Feature photo of Owen Caissie by Todd Johnson

The moment has arrived for our NSB midseason rankings update. By this point, you could have absolutely done the math yourself to figure out where we rank each player in our Top 25, but in case you didn’t feel like doing that or if you are referencing this list later on in the season so you can prove us wrong, here is the way our rankings shake out if you were to combine the four writers here at the site.

If you are looking to dig into our lists individually, you can do so by checking out Greg Huss’ list, Todd Johnson’s list, Jimmy Nelligan’s list, and Greg Zumach’s list.

And feel free to join all of us over on our Twitter Space tonight at 5:30 CT!

1. Brennen Davis

Highest: All of us

Lowest: None of us

Quote: “There will surely be plenty of people over this offseason that will be down on Davis, but rest assured, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be the No. 1 prospect in the system now and come Spring Training next year.” -GH

2. Pete Crow-Armstrong

Highest: 2 (Todd, Greg Z)

Lowest: 3 (Jimmy, Greg H)

Quote: “He currently is on a tear to start the second half and remember that he is an elite defender right now – like Gold Glover caliber defender in the majors, not just the minors. I could see him jumping to number one on my fall list with a good second half…easily; especially if he ends the year in Tennessee.” -TJ

3. Kevin Alcántara

Highest: 2 (Greg H)

Lowest: 4 (Todd, Jimmy)

Quote: “Alcántara oozes potential that he’s fully realizing on the field. It’s absolutely an elite upside. Alcántara has the potential to be a Top 5 overall prospect in baseball in two years.” -GZ

4. Cristian Hernández

Highest: 2 (Jimmy)

Lowest: 6 (Greg Z)

Quote: “I love the swing and the maturity he’s shown so far in the ACL, and I think his swing will generate plus power as he gets older. Of all the guys on this list, Hernandez might have the best big league career.” -JN

5. DJ Herz

Highest: 4 (Greg Z)

Lowest: 8 (Todd)

Quote: “I know, I know, he needs to go deeper into starts. But at some point down the line, you earn your way to being the top pitching prospect in the system when you do what Herz is doing.” -GH

T-6. Caleb Kilian

Highest: 6 (Greg H)

Lowest: 9 (Greg Z)

Quote: “He still needs to improve some of the offerings, including his spike curve and four-seam that will allow him to generate more whiffs, but once he does that he will have five pitches to play with.” -GH

T-6. Owen Caissie

Highest: 5 (Todd)

Lowest: 10 (Greg Z)

Quote: “There are very few questions with the bat, but he’ll need to maintain a high offensive output as a LF (or 1B). I believe he can do that. He may need to be bumped to AA later this season.” -GZ

8. James Triantos

Highest: 7 (Greg H, Greg Z)

Lowest: 10 (Jimmy)

Quote: “When he gets to South Bend, the power should be much better. The defense needs some work at third, but this is his first year at the position. In time, he will be fine.” -TJ

9. Kevin Made

Highest: 5 (Greg Z)

Lowest: 13 (Todd)

Quote: “He has added some more muscle, taken his walks, and has hit tanks. Made is already one of the better defensive shortstops in the system, and if the bat can continue to improve, we could have a really great prospect here.” -JN

10. Jordan Wicks

Highest: 8 (Greg Z)

Lowest: 14 (Todd)

Quote: “It’s not really about now for him, it’s about him trying to be the best pitcher he can be for the future. Keep that in mind when you look at his numbers. His last start looked like he settled on going with a certain curve grip as it was outstanding!” -TJ

11. Ed Howard

Highest: 10 (Todd)

Lowest: 14 (Greg H, Greg Z)

Quote: “We can’t get trapped over the next several months into thinking Howard was having a bad season before going down with his hip injury. The stats aren’t beautiful, but he looked so much better at the plate in game action compared to a year ago.” -GH

12. Nelson Velazquez

Highest: 11 (Todd, Greg Z)

Lowest: 19 (Greg H)

Quote: “There will be days when he strikes out 2 or 3 times in a game, but his power will make up for those days. For the rest of the season, Velazquez could be the Cubs starting left fielder and lose his prospect status soon.” -JN

13. Daniel Palencia

Highest: 12 (Greg Z)

