Owen Caissie I feel like ONKC is the surest bet on this list to be a star. I see a .240/.350/.500 type line in his future. Jefferson Rojas SS goes a long way here - but I haven't heard much about his defense (one way or the other). If he was an elite defender everyone was talking about, I'd have him #1. There's some utility/super-utility floor here though.Jaxon Wiggins I can't rank a potential ace lower than #3. I use ace loosely, but people stick too hard to the #1-5 ranking of pitchers. He has badass starting pitcher potential, and is showing it at AA. Good enough for me right now.Kevin Alcantara I put Kevin and Mo in a tier, I can't really differentiate them as prospects (as different as they are), but I Alcantara's CF defense is a tie breaker for me. There's a chance he just can't hit in MLB, but he's shown enough ability to adjust that I have faith he'll figure it out to some level. Moises Ballesteros I'm less concerned about the defense than I am about the power. Tons of ground balls worry me. I don't think there is Schwarber upside here, and betting on a .300/.350/.480 guy is a tough sell. I almost think a .260/.330/.420 weird backup catcher/1B/DH profile is what we're looking at. He's could be a 10 year MLB vet when it's said and done, but will he really be an impactful force?Jonathon Long Ok, I'm completely enamored with the swing and, yes, I hope that (at the plate) he's everything we wished Kris Bryant to be. Terrified he's a traded for a rental and turns into a right handed version of Freddy Freeman. But more likely he's Ryan Mountcastle. Which would be great!Ethan Conrad I never know what to do with the new toys. Please be a hit.Cristian Hernandez Surely the power is still there somewhere? The biggest revelation for me is the SB numbers, quantity and efficiency. This probably ends up being "random MLB shortstop who plays for 5 teams over a decade" upside, but I don't know. The "puts it ALL together" upside is SO crazy; some of his HR's are just effortless tanks, if he can get to that more often. I still think there's 30-30 upside existing in a 10th percentile somewhere...Brandon Birdsell I don't know why, but I just can't shake a John Lackey comp for BB. I shouldn't because he's his own guy. IANAS, dude just looks like a MLB starter. If we can find a prospect version of Jon Lester and introduce them, and they hit it off, then we can have our answer.Ryan Gallagher I feel like the Cubs have had TONS of Ryan's and Gallagher's over the years, none of whom JUST QUITE made it (Sean Gallagher flew closest to the sun). Another example, like Wiggins, where I have to weight badass starter impact over the next few guys.James Triantos Look, Triantos at 11 is a testament to how deep this system really still is. Health willing, dude will play MLB. I think the hit/power combo ends up being so Nico, but probably more of a utility defensive profile. Definite super-utility potential. If the Cubs sucked right now, we'd be watching him instead of Brujan.Pedro Ramirez Hey, there's the off chance he's, um, a poor man's James Triantos. That profile, given the chance and initial success to build a runway, can stick around MLB for a while.Christian Franklin Dude's gonna play in the majors for 10 years, I just know it. Nobody will remember he was on their favorite team.Will Sanders Please be another Birdsell story.Ronny Cruz Please be better than Christian Hernandez?!Fernando Cruz Please be better than Christian Hernandez?!Ivan Brethowr I wanted to rank him higher because I'm a dreamer, but I have to temper my expectaions.Cole Mathis Purely based on hope for a slugger.Nazier Mule I'm cool with an Adzolay career arc (I know that hurt at the end, but come on, I wish I had an Adzolay career). Juan Tomas Yay, shiny new prospect!
I tried to be a little unconventional, but also to prioritize something like "most likely big league career", so this is what I came up with. I do feel like I missed some names, but nothing I went crazy about.
