The Chicago Cubs are in prime position to make a run to the World Series for the first time since 2016.
Chicago entered Friday 57-39, good for the second-best record in the National League and third best in all of baseball.
The excellent start to the season means the Cubs will be buyers at this season’s trade deadline. With that comes the loss of prospects.
Team president Jed Hoyer was asked about the possibility of holding onto any key prospects and his response to that was rather short.
“No one’s untouchable,” Hoyer told reporters in a video posted to X by Marquee Sports Network. “At the same time though, we have really great prospects, and we’d have to feel like we’re getting great value.”
Chicago indeed does have great prospects, as it has five on MLB’s top 100 prospect list.
Those five are No. 41 Owen Caissie, No. 51 Moises Ballesteros, No. 62 Jefferson Rojas, No. 84 Kevin Alcantara and No. 100 Jaxon Wiggins.Wiggins was the most recent addition to the list, as he was added on Tuesday.
After the graduation of Matt Shaw from the Cubs prospect list, Caissie is now the top prospect in the organization and it’s for good reason.
He is showing out at Triple-A with a .278 average, 19 home runs, 20 doubles, 42 RBIs and a .961 OPS. Combine those stats with his performance in the 2023 World Baseball Classic with Team Canada and you have an outstanding, young outfielder.
Ballesteros and Alcantara have both reached the major leagues in their young careers, Rojas has yet to appear in Double-A and Wiggins is currently in Double-A.
Whether it is Caissie or any of the other prospects listed above, Chicago’s front office will certainly have a tough pill to swallow when deciding which of its top prospects to include in trades.