
Road To Wrigley: Pitching Prospects (1–11)
This post was written in collaboration with David Westergreen
The day has finally come. It is officially the final day of the Wrigley Rapport Prospect List. After recapping all of the Top 20 Hitters in the system, we covered numbers 11–20 of the Top Pitching prospects yesterday. Today we are on to the top ten pitchers!
In this list you will find the biggest names the system has to offer. The list contains players that are considered high floor players that have already made their way to the high levels of the minors as well as players with great potential that are still hovering around the lower levels…for now.
We will start off will a guy that many of us are already pretty familiar with.
10. Rob Zastryzny

There is only one pitcher on this list that has already caught a glimpse of the big leagues and that guy is Rob Z. Much like Erling Moreno, Zastryzny can be seen all up and down prospect rankings depending on what resources you are using. Some people like to give him the benefit of the doubt because he has already made it to Chicago and that is more than what a lot of prospects will be able to say, but other people have penalized him for his pretty unsuccessful 2017 campaign. A starter by trade, Zastryzny can always fall back to swing-man status or a role that Mike Montgomery has carved out in Chicago, but without a dazzling pitch repertoire, he will have to rely on hitting spots and rolling ground balls to give him a shot at the rotation next year. Still, putting up that 1.13 ERA out of the bullpen in 2016 for the World Champions speaks volumes. Zastryzny is currently being stretched out in AAA to start, but he will be effective in any role.
9. Jen-Ho Tseng

The former Cubs Minor League Pitcher of the Year has shown that he is not a one-season wonder. Now in Iowa, Tseng has had a very good year so far in 2017. Similar to Rob Z in the fact that he doesn’t have overpowering stuff or any stats that really jump out at you, Tseng might also end up being a pitcher that is good but not great at everything across the board. That could give him a floor and a ceiling as a back-end starter. Still only 22 in Triple-A, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him get a taste of Chicago this season and I expect him to get here at some point in 2018 for sure.

The absolute superstar of the 2017 season has been Michael Rucker. He doesn’t walk anybody, he strikes batters out at an impressive rate, he limits the long ball exactly how you want a pitcher to, and he is knocking on the door of Tennessee after starting off the year in South Bend. Besides the impressive numbers that Rucker is sporting, he sports a sinking fastball that gets up on hitters more quickly than they realize. He will need to improve on his secondary offerings as he continues the next couple of seasons as his slider and change are not where they need to be in order to be a true top prospect, but he has a couple seasons before I expect him to make his way to Chicago.
7. Bryan Hudson
After a miserable 2016 season statistically, Hudson has reigned it in a little more this year. He still has some filling out of his 6’8” frame to go, but his ranking is still based off of his potential. Hudson will never be a huge strikeout guy and for as big as he is, the velocity is not eye-popping, sitting in the low 90s. But the downward plane on his pitches will generate ground ball after ground ball and the kid is still only 20 years old sitting in South Bend. As is the case for most high school pitchers, Hudson will not be rushed through the system, and I’m sure minor league pitching coaches will continue to work on the kid’s mechanics in order to drive that walk rate down even more and fulfill his potential as a future number three in the rotation.
Much like Hudson, Justin Steele is bouncing back from a poor 2016 season. Not only has he bounced back, but Steele has been one of the best starters in the system in 2017. With his typical mix of pitches (fastball, changeup, slider, curveball), staying healthy is the name of the game for this lefty. If he can stay away from injuries that keep him out of the lineup and affect his play, Steele can prove to be a very strong asset. I expect him to finish out this year in Myrtle Beach before getting his shot at the upper minors in Tennessee and Iowa over the next couple of seasons.
5. Thomas Hatch
We are officially getting to the big dogs of the system, which is surprisingly strong with pitchers now. After being drafted with the Cubs first selection last year, Hatch sat out the rest of the season due to usage at Oklahoma State. After receiving an aggressive promotion to Myrtle Beach to start off the year, Hatch has performed admirably. After sporting a scary looking ERA early on in the season, he has brought it back down to match his impressive advanced stats. Now that he has proven he can handle the lower minors, I expect him to continue to be promoted aggressively through the upper minors. Right now he doesn’t have any glaring issues with his skill set that he couldn’t make a solid number 3 starter in the big leagues. At the very worst, Hatch’s 95 MPH fastball could be ramped up in the bullpen, providing a very strong relief pitcher. He’s definitely a prospect to keep an eye on.

The mystery of Albertos is finally starting to fade away, but barely. The kid made his debut this year after throwing just 4 innings a season ago, but has only been able to throw a little over 20 more innings in 2017. The Cubs have obviously been very cautious with the 18 year old with injuries and don’t want to force the issue. So with very little as far as stats go to tell a story about Albertos, just know that he sits mid 90s with his fastball and has shown the ability to locate his pitches wherever he wants. While it is great for an 18 year old to have control, it is tremendous to see the kind of command that he has. I am still a little cautious on my ranking of him, but Albertos clearly has the best ceiling in the organization.
Number three on this list is the best bet out everyone in my eyes to make the Chicago Cubs roster. Trevor Clifton has proven that consistency is the name of his game. He has seen some inflated stats this season due to a walk rate that is a little higher than usual and a strikeout rate that is a little lower. He has a heater that can get up there in the mid 90s and good off speed offerings as well. Clifton is as close to a guaranteed bottom of the rotation starter as you can get in this system, and I think because of that consistency and low floor, we could see him in Chicago as early as next season.
De La Cruz might just be the biggest boom or bust player on this list. Coming in at number two on the list, that is due to the fact that he has electric stuff (mid 90s fastball and a sharp hook) and has put up great stats. Because of that, he could be a top of the rotation starter in Chicago one day. That is the boom. The bust could come from his continued inability to stay healthy. Currently injured again, his tremendous skillset could go to waste if he can’t kick the injury bug. If not for his DL stints, De La Cruz had the potential to be a fast riser through the system, but now the Cubs may be inclined to take it slow with him.

One year ago, Alzolay was off the radar for most prospect experts and basically unheard of by the casual fan. Now he is the number one pitching prospect in the Chicago Cubs system and will be knocking on the door to Chicago come 2018. With his mid 90s heater that shows life deep into ballgames and his ability to get the strikeouts he needs while keeping his pitch count low because of the weak contact he induces, Alzolay is a legit future number 2 starter in the majors. He will need to continue to prove that the last year and a half hasn’t been a fluke, but I expect him to perform well the rest of the season in Tennessee. If he can show that he can dominate at Triple-A next year, the call to Chicago may happen sooner rather than later.
There you have it, the Wrigley Rapport Prospect List: Top 20 Pitchers! Depth is the name of the game on the bump throughout the minor leagues. Each of the top 5 pitchers could have seen their name called as the best pitching prospect in the system and each of them has a great chance of having a serious impact in Chicago as a top of the rotation guy. Don’t let the “experts” or the #CubsTwitter haters tell you that the system is depleted, and if they do then you can send them to this list to show them that the pitchers in the system are thriving and on the fast track to Chicago.
Thank you for reading the entirety of the Wrigley Rapport Prospect List, be sure to look out for each and every one of these guys throughout the minors the rest of this season and in the coming years. If you want to look back on the write-ups of any of the 40 prospects that made the list, feel free to use the links below!

Greg Huss is currently a student at Ball State University in Indiana. Born and raised in Central Illinois, he spends far too much of his free time following the entire Cubs organization. You can follow him on Twitter here.

