1. 3B Kris Bryant (AA, ETA late 2014)--.337/.431/.641/1.072, 14 HR, 43 RBI, 13 2B, 25/59 BB/K.

What do you say to something that absurd? Marry me and I'll have your children, that's what. This guy is pretty much the truth. I'm all in on Bryant and unabashedly so. For his career, which started after the June Draft in 2013, all Bryant's done is hit .337/.415/.660/1.075 with 23 HR, 75 RBI, 27 2B, 2 3B in 85 professional games. Oh, and he's stealing bases now with 6 in 2014. His arrow is skyrocketing upward.

Print. The. Shirts.

2. SS Javy Baez (AAA, ETA 2014)--.225/.287/.437/.725, 7 HR, 25 RBI, 9 2B, 1 3B, 12/56 BB/K

After a slow, anemic start at AAA Iowa Javy's been pretty much destroying the competition. Over his last ten games, all he has done is hit .439/.444/.927. Most consider him the Cubs #1 prospect. I think Kris Bryant has taken the championship belt away from him. BTW, Javy's 5.7 years YOUNGER than the weighted average age of players in AAA ball. So, yeah. He's just 21.

3. CF Albert Almora (A+, ETA 2016)--.266/.287/.364/.651; career .308/.338/.434/.773

An outfield prospect who is known for immaculate defense with a solid arm, Almora is being dubbed the Cubs' future "table setter" in center field. He's only 20 and is 2.7 years younger than the average player at the A+ level.

4. OF Jorge Soler (AA, ETA 2016)--.333/.407/.625/1.032 in a shortened and hamstrung 2014

Soler is the Cubs' unhealthy version of the Dodgers' Yasiel Puig. Maybe not the athletic freak that Puig is, but the similarities are there. He's a .291 hitter with gap power in his short and choppy professional career and at 22, if he can stay healthy, his road to Chicago could be a short one.

The outlook is still generally positive for Soler, however it would be incredible for his development and Cub fans' blood pressure to get an extended amount of time in this season and next for a possible late 2015 call up.

6. C/OF Kyle Schwarber (A Kane County; ETA 2015)--.600/.636/1.350/1.986, 14-20, 4 HR, 10 RBI, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2/2 K/BB.

Schwarber was drafted in 2014, like weeks ago, in the first round as a catcher/outfielder out of Indiana. He was the consensus best all around college bat in the draft and signed as an underslot at #4. He was assigned to Low A Boise and just yesterday (June 17) was promoted to A Kane County. Holy crap.

Honorable mentions:

1B Dan Vogelbach--A slimmer Vogelbach looks less like an overweight wrestler and more like a husky 1B prospect. He's got gap power and an excellent idea at the plate.

P C. J. Edwards--Future #2 or #3 SP.

P Neil Ramirez--Now holding down setup opportunities, sporting a sub 1.00 ERA and lasing a 95 MPH+ FB.

P Pierce Johnson
P Kyle Hendricks (ETA 2014)
P Corey Black
IF Arismendy Alcantara (ETA 2014/2015)
P Paul Blackburn
P Rob Zastryzny
P Arodys Vizcaino (ETA 2015/2016)
3B Jeimer Candelario
3B Christian Villanueva
IF Gleybor Torres
OF Eloy Jiminez
OF/1B Josh Vitters (Not a prospect per se, but could reach Chicago in 2014)

The Cubs have the fourth pick in the 2014 Amateur Draft and they would have to consider LSU RHP Aaron Nola, TX HS prospect Tyler Kolek, HS C/OF Alex Jackson or NC State LHP Carlos Rodon.

Heavy sunshine pumping, commence. The 2014 Cubs at the Major League level are a train wreck, record wise. But with new manager Rick Renteria getting praise for the bounce back seasons so far from Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro (both of whom are considered cornerstones of the Cubs lineup now and into the future), the Cubs are at least improving.

The Cubs would do themselves a great service in locking up Travis Wood and Jeff Samardzija to frontline the starting rotation. It looks like Neil Ramirez and Hector Rondon could be really solid options at the end of games.

It's almost here. Good baseball...exciting baseball, at least, is almost here.

Go Cubs, go. [ W ] :flapflapflap:

This post was edited on 10/29/14 at 1:53 pm