Chicago Cubs Prospects: 2024 Midseason Top 30 Update
It hasn’t been the best years for Cubs fans as the major league team has underperformed and a handful of high end prospects have struggled. There have been some bright spots and overall the top of their rankings boast a talented group of future big league regulars.
Baseball America subscribers can see the full updated Cubs Top 30 here. Notable risers, fallers, new additions and injury updates are below.
Notable Risers
Pedro Ramirez, 2B/3B
The 20-year-old Ramirez has shown legitimate plate skills in 2024 despite being young for High-A, including plus bat-to-ball skills and average swing decisions. He’s hitting for a high batting average and shows better exit velocities and batted ball angles than his slugging numbers would suggest. Ramirez has split time between second base and third base in 2024, providing some defensive versatility.
Brandon Birdsell, RHP
The righthander out of Texas Tech has enjoyed a strong season with Double-A Tennessee. Birdsell possesses above-average stuff but isn’t a strikeout-dominant starter. Instead, Birdsell exhibits plus command and the ability to find the zone with all of his pitches. He’s likely a backend starter but one that can provide valuable innings in his peak season.
Pinango spent two full seasons at High-A and parts of two others, but in 2024 he showed mastery of the level. His overall line is below-average at Double-A, but his underlying metrics are still strong. He’s been the victim of bad batted-ball luck and should turn things around from a batting average perspective. Pinango is getting better reviews in the outfield, as well, though he’s primarily played left field. He doesn’t have the most exciting prospect profile, but Pinango can hit and, he just turned 22 in May.
Notable Fallers
Matt Mervis, 1B
Mervis has seen time in the majors each of the last two seasons but has not been able to hit enough to lock down a job. Back in Triple-A for most of 2024, Mervis has been just a league average hitter. As a 26-year-old first base-only profile, Mervis is running out of time to prove he’s a future everyday regular.
Last season was a breakout campaign for Aliendo, as he hit in Double-A and showed off a plus-plus arm behind the plate. In 2024, his contact has crashed out, and he’s been inactive since late May.
Notable New additions
27. Alfonsin Rosario, OF
BA Grade/Risk: 45/Extreme
Track Record: Rosario is originally from the Dominican Republic and transferred to P27 Academy in Lexington, South Carolina for his senior season. He was committed to Florida Juco power Chipola College but spurned that commitment upon signing with the Cubs, by whom he was drafted in sixth round and signed for a bonus of $325,600. After debuting in the Arizona Complex League, Rosario was assigned to Low-A Myrtle Beach to begin 2024.
Scouting Report: Rosario is a tooled up player with power and speed whose hitting still needs refinement. At present, he has bottom-of-the-scale bat-to-ball skills, with significant whiff issues across all pitch types. His approach is better than his contact skills but is still fringe-average at best. What makes Rosario an exciting prospect is his ability to flash double-plus game power when he does make contact. He optimizes his best contact well, providing hope that he can further refine those contact skills. Rosario is a fringe-average runner that can handle an outfield corner due to his plus-plus arm.
The Future: Rosario is a fun player to dream about due to his tools, but refinement of his hit tool will determine whether he earns a full-time role in the majors.
Scouting Grades: Hitting: 30 | Power: 60 | Speed: 45 | Fielding: 50 | Arm: 70
28. Brett Bateman, OF
BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
Track Record: Bateman was a college standout for Minnesota and Cotuit of the Cape Cod Baseball League. He led the Golden Gophers in batting average, on-base percentage and steals in 2023 and then hit .500/.519/.587 on the Cape. The Cubs drafted Bateman in the 8th round and signed him for $180,000. Bateman began his 2024 with High-A South Bend.
Scouting Report: Bateman is a contact-first hitter with bottom-of-the-scale home run power. In fact, Bateman has hit just one home run between his collegiate and professional career. He makes a high rate of contact and works deep into counts. His contact and on-base ability pair perfectly with his plus speed and base running skills. Bateman is a plus defender in center with an average arm.
The Future: Bateman looks like your classic fourth outfielder who provides elite defense and speed off the bench.
Scouting Grades: Hitting: 55 | Power: 20 | Speed: 60 | Fielding: 60 | Arm: 50
29. Brennen Davis, OF
BA Grade/Risk: 40/High
Track record: The estranged son of former Chicago Bulls point guard Reggie Theus, Davis has flashed immense ability but struggled to stay healthy since the Cubs drafted him in the second round in 2018. He appeared on the verge of the major leagues after hitting two home runs at Coors Field to win the Futures Game MVP award in 2021, but he missed most of 2022 after undergoing back surgery and battled injuries again in 2023. He missed two months after having core muscle surgery and hit just .187/.296/.279 in 62 games at Triple-A Iowa.
Scouting Report: After struggling in 2023 as he recovered from a long list of injuries and ailments, Davis has recovered his above-average power and shows an advanced approach. However, his contact skills have diminished to the point they grade as a 30 on the scouting scale. He misses on all pitch types frequently and limits some of his exposure with advanced swing decisions. He’s an above-average runner still but an average defender.
The Future: While Davis will never recover his highly-touted prospect pedigree, he should get opportunities as a part-time player.
Scouting Grades: Hitting: 30 | Power: 55 | Speed: 55 | Fielding: 50 | Arm: 55
Significant injuries
Cade Horton, RHP
The Cubs top prospect has been on the shelf since early June with a subscapular strain. The lat injury forced Horton to shut down from throwing for 3-to-4 weeks. That time table has come to pass, but no updates have emerged on Horton’s status.
