I know most aren't particularly interested in the cubs farm system but I'm really excited for the under 21 guys. I know there's been some doom and gloom about them not winning now they are screwed. The prospect ranking places aren't going to be favorable to the cubs largely because they don't have a Bryant type in their system. But as someone who pays attention to this stuff quite a bit I really like Brennen Davis, Cole Roederer and Raivaj Garcia. I also really like how they fit in with guys who presumably may get extended in Bryant/Baez as well as likely Contreras/Schwarber.
I hyped the hell out of Roederer right after the draft. It's funny that just looking at stats I bumped into the same comp. that you're now seeing people throw on him in Andrew Bennintendi. However, what I'm really excited to see is how Davis plays this coming year. The cubs haven't typically been wrong on hitters. The grades on Davis' hit tool right now are 40's which would be like a .250 type hitter. But he's interesting for a number of reasons. First is he hit .298/.431/.333(132 wRC+) in his 72 PA debut. The second is he didn't commit full time to baseball until just recently. He was previously a basketball star(his father is former NBA All-Star Reggie Theus). But the most interesting aspect of him are the tools. Fangraphs put a 60 grade on his power, 60 on his speed, 60 on his arm and 55 on his fielding. You're talking about a potential 25/25 or maybe 30/30 hitter.... with really good CF defense. If he's better than a .250 hitter... I mean the sky is really the limit. With that kind of toolset he could realistically be one of the best players in baseball.... if he hits.
Garcia is mostly interesting because he hit .302/.362/.355(110 wRC+) at 16 in a league where most of his competition is 3.5 years older than him. I'm thinking he may end up like Luis Urias who similarly at 17 hit .310/.393/.355(123 wRC+) in mesa. Garcia is a bit bigger and has a little bit more power while Urias might be a better pure hitter. But suffice to say, Garcia may end up being a really interesting lead off type hitter at 2B.
I also think while not super noteworthy they have 10-15 guys who are likely either 3-5 starters or 4A depth. That's not going to excite prospect ranking places but consider they paid Chatwood $13 mil/season to do that last offseason and $20 mil for Hamels this season. If they can effectively fill those spots with cheap young guys that's a lot of money they can remove from their books.
I think if you went 100% potential Brailyn Marquez. Scouting grades: Fastball: 60 | Curveball: 55 | Changeup: 45 | Control: 50 | Overall: 50. If you are looking at a player that has something that is unusual then he is it. 98 MPH fastball and more expected growth with a improving curve.
Best bet: Nico Hoerner. Best hit tool sense Almora with out giving up BB%. 60 run tool. I really see him being that lead off that they have been searching for.
Every other guy in the system is Meh honestly. Davis and Roederer for sure you have to keep a eye on right now.
Roederer was not given that much love for
Scouting grades: Hit: 50 | Power: 50 | Run: 55 | Arm: 50 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45. So I really want to see a full year at South bend. If he pulls a 1/2 season then I'll honestly not really care about him.
Brennen Davis Scouting grades: Hit: 45 | Power: 45 | Run: 70 | Arm: 55 | Field: 55 | Overall: 45. So he has a huge speed tool. That gives him a basic edge going forward but again they don't play on astroturf so it really doesn't play up in today's game.
But both could bulk up over the next few years and become something interesting. As of right now way too raw to care much.
