Al Yellon created Bleed Cubbie Blue and has been its managing editor since 2005. His latest book about the Cubs is "Chicago Cubs Firsts." Find him on Bluesky at @bleedcubbieblue.bsky.social
Prospect maven Kiley McDaniel of ESPN released his prospect ranking Wednesday morning, and the following five Cubs prospects are on it:
23: Matt Shaw
50: Moises Ballesteros
64: Kevin Alcántara
86: Owen Caissie
97: Cade Horton
Here’s the quick tag line for each of those five, from the article.
Shaw: “Plus bat speed and foot speed in a 5-foot-9 NFL fullback-type build”
Ballesteros: “5-foot-8 catcher who is OK defensively, but is an offensive savant with 25-homer upside”
Alcántara: “Long-limbed center fielder who is tooled up and ready to develop in the big leagues”
Caissie: “Prototypical power-over-hit corner outfielder whose raw power backed up in 2024”
To elaborate a bit on “backed up,” McDaniel writes about Caissie’s power:
Those [power and patience] regressed heavily in 2024 when he spent the whole season in Triple-A, so now the questions are whether that power is coming back and whether he will be an above-average starter who hits .