James Triantos Falls, Jonathon Long Climbs in MLB Pipeline’s New Prospect Rankings

Players who have accumulated enough service time are no longer considered “prospects,” meaning the top prospect rankings need to be updated. As such, MLB Pipeline released its new rankings on Sunday. Several changes were made, including the Seattle Mariners now having nine(1) top-100 prospects, easily the most in baseball.

The Cubs now have six minor leaguers ranked among the top 100, one less than last year. These six players are Matt Shaw (18), Cade Horton (35), Owen Caissie (49), Moisés Ballesteros (61), Kevin Alcántara (74), and Jefferson Rojas (78). A notable change is the disappearance of James Triantos. He has struggled to begin the season, slashing .235/.270/.306 with no homers in 89 plate appearances with the Iowa Cubs.

A big concern with the Cubs’ farm system is their depth, as five of the six standouts listed above are in Triple-A or higher. Shaw and Horton will likely graduate from the prospect list this year, leaving the Cubs with a weaker farm system than most people realize.

One player who has sparked conversation as of late is Jonathon Long, now the No. 13 prospect in Chicago’s system. Long has an .867 OPS in 144 PAs with the I-Cubs this season and is a more natural first baseman who can play third in a pinch. His defense there is questionable, but that’s nothing we haven’t seen with Jon Berti and Vidal Bruján. If the plan is for Shaw to stay in Iowa a little longer, giving Long a chance seems like a reasonable solution.