This past weekend, MLB Pipeline updated their Top 100 Prospects rankings, and Chicago Cubs fans will be thrilled with the updates. Two more players in the Cubs’ already-loaded farm system have been added to MLB’s Top 100 list. This gives the Cubs the most top prospects in all of baseball. They now have eight players in the updated Top 100, and that’s after infielder Michael Busch dropped off the list by exhausting his status as a prospect. The two players added to the list for the Cubs were catcher Moises Ballesteros (#94) and shortstop Jefferson Rojas (#98).
The @Cubs lead our revamped Top 100 with EIGHT prospects.
Complete list: https://t.co/GHKRojvumt pic.twitter.com/jNugK1Q3I5
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 13, 2024
Two Newcomers to MLB’s Top Prospect List
Ballesteros, 20, currently plays for Double-A Tennessee and his scouting report highlights his advanced hitting. He was the 2023 Cubs Minor League Player of the Year, hitting 14 home runs and posting an .823 OPS in his age-19 season. What’s more impressive is that he did that over three levels of minor league ball. He started the season in Single-A Myrtle Beach and climbed to Double-A Tennessee by the end of the season. So far this year he is hitting a solid .293/.371/.489 with an .860 OPS in Tennessee.
Rojas, 19, spent most of 2023 in Single-A Myrtle Beach, where he put up a slash line of .268/.345/.404. He opened this season in High-A South Bend where he has held his own with a .275/.318/.358 batting line. Rojas reportedly possesses good pitch recognition skills for his age and also has good bat speed. The hope here is that his somewhat raw skills can be developed as he physically matures with age.
Cubs Have the Most Top 100 Prospects in Baseball
With the additions of Ballesteros and Rojas, the Cubs now have the most top prospects in baseball. Their two top prospects sit inside the top 20. They are outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (#15), who is currently on the Cubs major league roster, and right-handed pitcher Cade Horton (#19). Horton is the Cubs’ top pitching prospect and recently got a callup to Triple-A Iowa. The complete list for the Cubs looks like this:
- (#15) Pete Crow-Armstrong OF
- (#19) Cade Horton RHP
- (#37) Owen Caissie OF
- (#44) Matt Shaw 3B
- (#54) Kevin Alcántara OF
- (#61) James Triantos 2B
- (#94) Moises Ballesteros C/1B
- (#98) Jefferson Rojas SS
The Cubs and their fans should be on cloud nine at the state of the franchise right now. The team is currently competitive, and there looks to be no end to that in sight as they now have the most top prospects in MLB. Jed Hoyer has done a remarkable job restocking the farm system with young talent that should keep this team’s competitive window open for years to come.
Photo Credit: © MATTIE NERETIN / USA TODAY NETWORK
