The future is still bright.
Just to be a bit repetitive here, the Cubs have five prospects listed in Baseball America’s new Top 100 prospects list, which came out today.
They are:
Matt Shaw (35)
Cade Horton (54)
Moises Ballesteros (62)
Owen Caissie (64)
Kevin Alcántara (71)
Of those, the only one who’s played in the major leagues is Alcántara, who got a brief three-game cuppa coffee last September. He’s expected to spend 2025 at Triple-A Iowa, as are all the others except Shaw, who is now the leading candidate to be the Cubs’ Opening Day third baseman.
Meanwhile, this article about Horton on cubs.com a couple of days ago had this interesting quote:
“I’m just wanting to find a seat on the plane and help my team win,” Horton said. “That’s my job at the end of the day — to go out there and get outs. Whether that be in the bullpen, whether that be starting, it really doesn’t matter to me. I just want to help the Chicago Cubs win. That’s my goal.”
Horton clearly needs more development time, as he missed a lot of 2024 with injuries, pitching in only nine games for 34⅓ innings. But if he starts out well and stays healthy, I could see him in Chicago sometime this season.
Other interesting notes from BA’s list:
- Roki Sasaki, just signed by the Dodgers, is No. 1 on their list
- Zyhir Hope, traded to the Dodgers in the Michael Busch deal, is No. 51
- Cam Smith, sent to Houston in the Kyle Tucker deal, is No. 55
- Jackson Ferris, also part of the Busch trade, is No. 82
Here’s to a great 2025 for all the Cubs Top 100 prospects.