NEWSLETTER
The rankings continue at MLB Pipeline, and so too does the Chicago Cubs praise. It’s a loaded farm system! The Cubs have seen at least one prospect on all of the top-ten righty pitcher, top-ten lefty pitcher, and top-ten catcher prospect lists.
Today, two Cubs prospects appear on the top-ten first base list:
- Xavier Isaac, Rays
- Kyle Manzardo, Guardians
- Nolan Schanuel, Angels
- Abimelec Ortiz, Rangers
- Tyler Locklear, Mariners
- Matt Mervis, Cubs
- Blaze Jordan, Red Sox
- Nathan Martorella, Padres
- Spencer Horwitz, Blue Jays
- Haydn McGeary, Cubs
The three at the top are likely the names you know best, and are the guys who’d get top-100 consideration (it’s really tough to crack the top-100 as a true first base prospect). Matt Mervis and Haydn McGeary, as much as they can wreck it, aren’t going to be particularly close to top-100 consideration this offseason.
But having TWO of the top ten first base prospects is pretty sweet. Each of Mervis and McGeary were college bats that the Cubs got late in the draft (technically an undrafted signing in Mervis’s case, because of the pandemic draft), so helping them develop into legitimate prospects is already a big win.
Mervis, 25, got his first taste of the big leagues last year, and will have to find his way back somehow this season – it might take an injury or two. Otherwise, he’ll probably just be back at Triple-A, raking again. As for McGeary, 24, he spent most of his first full pro season at Double-A Tennessee (.255/.382/.435/122 wRC+), and he’s probably ready for the Triple-A challenge if the Cubs have the at bats there. He’d tentatively project to be splitting 1B/DH time with Mervis.
The extra superlatives on these two guys really say a lot:
“Humblest beginning: McGeary
McGeary wasn’t on the Cubs’ Top 30 either at the start of the 2023 season. Chicago nabbed him out of Division II Colorado Mesa University in Round 15 of the 2022 Draft and signed him for the slot for Day 3 draftees ($125K). He’s moved quickly through the system, reaching Double-A in 2023 while his raw power started showing up (19 homers).Most to prove: Mervis
In 2022, Mervis jumped on the prospect scene by hitting .309 with 36 homers and 119 RBIs while reaching Triple-A, looking like the Cubs’ first baseman of the future. He didn’t get a lot of time to show what he could in Chicago (in 2023), just 99 plate appearances, but had just a .531 OPS in that time. He did post a .932 OPS in Triple-A last year, but he’s turning 26 in April and the Cubs brought in Michael Busch to presumably play first in the big leagues, so Mervis will have to show he belongs in the lineup.”
Again, the opportunities are kinda going to have to come organically for these guys to really get a shot in the big leagues, but you love having them both available in case (1) there are a rash of injuries, and/or (2) they take a surprising MONSTER step forward and become a guy you simply cannot keep off the big league roster. It does happen. I’m sure every org would love to have two guys on this list, both of them at the Triple-A-ish level.
Now, to be fair, many of the best first basemen in the big leagues did not come up as first basemen, so there’s not a one-to-one correlation between a list like this and future success at the position for a given organization. For reasons that are obvious, organizations try to keep hitters at the more valuable defensive spots for as long as possible up the ladder, which means many future first basemen are still being ranked on other positional lists. Heck, likely Cubs first baseman Michael Busch is apparently going to be ranked as a third baseman. So do the Cubs ACTUALLY have two of the top ten LIKELY first base prospects in Mervis and McGeary? Oh, probably not. But the nod is still nice.
