Three Cubs make The Athletic’s Top 100 prospects list

It’s that time of the year when prospect lists come out. Keith Law, senior baseball writer and prospect expert for The Athletic, released his top 100 prospects list earlier today (The Athletic sub. req.) and three Cubs outfielders—Pete Crow-Armstrong, Kevin Alcántara and Brennen Davis, all made the list. These are the same three players who made the lists by MLB Pipeline and Baseball America earlier this month, but unlike those two lists, Law has all three players among his top 50. Crow-Armstrong was ranked 26th, Alcántara was ranked 29th and Brennen Davis was ranked as the 50th-best prospect in baseball.

Law admits that he ranks players based more on upside, although he does take “certainty,” as he calls it, into consideration. That may account for ranking Alcántara and Davis higher than the other lists did, because he dinged Davis less for his injury-filled 2022 season and discounted Alcántara less because of how far he is from the majors. Law also ranks several recent draft picks among the top 50, even though many of them have not shown much in the minor leagues yet.

The rankings are behind a paywall, of course, but I can say that on Crow-Armstrong, Law says that his outstanding defense gives him a high floor and that the swing changes he made last year give him the chance to hit double-digit home runs and make a few All-Star games. He also says he’s likely to be a low-strikeout, low-walk type hitter.

Law has always sung the praises of Alcántara, including from the moment the Cubs acquired him in trade for Anthony Rizzo. (The Athletic sub. req.) Since then, Law says Alcántara has added a lot of muscle that has unlocked more of his power potential. He adds although there’s a lot of risk on Alcántara, noting his high strikeout rates, he has the potential to be a top-five prospect in all of baseball by the end of this year or next.

Davis suffered from an injury-filled 2022 season and Law is concerned about how he can recover from his back injury. But Law still praises Davis’ athleticism and his swing.

Law ranks Diamondbacks outfielder Corbin Carroll as the top prospect in baseball, with Orioles infielder Gunnar Henderson second. MLB Pipeline and Baseball America reversed the order of those two prospects.

All three of these outfield prospects were on the BCB Top 25 prospects list earlier this month.