This article is part of our Farm Futures series.
Usually I use these divisional articles to write up every fantasy-relevant prospect in each team's farm system, but given the lack of a minor-league season in 2020, there's just not much new to say about a large percentage of the prospect universe. I am still going to rank the fantasy-relevant prospects in all 30 systems, and I've already written outlooks on the site for the majority of the top-250 prospects on my top 400. I'm also providing a list of prospects in each organization that could contribute in 2021 along with an overview of each system.
Feel free to ask me any prospect-related questions in the comments or on Twitter.
CUBS
Name | Position | DOB | Signed | |
1 | Brennen Davis | OF | 11/2/1999 | 2018 Draft |
2 | Cristian Hernandez | SS/3B | 12/13/2003 | 2020 J-2 |
3 | Ed Howard | SS | 8/6/2001 | 2020 Draft |
4 | Brailyn Marquez | LHP | 1/30/1999 | 2015 J-2 |
5 | Reginald Preciado | 3B/SS | 5/16/2003 | 2019 J-2 |
6 | Jordan Nwogu | OF | 3/10/1999 | 2020 Draft |
7 | Yeison Santana | SS | 12/7/2000 | 2017 J-2 |
8 | Rafael Morel | SS | 11/22/2001 | 2018 J-2 |
9 | Ismael Mena | OF | 11/30/2002 | 2019 J-2 |
10 | Ronnier Quintero | C | 11/13/2002 | 2019 J-2 |
11 | Miguel Amaya | C | 3/9/1999 | 2015 J-2 |
12 | Adbert Alzolay | RHP | 3/1/1995 | 2013 IFA |
13 | Chase Strumpf | 2B | 3/8/1998 | 2019 Draft |
14 | Daniel Ferreira | OF | 2020 J-2 | |
15 | Kohl Franklin | RHP | 9/9/1999 | 2018 Draft |
16 | Yohendrick Pinango | OF | 5/7/2002 | 2018 J-2 |
17 | Cory Abbott | RHP | 9/20/1995 | 2017 Draft |
18 | Riley Thompson | RHP | 7/9/1996 | 2018 Draft |
19 | Christopher Morel | 3B | 6/24/1999 | 2015 |
Usually I use these divisional articles to write up every fantasy-relevant prospect in each team's farm system, but given the lack of a minor-league season in 2020, there's just not much new to say about a large percentage of the prospect universe. I am still going to rank the fantasy-relevant prospects in all 30 systems, and I've already written outlooks on the site for the majority of the top-250 prospects on my top 400. I'm also providing a list of prospects in each organization that could contribute in 2021 along with an overview of each system.
Feel free to ask me any prospect-related questions in the comments or on Twitter.
CUBS
Name | Position | DOB | Signed | |
1 | Brennen Davis | OF | 11/2/1999 | 2018 Draft |
2 | Cristian Hernandez | SS/3B | 12/13/2003 | 2020 J-2 |
3 | Ed Howard | SS | 8/6/2001 | 2020 Draft |
4 | Brailyn Marquez | LHP | 1/30/1999 | 2015 J-2 |
5 | Reginald Preciado | 3B/SS | 5/16/2003 | 2019 J-2 |
6 | Jordan Nwogu | OF | 3/10/1999 | 2020 Draft |
7 | Yeison Santana | SS | 12/7/2000 | 2017 J-2 |
8 | Rafael Morel | SS | 11/22/2001 | 2018 J-2 |
9 | Ismael Mena | OF | 11/30/2002 | 2019 J-2 |
10 | Ronnier Quintero | C | 11/13/2002 | 2019 J-2 |
11 | Miguel Amaya | C | 3/9/1999 | 2015 J-2 |
12 | Adbert Alzolay | RHP | 3/1/1995 | 2013 IFA |
13 | Chase Strumpf | 2B | 3/8/1998 | 2019 Draft |
14 | Daniel Ferreira | OF | 2020 J-2 | |
15 | Kohl Franklin | RHP | 9/9/1999 | 2018 Draft |
16 | Yohendrick Pinango | OF | 5/7/2002 | 2018 J-2 |
17 | Cory Abbott | RHP | 9/20/1995 | 2017 Draft |
18 | Riley Thompson | RHP | 7/9/1996 | 2018 Draft |
19 | Christopher Morel | 3B | 6/24/1999 | 2015 J-2 |
20 | Michael McAvene | RHP | 8/24/1997 | 2019 Draft |
21 | Ryan Jensen | RHP | 11/23/1997 | 2019 Draft |
22 | Alfonso Rivas | 1B | 9/13/1996 | 2018 Draft |
23 | Luis Verdugo | SS | 10/12/2000 | 2017 J-2 |
