Farm System: Chicago Cubs
Much has already been made of the Cubs’ farm system, who was rated by Baseball America as the best farm system in all of Major League Baseball, prior to the start of the 2015 season. The minor league system was responsible for producing Kris Bryant (Baseball America‘s number one prospect), Addison Russell (the Cubs’ second-best prospect, Baseball America‘s third), Jorge Soler (the Cub’s third-best prospect, Baseball America‘s twelfth), and Kyle Schwarber (the Cubs’ fourth-best prospect, Baseball America’s nineteenth), all of whom are playing key roles in 2015 with their top club.
Rounding out the Cubs’ top ten prospects are pitcher C.J. Edwards (the Cub’s fifth best prospect, Baseball America‘s thirty-eighth), outfielder Billy McKinney (the Cubs’ sixth-best prospect, Baseball America‘s eighty-third), outfielder Albert Almora, shortstop Gleyber Torres, pitcher Pierce Johnson, and pitcher Duane Underwood (top shortstop prospect Javier Baez, having already played over 50 games in 2014, is no longer considered a true prospect, and is also no longer considered a rookie).
Given who is already at the position, from Starlin Castro to Baez and potentially Russell, currently playing second for Chicago, the Cubs are loaded at shortstop, and will be forced to move any one of them in a year or two.
Given what the Cubs have in the game’s best manager (Joe Maddon), a sound general manager (Jed Hoyer), and a president of baseball operations that has resuscitated a cursed franchise twice over (Theo Epstein), the Cubs stand to be an incredibly special ball club for years to come, should all their pieces live up to their promise.