Lowest: 20 (Todd)

Quote: “He’s improved his secondaries drastically over the last month. The last two times I saw him in person, I wondered if it was the same pitcher because his command had improved so much. Watching his pregame workouts, the dude is a legend. No wonder he can throw 100 with his long toss game.” -TJ

14. Luis Devers

Highest: 11 (Jimmy)

Lowest: Unranked (Todd)

Quote: “He has a great three pitch mix, but his changeup is the only pitch I would grade plus. His command has been what has set Devers apart, and I could see him be a back of the rotation type arm for the major league club in the future.” -JN

15. Alexander Canario

Highest: 6 (Todd)

Lowest: 23 (Greg H, Greg Z)

Quote: “Blessed with incredible tools, Canario is a human highlight reel. He’s still working to address whiffs, but he’s made improvements. The power projection is legitimate.” -GZ

16. Ryan Jensen

Highest: 12 (Greg H)

Lowest: 22 (Todd, Greg Z)

Quote: “Jensen came back from the developmental list with a shorter arm path and it’s helped his control in most outings. There is still the hope he could be a starter at the next level.” -GZ

17. Matt Mervis

Highest: 15 (Todd, Jimmy)

Lowest: Unranked (Greg H)

Quote: “The last time the Cubs had a first base prospect who could potentially have an OPS of 1.000 and 20+ home runs his name was Anthony Rizzo. Let’s not disregard how special the year Mervis has had is. His power is really special, and I love his swing.” -JN

18. Reggie Preciado

Highest: 13 (Greg H)

Lowest: 19 (Todd)

Quote: “He has struck out way too often in low-A, and more than likely he’ll get some more time in Myrtle Beach in 2023. He still has the chance to be a solid switch hitting third basemen / middle infielder, but his contact rate is going to have to pick up.” -JN

19. Yohendrick Pinango

Highest: 11 (Greg H)

Lowest: Unranked (Jimmy)

Quote: “While I’m more confident in his bat being legit than some, it’s still gotta be a carrying trait in a profile that features him playing LF and tallying fewer than 20 stolen bases.” -GH

20. Kohl Franklin

Highest: 16 (Todd)

Lowest: 23 (Jimmy)

Quote: “His stuff has looked like some of the best in the system with his plus changeup, his fastball that he has hit 100, and a solid spiked curve, but he has lacked any command. The stuff is some of the best in the system, he just needs to execute pitches.” -JN

21. Moises Ballesteros

Highest: 12 (Todd)

Lowest: Unranked (Jimmy, Greg H)

Quote: “This is a projection on the bat and it is mightily impressive. Ballesteros can mash and may force his way to Myrtle Beach later this summer.” -GZ

22. Luke Little

Highest: 14 (Jimmy)

Lowest: Unranked (Todd)

Quote: “His high pitch counts through a few innings, combined with his lack of a solid third pitch makes me believe Little will be a reliever when it’s all said and done, but his swing and miss slider combined with a fastball that will touch 100 would make him a back of the bullpen arm.” -JN

23. Chase Strumpf

Highest: 17 (Todd)

Lowest: Unranked (Jimmy)

Quote: “The now decent defensive third baseman has seen his career trajectory go from a contact oriented second baseman to a corner infielder with power that strikes out too much and doesn’t hit for a high enough average” -GH

24. Miguel Amaya

Highest: 20 (Jimmy, Greg Z)

Lowest: Unranked (Todd)

Quote: “It’s probably not fair that I’ve dropped Amaya 10 slots from my offseason list considering he’s done exactly what we expected from him — worked his way back from Tommy John to the point where he is now taking DH at-bats down in the ACL.” -GH

25. Jordan Nwogu

Highest: 17 (Greg H)

Lowest: Unranked (Jimmy)

Quote: “The athleticism is off the charts. What I like best about him is that he is just fine with adapting to something if it will make him better.” -TJ

Also Found on Lists

Cole Roederer (Todd), Cam Sanders (Jimmy, Greg H), Adan Sanchez (Greg Z), Brailyn Marquez (Greg Z), Drew Gray (Todd), Bryce Ball (Jimmy), Anderson Espinoza (Jimmy), Tyler Schlaffer (Greg H), Jeremiah Estrada (Todd)