Chicago Cubs 2024 Offseason Top Prospects: Honorable Mentions

[Jason Ross]

We're kicking off our annual prospect list with some players who just missed the NSBB top 20. Who just missed our list? 

Image courtesy of © MANDATORY CREDIT: Austin Hough / South Bend Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK

2024 System Overview
2024 was a good year for the Cubs minor-league system. Some players didn't have the best of seasons due to injury (Cade Horton and Brennen Davis come to mind), others who just struggled to put it all together (BJ Murray and Haydn McGeary) as well, but for the most part, I'd say you'd have to come away feeling pretty strong about the overall health of the list. 

On the positive side, the Cubs saw players such as Jordan Wicks, Ben Brown, Pete Crow-Armstrong, and Michael Busch graduate from their top-10 list and have varying degrees of success at the MLB level. Jordan Wicks displayed a better-than-before ability to generate whiffs, though his season was thrown off the rails with injuries. Ben Brown was a hero of the first few months, filling in for injured top-of-the-rotation-Justin Steele, who suffered an Opening Day injury. Pete Crow-Armstrong debuted earlier than expected and, despite early struggles, came on late and showed that he could be an impact-type talent. And Michael Busch stabilized the first base position. 

As we will explore in this series, most of the Cubs' best prospects saw seasons that you'd feel nothing but solid about. While there's still a lack of a true "star" talent akin to Jackson Holliday, it'd be hard to say that the Cubs lack starting-caliber types. 

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2024 Honorable Mentions 
We will later highlight our NSBB top 20, but some prospects just missed the list of who should be on people's radars and who could quickly make their way onto the next top 20 come mid-season. These players are a collection of under-the-radar types and those who were added during the draft and could explode. There's no particular order; however, it's just a collection of guys I'd keep an eye on if I were you. 

Sam Armstrong, SP, Tennessee Smokies (Double-A)
A 6'2", 245 lbs starting pitcher drafted in the 13th round of the 2023 draft, all Armstrong has done so far is a pitch to results. Starting his 2024 season off in South Bend with the High-A club, the righty posted impressive numbers, with an ERA just at 3.00, a GB% over 40%, and a K% north of 20%. While the K% dipped upon his promotion to Double-A Tennessee, Armstrong lowered his ERA and improved his FIP. Some concerns with the stuff likely kept people from adding him to the top 20. Still, he's someone who's worked hard to transform his body (Armstrong is a very large human), and with added conditioning and change, I think you can argue that the Cubs may have found a bit of a diamond in the rough here. 

Cole Mathis, 1B/3B (Has yet to debut)
Cole Mathis was this year's second-round selection out of the College of Charleston. Sadly for Mathis, he immediately underwent Tommy John surgery and never made his debut with the Cubs at a minor-league affiliate. Despite knowing he needed surgery on draft day, the Cubs still announced him as a third baseman and gave him full slot. Unlike pitchers, we should expect a mostly healthy Mathis to return in the spring. Mathis may play first until his elbow strength fully returns, however.  What makes Mathis so intriguing is his bat-to-ball skills, coupled with his power potential. He had wonderful Cape Cod league numbers, too. There's an intriguing bat here and someone who could force his way into some top-10 lists next year if things go well.

Brody McCullough, SP, Tennessee Smokies (Double-A)
Brody McCullough started the 2024 season off in impressive fashion, earning a promotion to Tennessee off of 10 innings pitched at South Bend. Despite having offseason knee surgery, the right-hander looked like he had picked up where he left off and was potentially going to shoot through the system a bit. He made his debut in Tennessee on May 10th, pitching four innings, striking out seven while allowing a lone home run... then we never saw him again. Mystery shrouds the injury, as it's been unspecified, and McCullough spent the rest of the season on the 60-day injured list. There are enough tools in the arsenal and enough upside that despite being left off the list, people should keep an eye on him if he returns: he could make an interesting bullpen or rotation arm. But there are enough question marks, and essentially, a fully missed season means he doesn't deserve to be in the top 20.

Brett Bateman, OF, Tennessee Smokies (Double-A)
I remain fairly lukewarm on the MLB prospects of someone like Brett Bateman because he's a very specialized player; he's great at getting on base, has speed, and the glove is reportedly very good... but there's literally zero power in his profile. Despite this, thus far, the diminutive outfielder has posted wRC+s well north of 100 at both Low A and High A. However, it seemed to catch up with him at Double A, as he posted a miniscule .009 ISO and an 80 wRC+, though he managed to keep his BB% nearing the 12% mark and an OBP over .330. Being so specialized may make Bateman an interesting 40-man add someday as a playoff specialist (ala Jarrod Dyson of Kansas City Royals fame). So, while I don't see a starter's build, there are just enough tools that he should be someone on the periphery of your radar...just close enough you don't entirely forget him entering the 2025 season.

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[JunkyardWalrus]

I enjoy reading these, thanks for taking the time!

[Jason Ross]

2 hours ago, JunkyardWalrus said:

I enjoy reading these, thanks for taking the time!

Got The rest of the top-20 coming soon! Appreciate yall reading it.