The Cubs have seven Top 100 prospects, tied with the Mariners for the most in baseball, which is obviously desirable. But it also presents something of a dilemma. Their six best prospects -- third baseman Matt Shaw, right-hander Cade Horton, corner outfielder Owen Caissie, catcher Moises Ballesteros, second baseman James Triantos, center fielder Kevin Alcántara -- all reached Triple-A last year and will be pushing for callups in 2025 to a big league club that doesn’t have many openings.

Shaw is the favorite to take over for the traded Isaac Paredes, and it will be interesting to see how Chicago can integrate the others while looking to make the playoffs for the first time since 2020 and earn its first postseason victory since 2017. It already graduated former Top 100 prospects Ben Brown, Michael Busch and Pete Crow-Armstrong -- plus 2021 first-rounder Jordan Wicks -- to the Majors a year ago.

The Cubs’ position-player talent recalls their 2015 farm system that ranked as the game’s best and included Kris Bryant, Jeimer Candelario, Willson Contreras, Ian Happ, Eloy Jiménez, Addison Russell, Kyle Schwarber, Jorge Soler and Gleyber Torres. While the current system is strong, it’s more top-heavy than deep and much more stocked with hitters than pitchers. Just six arms cracked our new Top 30 list, the fewest of any organization.

1. Matt Shaw, INF (MLB No. 19)
2. Cade Horton, RHP (MLB No. 51)
3. Owen Caissie, OF (MLB No. 53)
4. Moises Ballesteros, C/1B (MLB No. 68)
5. James Triantos, 2B/OF (MLB No. 72)
Complete Top 30 list »

Biggest jump/fall

Here are the players whose ranks changed the most from the 2024 preseason list to the 2025 preseason list.

Jump: Brandon Birdsell, RHP (2024: 27 | 2025: 8)
He rode his mid-90s fastball and mid-80s slider to Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year accolades in 2024, leading the system in innings (135 2/3), strikeouts (134) and K/BB ratio (4.3).

Fall: BJ Murray Jr., 3B/1B (2024: 18 | 2025: unranked)
The Cubs like his combination of power potential and plate discipline, but he hit the wall at Triple-A and slashed just .204/.320/.348.

Best tools

Players are graded on a 20-80 scouting scale for future tools -- 20-30 is well below average, 40 is below average, 50 is average, 60 is above average and 70-80 is well above average. Players in parentheses have the same grade.

Hit: 65 -- James Triantos
Power: 60 -- Owen Caissie
Run: 70 -- Brett Bateman
Arm: 60 -- Pablo Aliendo (Owen Caissie, Angel Cepeda, Ronny Cruz, Cole Mathis, Gage Workman)
Defense: 70 -- Brett Bateman
Fastball: 65 -- Jaxon Wiggins
Curveball: 55 -- Drew Gray
Slider: 70 -- Jack Neely (Cade Horton)
Changeup: 50 -- Jaxon Wiggins (Brody McCullough)
Control: 55 -- Brandon Birdsell (Cade Horton)

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How they were built
Draft: 15 | International: 10 | Trade: 5

Breakdown by ETA
2025: 11 | 2026: 7 | 2027: 3 | 2028: 5 | 2029: 1 | 2030: 3

Breakdown by position
C: 2 | 1B: 2 | 2B: 1 | 3B: 4 | SS: 10 | OF: 5 | RHP: 5 | LHP: 1