Inside The Cubs

4 Cubs Players Who Are The Key To The Team's Bright Future

The Chicago Cubs have some talent already thriving at a young age.
Maddy Dickens|
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Chicago Cubs

There's been a lot of negativity circling around the Chicago Cubs lately, but one thing is for sure, their future is bright. If management is able to keep one or two (if not all) of these guys they could be a dynasty for years.

Fans have gotten to see a sliver of brilliance from some and a lot more from others. And the team has a trio of 23-year-olds and one 24-year-old on the roster that have shown a glimpse into what their futures could be on the field.

We're talking about Pete Crow-Armstrong, Owen Caissie, Cade Horton, and Matt Shaw.

In the Outfield

Crow-Armstrong celebrating a homer and yelling as he runs the bases in a blue helmet and solid blue jerse
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The Cubs sure like their red heads in the outfield with Caissie and Armstrong. The two 23-year-olds are ready to lead both on offense and defense for Chicago this year and in many to come.

Everyone has gotten fairly familiar with Armstrong this season. The center fielder is early into his career (last year was his rookie year) and he is posting some of the best numbers on the team and leads all hitters in home runs.

Caissie has been begging for his call up which finally happened just recently. He has been dominating Triple-A the last two seasons and if Chicago's outfield wasn't so dominant he would've debuted much sooner.

The recent member to the roster has only shown a small part of what he is capable of. He helped spark a strugglng offense when he started against the No. 1 Milwaukee Brewers where he hit his first homer in the majors and finished the first game with three RBI. Caissie will be the real deal when he gets his shot.

The Diamond and the Mound

Horton getting ready to throw a white baseball off of a dirt mound in a blue and white pinstripe uniform
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Starting pitcher Cade Horton and third baseman Matt Shaw have both had a strong presences in the second half of the season and have helped carry the Cubs, who found themselves in quite the slump.

Horton has been a phenomenal compliment to Matthew Boyd and Shota Imanaga, which the club has desperately needed since the All-Star break with Jameson Taillon on the injured list.

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In Horton's last seven starts he has gone 5-1 with an ERA under .50 with 34 strikeouts and two earned runs. Unreal. And the reason why he's a favorite to win the NL Rookie of the Year award.

Craig Counsell has been ridiculed for his use of Shaw, or rather his lack thereof. In the last month Shaw has led a struggling offense while Kyle Tucker tried to find his groove again. The lone 24-year-old from this list leads all hitters in homers, OPS, and slugging percentage. He's also top-five in RBI with nearly 30-less at-bats than the leader.

If there is a way to keep these guys on the roster long term the Cubs will be a dangerous team. If not, they sure will be fun to watch for the time being.

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Maddy Dickens
MADDY DICKENS

Maddy Dickens resides in Loveland, Colorado. She grew up with two older brothers, where their lives revolved around sports. She earned a master's degree in business management from Tarleton State University while simultaneously playing basketball and competing in rodeo at the collegiate level. She successfully parlayed a reserve national championship into a professional rodeo career and now stays involved in upper-level athletics by writing for On SI on several different MLB teams' pages, along with some NCAA sites.