24 | Owen Caissie | OF | 7/8/2002 | 2020 Draft |
25 | Burl Carraway | LHP | 5/27/1999 | 2020 Draft |
26 | Kevin Made | SS | 9/10/2002 | 2019 J-2 |
27 | Chris Clarke | RHP | 5/13/1999 | 2019 Draft |
28 | Koen Moreno | RHP | 8/1/2001 | 2020 Draft |
29 | Cole Roederer | OF | 9/24/1999 | 2018 Draft |
30 | Josh Burgmann | RHP | 1/27/1998 | 2019 Draft |
Players We Could See In 2021: Brailyn Marquez, Miguel Amaya, Adbert Alzolay, Cory Abbott, Christopher Morel, Alfonso Rivas
Dynasty Overview: The Cubs have the makings of a near-perfect rebuild, and they didn't have to deal Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Anthony Rizzo or Kyle Hendricks to get to this point. They are loaded with high-upside, up-the-middle position player prospects — Brennen Davis, Cristian Hernandez, Ed Howard, Reginald Preciado and Ronnier Quintero could be the nucleus of the next great Cubs team. Additionally, after seemingly going a decade without drafting and developing a quality big-league starter (remember, Hendricks came from the Rangers), they now have 9-10 starting pitchers on the farm who have a legitimate chance to make it. They could trade from their nucleus this year to further bolster the farm, but even if they don't, I expect this system to rank in the top five in baseball a year from now.
REDS
Name | Position | DOB | Signed | |
1 | Rece Hinds | 3B/OF | 9/5/2000 | 2019 Draft |
2 | Austin Hendrick | OF | 6/15/2001 | 2020 Draft |
3 | Hunter Greene | RHP | 8/6/1999 | 2017 Draft |
4 | Jose Garcia | SS | 4/5/1998 | 2017 IFA |
5 | Nick Lodolo | LHP | 2/5/1998 | 2019 Draft |
6 | Jonathan India | 2B/3B | 12/15/1996 | 2018 Draft |
7 | Tyler Stephenson | C | 8/16/1996 | 2015 Draft |
8 | Carlos Jorge | 2B | 2020 J-2 | |
9 | Malvin Valdez | OF | 10/14/2003 | 2020 J-2 |
10 | Ariel Almonte | OF | 12/1/2003 | 2020 J-2 |
11 | Jose Serrano | 3B | 2020 J-2 | |
12 | Brayan Rijo | OF | 2020 J-2 | |
13 | Jose De Leon | RHP | 8/7/1992 | 2013 Draft |
14 | Ivan Johnson | 2B/SS | 10/11/1998 | 2019 Draft |
15 | Mike Siani | OF | 7/16/1999 | 2018 Draft |
16 | Tyler Callihan | 2B/OF/DH | 6/22/2000 | 2019 Draft |
17 | Allan Cerda | OF | 11/24/1999 | 2017 J-2 |
18 | Christian Roa | RHP | 4/2/1999 | 2020 Draft |
19 | Michel Triana | 1B | 11/23/1999 | 2019 J-2 |
20 | Mac Wainwright | OF | 8/6/2002 | 2020 Draft |
21 | Lyon Richardson | RHP | 1/18/2000 | 2018 Draft |
Players We Could See In 2021: Jose Garcia, Nick Lodolo, Jonathan India, Tyler Stephenson, Jose De Leon
Dynasty Overview: This system always seems to be really top heavy, but now there is no top, just a middle and a back. It didn't have to be this way — they did what you sometimes see in dynasty leagues where a team tries to rush a rebuild and compete a couple years ahead of schedule, trading away Jeter Downs and Josiah Gray for veterans who are long gone at this point. Downs and Gray would have made for a nice 1-2 at the top of the system. Fortunately, Rece Hinds was a revelation at instructs and could be a top-50 prospect by season's end. Austin Hendrick could climb that high as well, but I'm taking a wait-and-see approach with regards to his hit tool. India will rank higher on the the pre-Opening Day update to the top 400. The sneaky strength of this system in a couple years could be the position players from Latin America that they signed on Jan. 15. It was the best overall haul from this past J-2 signing class, as any of Carlos Jorge, Malvin Valdez, Ariel Almonte, Jose Serrano and Brayan Rijo could really pop in the next couple years.
