Brailyn Marquez picked a good week to have a great week. The big left-hander from South Bend threw 12 innings in his last two starts while striking out 22 batters and allowing only one hit. Coincidentally, both of those starts came right after MLB Pipeline released their top 100 prospects, which got folks wondering whether Marquez would appear on the updated rankings this fall.
Right now, the Cubs only have two prospects on Pipeline’s top 100 prospect list: Shortstop Nico Hoerner is ranked number 50 and catcher Miguel Amaya is ranked number 91. That lack of elite talent is why the Cubs have been ranked in the bottom five of major league systems by many sites and publications.