Throughout spring training, Chicago Cubs President Jed Hoyer and manager David Ross reiterated that the team would need more than just the 26 players on the opening-day roster to contribute over the course of the season.
The 162-game schedule can test an organization’s depth and talent. As the minor-league season gets underway, the Cubs believe their farm system — rated between No. 10 and 16 in baseball by publications — continues to take steps in producing the type of big-league talent the organization needs to build a sustaining, winning team.
“We’re not satisfied, we’re still hungry,” vice president of player development Jared Banner told the Tribune. “We’re still looking to get better. We think we can be even better than we are and we’re going to go out and try to prove it.”
Triple-A Iowa
Top prospects: OF Brennen Davis, 1B Matt Mervis, RHP Caleb Kilian, RHP Cam Sanders, RHP Jeremiah Estrada, RHP Riley Thompson
Notables on the injured list: RHP Ben Leeper (Tommy John surgery), Alexander Canario (shoulder/ankle surgeries)
The Cubs are better positioned to rely on their Triple-A depth to supplement the roster when injuries and subpar performances arise. While they aren’t considered prospects after their 2022 rookie seasons, infielder/outfielder Christopher Morel and outfielder Nelson Velázquez are expected to help the Cubs when called upon. Despite his rough season debut, Kilian’s spring performance was hard to ignore after a knee injury affected him during the final months of 2022. Sanders and Estrada can give the bullpen a boost. Sanders in particular wowed with his 10 strikeouts, two walks and one run allowed in seven innings in the Cactus League.
When will Davis and Mervis make their big-league debuts?
The path to the Cubs appears most clear for Mervis if he continues to mash like he did in 2022. The lefty slugger will add pop to the lineup when his time arrives, which is dependent on the production the Cubs get from Eric Hosmer and Trey Mancini at the first base/designated hitter spots or if injuries arise. Mervis needs to keep hitting, too, to force the issue. Mervis, 24, hit a double and two home runs with four walks and six strikeouts through five games with Iowa.
Davis, 23, likely would have debuted last season if not for his back issue that culminated in surgery that caused him to miss most of the season. Now healthy, Davis simply needs at-bats and experience after being limited to just 63 games at Triple A since 2021 when he first reached the level. Unlike Mervis, Davis is on the 40-man roster, creating an easier path to the majors should the Cubs need outfield help or he plays his way onto the active roster.
Double-A Tennessee
Top prospects: OF Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF Owen Caissie, LHP Jordan Wicks, RHP Ben Brown, RHP Daniel Palencia, C Miguel Amaya, RHP Porter Hodge, IF Chase Strumpf, RHP Ryan Jensen
Notables on the IL: RHP Luis Devers (right shoulder), LHP DJ Herz (hamstring)
The Smokies roster is stacked. They’re headlined by Crow-Armstrong, 21, and Caissie, 20, who reached the level for the first time. They impressed during the spring with Caissie’s performance on Canada in the World Baseball Classic, the second-youngest player on his team, showing why he’s so highly thought of inside and outside the organization as he continues to grow into his 6-foot-3 frame and refines his approach. Crow-Armstrong, a top-30 prospect in baseball, could further climb the rankings if his offense takes another step forward. His defense in center field already is big-league worthy. This is an important season for Amaya in his final year with a minor-league option. Staying healthy and getting at-bats likely would lead to an opportunity with the Cubs at some point this season. They need to see what they have in the 24-year-old backstop.
Herz is pitching in games in Arizona and should come off the seven-day IL soon to join the Smokies. Devers, the Cubs’ 2022 minor-league pitcher of the year, is on the 60-day IL with a right shoulder injury that requires rest and rehab.
Can Wicks, Brown, Hodge, Palencia and Jensen become the next wave of starting pitchers who can help the big-league team?
The Cubs pitching development has started to pay off the last two seasons as more big-league-ready arms have earned promotions in the bullpen and rotation. Their minor-league pitching infrastructure looks to continue that pipeline, and the foursome of Wicks, Brown, Jensen and Hodge are positioning themselves to be part of the next wave. Brown needs to show he can be more consistent with his third pitch, a slider he tweaked into a sweeper in the offseason to better complement his fastball and curveball. Wicks, their 2021 first-round pick, needs to cut down on baserunners allowed and generate more weak contact after allowing 90 hits in 94⅔ innings between High A and Double A last year.
Hodge is a pitcher to watch for 2023. He impressed after his in-season promotion to Tennessee, posting a 2.01 ERA in eight games (seven starts) with 51 strikeouts in 40⅓ innings. Jensen got a look in big-league camp this spring and showed good stuff with flashes of command issues. Although he is starting for the Smokies, Jensen’s best path to the majors could be in the bullpen. Armed with a fastball that can hit triple digits, Palencia can be a strikeout machine when he’s rolling, aided by a slider and curveball that can produce whiffs. He will need to cut down on walks and pitch deeper into games but at worst profiles as a potential weapon out of a big-league bullpen.
High-A South Bend
Top prospects: OF Kevin Alcantara, OF Yohendrick Piñango, IF Kevin Made, RHP Kohl Franklin
Notables on the IL: SS Ed Howard (hip surgery), IF James Triantos (knee surgery)
The reigning Midwest League champions bring back a few notable names, including Palencia and Franklin, while welcoming No. 2 prospect Alcantara. He gained valuable experience as part of his first big-league training camp in which he appeared in seven Cactus League games and went 4-for-11 (.364) with a double and three strikeouts. The 6-foot-6 Alcantara’s mix of speed and power makes him a fun player to watch command the field. Offseason tweaks to his swing set him up for a potentially big season at South Bend.
Once fully healthy, how will their infield stack up?
South Bend won’t have prospects Howard and Triantos as shortstop and third base as they work back from their respective surgeries. But once they return this season, South Bend features an intriguing infield mix that includes Made and Haydn McGeary, who has started at first base, and as well as Ethan Hearn and Casey Opitz behind the plate.
Low-A Myrtle Beach
Top prospects: RHP Cade Horton, SS Cristian Hernández, C Moisés Ballesteros, IF Pedro Ramirez
Notables on the IL: RHP/IF Nazier Mulé (Tommy John surgery)
Horton, the Cubs’ 2022 first-round pick, was slated for his professional debut Saturday. Without much mileage on his arm the last two years because of Tommy John surgery during his freshman season at Oklahoma, look for the organization to be deliberate with Horton’s workload. Myrtle Beach offers the ideal transition to pro ball, and Horton at some point should earn a promotion to South Bend. Ballesteros, 19, possesses some pop, hitting 10 home runs and 12 doubles in 63 games between the Arizona Complex League and Myrtle Beach last year. The Pelicans roster also features 2022 draft picks: right-handers Nick Hull and Brody McCullough, left-hander Branden Noriega and outfielder Andy Garriola.
How does Cristian Hernández handle his next challenge?
After making his stateside debut in 2022 in the ACL, the 19-year-old Hernández gets his first test of full-season affiliated ball. He still needs to fill out his 6-foot-1 frame, but the potential of his bat, between the speed he can generate and the power upside, remains one of the most intriguing elements of the top-10 prospect. As one of the younger hitters in the league, Hernández, who signed a franchise-record $3 million bonus in 2021, will be tested to keep his swing and approach in check and limit strikeouts.
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