Top 5 Prospects for 2015: Chicago Cubs

This 30-part series will look at the projected Top 5 freshman contributors for each big league club for the year ahead. The rankings take into consideration a mixture of ceiling, readiness and potential playing time allocation, which is to say some players with lower ceilings may be ranked ahead of others with higher ceilings because they project to have a greater impact in the coming season.

In a Nutshell:: The club certainly has some holes in the outfield. Question marks also remain at both second and third bases.

The Top 5 Freshman for 2015

1. Kris Bryant, 3B: Incumbent Luis Valbuena will likely open the 2015 season at the hot corner but expect Bryant to take over by the early summer time. The slugging prospect — who turns 23 in January — doesn’t really have anything left to prove in the minors (.325/.438/.661 between AA and AAA) but the Cubs will save some money on him by delaying his arrival in the Majors and it’s not clear yet if the club will even be capable of competing for a playoff spot in 2015. Bryant swings and misses a lot but he’ll most likely be a superstar in the making.

2. Jorge Soler, OF: The Cuban-born Soler would probably get a little more hype if he weren’t overshadowed by Bryant. His ascent to the Majors was also slowed by injuries as he appeared in just 55 games in 2013 and 86 games in 2014 (including 24 big league contests). The talented outfielder has a chance to hit for power and average while playing solid defence in right field. Look for him to be in the opening day starting lineup.

3. Pierce Johnson, RHP: There is a solid chance that the club will spend a good chunk of change on acquiring some starting pitching during the off-season but the starting rotation has a lot of question marks right now. As a result, Johnson currently projects to make his MLB debut in 2015 and could provide a number of innings. He has solid stuff and a ground-ball-heavy approach but his control took a little step backward last year so there is reason for a little caution.

4. Addison Russell, SS: The Cubs are loaded with talented young shortstops with the likes of Starlin Castro, Javier Baez and Arismendy Alcantara already with MLB experience notched on their belts. Russell, who turns 21 in January, could have as much or more talented than any one of the trio above. He has a chance to play very good defence, hit for average, slug 15+ home runs and also steal 15+ bases. The big question is how much he’ll get on base after seeing his walk rate drop from 12.1% in 2013 to 4.1% after the trade from Oakland to Chicago in 2014.

5. Donn Roach, RHP: Arodys Vizcaino was originally in this spot but he was recently traded to the Atlanta Braves for second baseman Tommy La Stella. Acquired on waivers from San Diego, Roach isn’t overpowering in the classic sense (his heater sits around 90 mph) but he gets incredible sink on his offerings and produced a ground-ball rate of more than 60% during a 16-game stint with San Diego in 2014. Predominantly a starter in the minors, he is better suited to relief work at the MLB level and could chew up some innings for the Cubs in 2015.