, he’ll have to make some swing adjustments to make the most of it after sporting a 2.0 ground/fly ratio in his debut.
To those who have followed the stream of minor league camp content from Arizona, Hernández appears to have already changed his hitting stance. It is not only quieter in his motion, using his natural athleticism and strength, but also more geared to drive the ball under control.
The Cubs system is on the rise, and this time next year fans may see far more Cubs prospects spread throughout the Top 100,
Be sure to check out our rankings while you are here to compare which prospects we have in our top 10.
Wow, nice to see someone, anyone, in the mainstream point out Hernandez’s DSL GBs in the DSL. One of my issues with the rush to analyze 2021 stats in real time was the focus on declaring a winner of the day, week, month, and year but really the end game is high level success in the MLs for any of these guys. ML superstars hitting for power esp aren’t popping GB rates near 60%, which is what Hernandez did at the lowest level of ball…Huge ceiling sure, HRs and maybe even OBP from a non-1B infielder, but not a particularly nuanced game in a sport that is increasingly technical