BREWERS
Name | Position | DOB | Signed | |
1 | Hedbert Perez | OF | 4/4/2003 | 2019 J-2 |
2 | Garrett Mitchell | OF | 9/4/1998 | 2020 Draft |
3 | Antoine Kelly | LHP | 12/5/1999 | 2019 Draft |
4 | Brice Turang | SS/2B | 11/21/1999 | 2018 Draft |
5 | Eduardo Garcia | SS | 7/10/2002 | 2018 J-2 |
6 | Aaron Ashby | LHP | 5/24/1998 | 2018 Draft |
7 | Freddy Zamora | SS | 11/1/1998 | 2020 Draft |
8 | Ethan Small | LHP | 2/14/1997 | 2019 Draft |
9 | Mario Feliciano | C | 11/20/1998 | 2016 Draft |
10 | Jeferson Quero | C | 10/8/2002 | 2019 J-2 |
11 | Luis Medina | OF | 2/24/2003 | 2019 J-2 |
12 | Jackson Chourio | OF | 3/11/2004 | 2020 J-2 |
13 | David Hamilton | 2B/SS | 9/29/1997 | 2019 Draft |
14 | Zavier Warren | C | 1/8/1999 | 2020 Draft |
15 | Jesus Parra | 3B | 8/30/2002 | 2018 J-2 |
16 | Hayden Cantrelle | 2B/SS | 11/25/1998 | 2020 Draft |
17 | Alec Bettinger | RHP | 7/13/1995 | 2017 Draft |
18 | Dylan File | RHP | 6/4/1996 | 2017 Draft |
19 | Manuel Vargas | OF | 2020 J-2 | |
20 | Carlos Rodriguez | OF | 12/7/2000 | 2017 J-2 |
21 | Jheremy Vargas | 2B/SS | 5/10/2003 | 2019 J-2 |
22 | Tristen Lutz | OF | 8/22/1998 | 2017 Draft |
Players We Could See In 2021: Aaron Ashby, Ethan Small, Alec Bettinger, Dylan File
Dynasty Overview: The Brewers have some nice up-the-middle pieces, but they are all unlikely to debut before 2022, and most of them are relatively unproven against advanced pitching. Their best pitching prospect, Antoine Kelly, is also over a year away. There are some No. 3-5 starter types who are nearing their big-league debuts. Unfortunately, Bettinger and File are injured, but there's a chance they could get healthy in time to help the rotation or the bullpen in the second half. After Hedbert Perez, Jeferson Quero is the best player they've signed on the international market in recent years, but he's a catcher who hasn't made his pro debut, so it's hard to get overly excited at this stage.
PIRATES
Name | Position | DOB | Signed | |
1 | Ke'Bryan Hayes | 3B | 1/28/1997 | 2015 Draft |
2 | Nick Gonzales | 2B | 5/27/1999 | 2020 Draft |
3 | Travis Swaggerty | OF | 8/19/1997 | 2018 Draft |
4 | Oneil Cruz | OF/3B | 10/4/1998 | 2015 J-2 |
5 | Liover Peguero | SS | 12/31/2000 | 2017 J-2 |
6 | Quinn Priester | RHP | 9/15/2000 | 2019 Draft |
7 | Jared Oliva | OF | 11/27/1995 | 2017 Draft |
8 | Hudson Head | OF | 4/8/2001 | 2019 Draft |
9 | Canaan Smith-Njigba | OF/DH | 4/30/1999 | 2017 Draft |
10 | Mason Martin | 1B/DH | 6/2/1999 | 2017 Draft |
11 | Alexander Mojica | 1B/3B | 8/2/2002 | 2018 J-2 |
12 | Ji-Hwan Bae | 2B/SS/OF | 7/26/1999 | 2018 IFA |
13 | Cody Bolton | RHP | 6/19/1998 | 2017 Draft |
14 | Tahnaj Thomas | RHP | 6/16/1999 | 2016 IFA |
15 | Nick Garcia | RHP | 4/20/1999 | 2020 Draft |
16 | Maikol Escotto | SS/2B | 6/4/2002 | 2018 J-2 |
17 | Brennan Malone | RHP | 9/8/2000 | 2019 Draft |
18 | Eddy Yean | RHP | 6/25/2001 | 2017 J-2 |
19 | Miguel Yajure | RHP | 5/1/1998 | 2015 IFA |
20 | Rodolfo Nolasco | OF | 9/23/2001 | 2018 J-2 |
21 | Sergio Campana | OF | 3/29/2002 | 2018 J-2 |
22 | Lolo Sanchez | OF | 4/23/1999 | 2015 J-2 |
