The Cubs' minor league system is considered to be the best in baseball. Lately there have been a lot of top prospect lists to go out, and many have said that once the top 100 prospects in baseball go out, the Cubs could have as many as 7 or 8 of the top 100, and that's after Alcantara and Baez are off the boards. Anyway, I'm going to go against my own wishes and include anyone who still has their rookie eligibility, so Jorge Soler will be in there.
Anyway, the point of this is to point out the biggest weakness of each of the Cubs top prospects. This isn't meant to be a negative post, because that's impossible with this group. What I'm going to do is take each of the top 10 position player and pitching prospects in the Cubs organization and say what their biggest negative is. After that I'll do a sentence or two to say what it really means, and spoiler alert, it's usually going to be pretty positive. So, with that, let's go!
Position Players
Kris Bryant
He strikes out a lot.
The reason he strikes out a lot is because he takes counts deep. This isn't a Javier Baez wild swinging thing. Bryant takes the counts deep, and this also makes for a lot of walks.
Addison Russell
He strikes out more than you'd like.
There really aren't many weaknesses in Russell's game, he has a very complete set of skills. His weakness isn't a great one, but he's also playing well above where someone his age usually plays.
Jorge Soler
He has a history with injuries.
Now that he's in the bigs, the antagonizing of him over his contract is likely done, which was the cause of his lone attitude incident. The injuries that he's had have been things like sore hamstrings and such, while you don't want that, those are things that usually don't linger for long or end careers.
Kyle Schwarber
He might not stick at catcher.
With the positional depth the Cubs have, catcher is the ideal spot for Schwarber. Word from Arizona is that he worked hard during his time there and made major strides. He's someone who is insane, because he really wants to play catcher (I've played it in the past, and that's the only conclusion that can be drawn), and there is no doubt that he'll do what he can to stick there.
Albert Almora
He doesn't walk enough.
Almora is kind of like the anti-Matthew Brown, he walks very little, but also doesn't strike out much. There is a good chance that a lot of this is due to his not really being challenged until the last year or so, so there is plenty of time for this whole thing to be fixed, and with the makeup that he supposedly has, I'm sure he'll at very least do all of the right things to fix that.
Billy McKinney
He won't stick in center field.
Very likely he won't be an every day center fielder, but McKinney's ceiling, as I've explained, is more than adequate at a corner spot. However, if your #8 prospect winds up being a great utility outfield guy, which McKinney should, at very least, wind up being, then that's very good. He's still very young and there is still time for plenty of Naperville skills to develop.
Gleyber Torres
He's a high risk.
Well, any player that's this young is a high risk. Torres has played well above his age so far, and at 18 will be playing full season minor league baseball, and could start 2016 all the way up at AA if things go well, giving the Cubs another middle infielder to add to their stockpile. Of course he could nosedive, but he could also still develop more skills, especially given his 6'1" frame.
Eloy Jimenez
He didn't have a great first season.
He was also only 17 years old. The guy couldn't legally buy cigarettes in the US, but was playing in the rookie league. He started off hot, was adjusted to, and couldn't adjust back, all that in 164 plate appearances. With his size and potential, there's nothing to worry about yet. He probably starts in Eugene next season.
Mark Zagunis
He won't stick at catcher.
Really, with his speed, we shouldn't want him to stick at catcher. He's a very good hitter with very good speed. Playing catcher will only ruin those valuable legs. He has the athleticism to play plenty of other positions.
Dan Vogelbach
He isn't a competent fielder.
Fair enough. His only position on the field he can probably play is first base. However, it's looking likely that the DH hits the NL in the next 5 years, so it might be worth it to the Cubs to try to hold on to him however they can until then. There's no question about his bat.
Pitching
CJ Edwards
He won't be a starter.
There should be no question after this season, it will be a telling one, but so far there's really less evidence against him being a starter than there is for it.
Pierce Johnson
His changeup is weak.
It is his weakest pitch, but when you have a few good pitches, that can be compensated for. He's not an especially hard throwing pitcher (he throws hard enough though), but it's seen that his change will prevent him from being a top of the rotation pitcher.
Duane Underwood
He's only got one good season under his belt.
This is very true. However, it was known he would be a project, and there's a great chance that 2014 was his breakout year, as he completely changed his mindset and routine in 2014. His ceiling is still very high, but it's looking more and more likely that he winds up in the middle of a rotation at very least.
Jen-Ho Tseng
His ceiling is low.
The same thing was said about Kyle Hendricks. However, so far Hendricks has looked good, given that's in limited time. There are a good number of pitchers who make it without great velocity, but they're usually smarter types, like Hendricks....or Tseng.
Jake Stinnett
He's very inexperienced as a pitcher.
There's no way to argue that, but his slider is already seen as a very good pitch, and with his size, his fastball should have plenty of sink to it. He's got a very nice ceiling.
Carson Sands
He's a huge risk.
He's a high school pitcher the Cubs picked in 2014, so of course he is at this point. He pitched very well in Arizona in his 9 games (4 starts). It was very limited, but he played well and looks to have a good future.
Rob Zastryzny
His stats so far have been terrible.
Yep, they have been. He's been off and on so far, but when he's been on he's been tough with his ability to change speeds and his great control. If he can figure out how to be on more often than off, he can be an effective back of the rotation type of pitcher.
Corey Black
He won't remain a starter.
Black's size mixed with his high velocity has people thinking he winds up a reliever. However, so far he's shown the durability to remain a starter, so why not? His control is another issue, but that has been off and on. If he can harness than in AAA, then he should be ready to join an MLB rotation in no time.
Paul Blackburn
He doesn't strike out enough guys.
He could strike more guys out, but he also throws a lot of ground balls, which means that he doesn't give up a lot of big hits. He probably won't be a top of the rotation starter, but a mid to back end guy is a reasonable expectation. He's still very young.
Justin Steele
He's just off of Tommy John surgery.
Yes, he indeed is. However, that's not the death sentence that once was. Especially when a player gets it early in their development. They're able to learn at a great time how they'll need to adjust their pitching.
Now, keep in mind that if we see five of these guys at the major league level in a Cubs uniform, that would be amazing. Most of these guys, especially the lower level guys, won't have much time with the Cubs. Still, a great analogy I've heard before from the Cubs front office is that prospects are like lottery tickets. The more you get, the better your chance of winning. Of course the odds are better with prospects, and right here are 20 legitimate MLB prospects, many organizations don't even have 10 legitimate prospects.
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