Three Chicago Cubs Prospects Made Massive Drops in Latest Top-30

Two outfielders and an infielder lost some traction in the Cubs' Top 30 prospect rankings, but remain in the Top 30.

Allan Henry-USA TODAY Sports

Three Chicago Cubs prospects made significant drops in Baseball America’s Top 30 organizational prospects, released as a re-rank in early June.

The re-rank was based on a variety of criteria, as Cubs prospects moved up and moved down the board. These are prospects who were ranked in the preseason Top 30 and moved up in the re-rank.

Here are the three Cubs prospects that made the biggest drops in the Top 30 and what factored into their new rankings.

SS Cristian Hernandez (-14)

Hernandez dropped 14 spots from the preseason, falling to No. 21. What happened? This may be more a product of others players making significant progress than it is a significant downturn on Hernandez’s part. His overall numbers at Class-A Myrtle Beach aren’t a significant drop from last year with the Arizona Complex League. Through 49 games this season he’s slashing .243/.325/.329/.654 with three home runs and 19 RBI. It should be noted he had three home runs and 45 RBI in 44 games at the ACL.

OF Brennen Davis (-7)

Davis is one of two prospects to drop seven spots in the re-rank, as he was No. 9 in the preseason Top 30. The second-round pick in 2018 is in the midst of a second straight season in which he’s batting below .200 in the Cubs’ system. He’s currently at Triple-A Iowa. He’s slashing .197/.316/.299/.615 in 45 games with three home runs and 20 RBI. He’s two years removed from a 2021 in which he slashed .260/.375/.494/.869 with a career-high 19 home runs and 53 RBI. As of mid-June he was on the Iowa Cubs’ injured list. He’s clearly having trouble regaining that 2021 form.

OF Kevin Alcantara (-7)

Alcantara fell seven spots after checking in at No. 10 in the preseason rankings. He’s at High Class-A South Bend, and while his offensive numbers have taken a downturn from 2022, it’s not at Davis’ level. Through 49 games Alcantara is slashing .238/.269/.362/.631, with the batting average nearly 40 points down from a year ago. He’s hit four home runs and 28 RBI. He’ll turn 21 in July so he has time to turn around the average and work on a promotion to Double-A Tennessee in 2024. 

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