Chicago Cubs Prospects Dominate New Top 100 Rankings

Pete Crow-Armstrong is the top-ranked Chicago Cubs prospect, but he has plenty of company.

The Chicago Cubs retained its place as one of the top farm systems in baseball, as MLB Pipeline ranked seven of its players among its Top 100 prospects entering the 2024 season.

Leading the way was outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, who made his MLB debut last September but still qualifies for the prospect rankings. He was No. 16.

From there, the list featured six other Cubs — pitcher Cade Horton (No. 26), outfielder Owen Caissie (No. 47), infielder Michael Busch (No. 51), shortstop Matt Shaw (No. 54), outfielder Kevin Alcántara (No. 65) and second baseman James Triantos (No. 73)

Before the re-rank, the Cubs also had seven Top 100 prospects — Crow-Armstrong (No. 12), Horton (No. 29), Busch (No. 44), Caissie (No. 64), Alcántara (No. 71), pitcher Ben Brown (No. 86) and Shaw (No. 96).

Crow-Armstrong is considered one of the best fielders in the game and in the minors last season he slashed .283/.365/.511/.876 with 26 doubles, seven triples, 20 home runs and 82 RBI. He also stole 37 bases.

Horton is considered one of the top right-handed pitching prospects in baseball and could earn a trip to Wrigley Field this year. With three different affiliates in 2023 he went 4-4 with a 2.65 ERA in 88.1 innings, giving up just 61 hits and finishing with a 1.00 WHIP.

Caissie was named to the MiLB Prospect Team of the Year’s First Team after he slashed 289/.398/.519 in 120 games with 22 home runs, 84 RBI, 77 runs, 76 walks, 164 strikeouts, seven stolen bases and a 144 wRC+. He played at Double-A Tennessee.

Shaw was the Cubs’ first-round pick a season ago and he got to work immediately in the minors as he batted .357 in just 38 games with three different affiliates. He hit nine doubles, four triples and eight home runs.

The Cubs acquired Busch earlier this month from the Los Angeles Dodgers in a trade. Busch played 27 games with the Dodgers last season and batted .167. In the minors, however, he batted .323 with 27 home runs and 90 RBI.

Alcántara played with three different affiliates and slashed .284/.345/.465/.810 with 13 home runs and 71 RBI. He also had 26 doubles and three triples.

Triantos had a terrific season in the Arizona Fall League, which moved him up several prospect boards. The former second-round pick slashed .287/.364/.391/.755 with four home runs and 48 RBI. At the AFL he was named the Offensive Player of the Year.

Rankings were created based on input from scouts, scouting directors and other talent evaluators. It also takes into account skill set, upside, proximity to the Majors and potential immediate impact to their teams.

The Top 100 includes players with 2024 rookie status, which includes players that debuted in 2023 that don’t have the service time (45 days on the active roster), at-bats (130) or innings pitched (50) to graduate.