Checking Out the Cubs' Top Prospects: Moises Ballesteros, Jaxon Wiggins and More
Taking a look at some Cubs' prospects as July gets rolling.
Let's take a look at more minor league prospects.
We looked at prospects for the Tigers, Dodgers and Astros already, and now will go over the prospects for the Chicago Cubs. We'll focus on players age 25 or below.
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Top Performing Hitters
Moises Ballesteros and Jonathon Long each have 89 hits so far this season.
Ballesteros is the Cubs' No. 2 prospect, and ranks 53rd overall in baseball. He's 21 years old and playing in Triple-A, although he made his MLB debut earlier this season.
Ballesteros has a .331 average and .389 on-base percentage across 69 Triple-A games this season. He only hit .188 and got on base at a .278 clip over five MLB games.
Ballesteros has 19 doubles, a triple and eight doubles among his 89 minor league hits. He also has 46 RBIs, 37 runs scored, 28 walks, four stolen bases and 40 strikeouts. Ballesteros should be back in the big leagues later this season - whether that's with the Cubs or another team remains to be seen.
Long is ranked 11th among the Cubs' top-30 prospects. He's 23 years old and is playing in Triple-A, but he has a 2026 ETA.
The corner infielder and outfielder has a .313 average and .394 OBP this season. Long has 11 doubles, 10 homers and two triples among his 89 hits, along with 48 RBIs, 47 runs scored, 37 walks, two stolen bases and 65 strikeouts.
Pedro Ramirez has racked up 85 hits already. He's ranked 16th among Cubs' prospects and plays in Double-A as a 21-year-old. Ramirez has a 2021 ETA.
Ramirez has a .293 average and .354 OBP this season. He's collected 12 doubles, six homers and three triples among his hits, while also having 46 RBIs, 41 runs scored, 27 walks, 20 stolen bases and 51 strikeouts.
Leonel Espinoza has 79 hits on the season, while Cristian Hernandez has 72 total knocks. Hernandez is ranked ninth, while Espinoza isn't among the top-30 prospects in Chicago.
Hernandez is a 21-year-old playing in High-A, and he has a 2027 ETA. He's got a .272 average and .338 OBP this season, while having 17 doubles, five homers and two triples among the hits. Hernandez also has 37 RBIs, 33 runs scored, 28 walks, 29 stolen bases and 60 strikeouts.
Espinoza is a 22-year-old playing in Single-A. He has 12 doubles, five homers and a triple among his 79 hits, along with 46 runs scored, 41 RBIs, 27 walks, 14 stolen bases and 70 strikeouts.
Top Performing Pitchers
Among qualified pitchers, Evan Aschenbeck has the top earned run average at 2.91. He's logged 65 innings between Single-A and High-A.
He's not ranked among the team's top-30 prospects. The 24-year-old has a 3-4 record and 55 strikeouts during his time on the hill.
Among pitchers with at least 30 innings worked, Luke Little has the best ERA at 1.13.
The 24-year-old isn't ranked after pitching in the MLB in past seasons. He is 0-1 and has 38 punchouts over his 32 innings. He's likely to get another crack at the big leagues again soon.
Jaxon Wiggins has a 2.09 ERA over 60 1/3 innings. Yenrri Rojas has a 2.68 ERA over 40 1/3 frames.
Wiggins is the team's No. 8 prospect and pitches in Double-A now as a 23-year-old. He has a 2026 ETA. Wiggins is 3-2, with a .156 average against him and 74 punchouts so far this season.
Rojas isn't ranked among the team's top-30 prospects. The 21-year-old has pitched at the team's complex, along with time at Single-A. He has 27 punchouts and a 3-4 record so far.
Grant Kipp has a 3.22 ERA over 64 1/3 innings at Double-A. He isn't among the team's top-30 prospects.
Kipp is 25 years old and has punched out 76 batters already. He's 5-2 across 14 games pitched.
Top-Ranked Prospects
We've covered most of the team's top-end prospects, but there's a few we haven't mentioned yet.
The team's No. 1 prospect is Owen Caissie. He's ranked No. 43 overall in the MLB.
Caissie has a .258 average and .369 OBP over 66 Triple-A games this season. He has 63 total hits, including 18 doubles, 12 homers and two triples, along with 33 RBIs, 43 runs scored, 40 walks, three stolen bases and 91 strikeouts.
Caissie is 22 years old and is expected to debut at some point this season. An injury could get him to the big leagues, as could a change of scenery if he's moved at the trade deadline.
Jefferson Rojas is the team's No. 3 prospect, and is No. 64 overall in baseball. The 20-year-old is at High-A, and has a 2026 ETA.
Rojas has posted a .273 average and .387 OBP over 57 games so far this season. He has 57 total hits, including 10 doubles, six homers and four triples. Rojas also has 33 RBIs, 42 runs scored, 36 walks, 13 stolen bases and 40 strikeouts.
Kevin Alcantara is the team's No. 4 prospect and is No. 86 overall. He's 22 years old and already in Triple-A - he made his MLB debut earlier this season.
Alcantara has a .270 average and .351 OBP over 68 minor league games this season. He had one hit across 10 MLB at-bats.
Alcantara has 67 minor league hits this season, including 18 doubles and 10 home runs. He also has 45 RBIs, 37 runs scored, 31 walks, nine stolen bases and 84 strikeouts.
James Triantos (No. 5), Brandon Birdsell (No. 6), Fernando Cruz (No. 7) and Juan Tomas (No. 10) are the team's other top-10 prospects.
