The the graduation of Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cade Horton and Matt Shaw off prospect lists in recent years, the Chicago Cubs’ farm system has lost some major pieces. Throw in the trades of Cam Smith and Owen Caissie and the result is a major blow to the organization’s prospect depth.

Heading into spring training, Baseball America ranked the Cubs’ system #22 – its lowest ranking since 2021. That marks a seven-spot drop over last year. There weren’t any surprises in the evaluation, with the piece pointing out how top-heavy the organization is right now and a ‘real lack’ of impact arms – neither of which come as a shock to fans.

The Cubs’ recent slide in the rankings aren’t the real problem here. Look at the top of the list and you’ll find a glaring warning sign: three NL Central foes headline this year’s prospect rankings in the Pittsburgh Pirates, St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers.

The Top 5 farm systems heading into the 2026 season:

1. Pirates
2. Cardinals
3. Brewers
4. Tigers
5. Rays https://t.co/VPAOelUvbr

— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) February 4, 2026Pirates, Cardinals, Brewers are all loaded with elite talent in the minors

There’s a lot more to the Pirates than Paul Skenes – and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them make a run at an NL Wild Card spot this year. The game’s top prospect, Konnor Griffin, could break camp with the team and they’ve assembled an impressive group of elite talent at the top of the system. It’s a massive 15-spot jump for Pittsburgh, which hasn’t been ranked #1 by Baseball America since 2014.

The rebuild is on in St. Louis and the major-league product won’t be great this year – but Chaim Bloom has wasted no time reloading a farm system that was in dire need of reinforcements. He’s open to moving anything not bolted to the floors at Busch Stadium and the results speak for themselves. The Cardinals ranked #18 last spring, but rocketed up to #2 behind top prospect JJ Wetherholt and Bloom’s recent trade hauls.

Then comes the constant thorn in the Cubs’ side at the big-league level in the Brewers. The reason for their sustained success? A consistent ability to develop young talent and maximize returns when they deal players on expiring contracts. Baseball America’s 2025 organization of the year shows no signs of slowing up – and this winter’s trade of Freddy Peralta, while potentially a short-term hit, could pay off in a big way in the years to come.

Chicago is in a fascinating position: built to win in 2026, with a ton of expected roster turnover on the horizon at season’s end. The farm system lacks the elite top-end talent their NL Central rivals possess and with Moises Ballesteros set to graduate off rankings lists this season, Jed Hoyer needs to get to work replenishing the system – which means racking up some big wins in this summer’s draft.