23 | Jasiah Dixon | OF | 8/31/2001 | 2019 Draft |
24 | Carmen Mlodzinski | RHP | 2/19/1999 | 2020 Draft |
25 | Endy Rodriguez | C | 5/26/2000 | 2018 J-2 |
26 | Ewry Espinal | OF | 12/18/2002 | 2019 J-2 |
27 | Shalin Polanco | OF | 2/6/2004 | 2020 J-2 |
28 | Roansy Contreras | RHP | 11/7/1999 | 2016 J-2 |
29 | Jack Herman | OF | 9/30/1999 | 2018 Draft |
30 | Jared Jones | RHP | 8/14/2001 | 2020 Draft |
31 | Rodolfo Castro | 2B | 5/21/1999 | 2015 IFA |
32 | Omar Cruz | LHP | 1/26/1999 | 2017 J-2 |
33 | Jose Soriano | RHP | 10/20/1998 | 2016 IFA |
34 | Sammy Siani | OF | 12/14/2000 | 2019 Draft |
35 | Cal Mitchell | OF | 3/8/1999 | 2017 Draft |
36 | Braxton Ashcraft | RHP | 10/5/1999 | 2018 Draft |
37 | Luis Oviedo | RHP | 5/15/1999 | 2015 J-2 |
Players We Could See In 2021: Ke'Bryan Hayes, Travis Swaggerty, Jared Oliva, Cody Bolton, Miguel Yajure, Jose Soriano, Luis Oviedo
Dynasty Overview: This is the best and deepest farm system in the division, but the Cubs are closing in fast. Unlike Chicago, Pittsburgh's system is more about depth than top-flight talent, although Hayes, Nick Gonzales, Oneil Cruz and Quinn Priester could all be four-plus win players if they max out. Rodolfo Nolasco somehow flew under my radar prior to this offseason, but he'll be added to the top 400 on the next update, and Sergio Campana may join him. The Pirates' lower-level teams could be really fun this year, and I'd expect a few of those position players to really break out.
CARDINALS
Name | Position | DOB | Signed | |
1 | Dylan Carlson | OF | 10/23/1998 | 2016 Draft |
2 | Nolan Gorman | 2B/3B | 5/10/2000 | 2018 Draft |
3 | Masyn Winn | SS/RHP | 3/21/2002 | 2020 Draft |
4 | Matthew Liberatore | LHP | 11/6/1999 | 2018 Draft |
5 | Zack Thompson | LHP | 10/28/1997 | 2019 Draft |
6 | Ivan Herrera | C | 6/1/2000 | 2016 J-2 |
7 | Jordan Walker | 3B/1B | 5/22/2002 | 2020 Draft |
8 | Jhon Torres | OF | 3/29/2000 | 2016 J-2 |
9 | Tink Hence | RHP | 8/6/2002 | 2020 Draft |
10 | Edwin Nunez | RHP | 11/5/2001 | 2020 IFA |
11 | Justin Williams | OF/DH | 8/20/1995 | 2013 Draft |
12 | Robelin Lopez | OF | 2020 J-2 | |
13 | Johan Oviedo | RHP | 3/2/1998 | 2016 J-2 |
14 | Angel Rondon | RHP | 12/1/1997 | 2016 IFA |
15 | Tre Fletcher | OF | 4/30/2001 | 2019 Draft |
16 | Alec Burleson | OF/1B | 11/25/1998 | 2020 Draft |
17 | Albert Inoa | 2B | 12/4/2001 | 2019 IFA |
18 | Luken Baker | DH | 3/10/1997 | 2018 Draft |
19 | Adari Grant | 2B/SS/OF | 1/2/2003 | 2020 J-2 |
Players We Could See In 2021: Dylan Carlson, Zack Thompson, Justin Williams, Johan Oviedo, Angel Rondon
Dynasty Overview: Like with the Reds and the Brewers, this system really tails off after the top half-dozen guys. I love Robelin Lopez's bat speed and all-fields approach, so he could pop this year, and Tink Hence and Edwin Nunez have pretty high ceilings but are extremely risky. Other than that, there's really not much to see here outside the top seven. Once Carlson graduates, this will be a bottom-five system and possibly a bottom-three system, depending on how Nolan Gorman is doing against upper-level pitching.