Two Cubs prospects crack Baseball America's Top 100. Discover the high-ceiling catcher and pitcher poised for significant roles in 2026.
The Chicago Cubs once had one of the best farm systems in baseball.
Back in 2024, the Cubs entered the season with Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cade Horton, Michael Busch, Matt Shaw, Owen Caissie, and Kevin Alcantara all in the top 100 on multiple sites. Then, Cam Smith was added to the mix when the team selected him in the first round of that year’s draft.
But with recent promotions and some trades, the Cubs no longer have a top-heavy farm system.
Crow-Armstrong, Horton, Busch, and Shaw no longer qualify as prospects, and the front office has traded away Caissie and Smith in each of the past two offseasons.
Therefore, the team no longer has much representation in most top-100 prospect rankings. That was the case in Baseball America’s recent prospect update for the 2026 season.
Only two Cubs prospects are listed in the top 100, and neither is ranked inside the top 35 on their latest rankings. Catcher Moises Ballesteros comes in at No. 36, and pitcher Jaxon Wiggins at No. 78.
Despite the limited presence on Baseball America’s recent top-100 prospect rankings, the two prospects that Chicago does have inside the top-100 have extremely high ceilings.
Cubs fans saw a glimpse of Ballesteros’ potential in his limited at-bats last season. He slashed .298/.394/.474 with two home runs, two doubles, one triple, and 11 RBI across 20 games and had an incredible 13.3% walk rate in his 66 plate appearances.
The 22-year-old also started to heat up toward the end of the season. He had a .333 batting average in September, logged a hit in nine of his 14 games played during that month, and tallied four multi-hit games over the final three weeks.
So, it’s not shocking that he is currently the Cubs’ top prospect in the organization. His mix of contact and power makes him one of the top hitters on Baseball America’s prospect rankings.
Then, there’s Wiggins, who continues to move up prospect rankings. He was not ranked inside the top-100 on Baseball America’s prospect update before last season, but a breakthrough campaign has him inside the top-100 ahead of 2026.
Wiggins finished with a 2.19 ERA and 97 strikeouts across 78 innings pitched across three Minor League levels last year (High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A). He has an electric fastball that sits in the upper 90’s, and his above-average slider complements that fastball extremely well.
Although the Cubs only have two prospects ranked at Baseball America, both Ballesteros and Wiggins should have a role on this year’s Cubs team.
With Kyle Tucker and Caissie both gone, there is a real possibility that Ballersteros sees consistent at-bats as Chicago’s designated hitter in 2026. He will make the Opening Day roster and could see upward of 350 at-bats this year.
As for Wiggins, he’ll start the season down in Triple-A. However, the right-hander has the chance to be called up later in the year to help contribute in either the rotation or the bullpen.