Iowa Cubs' Triple-A roster may reap benefits of big trades made by Chicago

Jared Banner, the assistant general manager of the Chicago Cubs, saw the potential of the organization’s minor-league system years before many of the prognosticators did.

Banner was the vice president of player development in 2022. He knew that while most publications didn’t think highly of what the Cubs had in their farm system back then, they eventually would.

“It’s a system that’s definitely on the rise,” Banner said prior to the 2022 season.

He was right. The Cubs replenished their minor-league system, and it has rapidly turned into one of the best in all of baseball. It’ll be on full display when the Triple-A Iowa Cubs play their home opener against the Toledo Mud Hens on Tuesday night at Principal Park beginning at 6:38 p.m.

“I think over the last couple of years, the external publications have caught up a little bit,” Banner said in a recent phone interview with the Register.

It took the Cubs a little bit of time to turn the system around. Chicago’s 2016 World Series run was built around the organization’s ability to draft, develop and identify talent. The core of Chicago’s championship run was homegrown talent, including Kris Bryant, Javier Baez and Willson Contreras.

Other important parts of the team were players acquired at a young age and needed time in the minor leagues to hone their craft − players like Anthony Rizzo, Kyle Hendricks, Addison Russell and Jake Arrieta.

The 2016 championship came with a cost as the Cubs dealt some of their minor-league prospects to opposing teams to fill in a few holes on the roster.

Those moves, compacted with several other trades to try to keep the success going over the next year or two, wiped out much of the top talent Chicago had in the minor leagues. Not long after the World Series run, the Cubs’ minor-league system had fallen down the rankings. By midseason of 2020, they were ranked 26th out of 30 by MLB Pipeline. So the Cubs started building toward the future.

They shipped off Yu Darvish to the Padres in 2020 and David Robertson to the Phillies in 2022. But the biggest moves made came at the trade deadline in 2021 with the Cubs sending Baez to the Mets, Rizzo to the Yankees and Bryant to the Giants in exchange for some young but unproven players.

“It was a crucial moment and it was also difficult at the time because we were trading some players with a lot of history in this city,” Banner said. “But I think it's ultimately going to be a major part of our future.”

The players picked up in the trades had potential, but no one seemed to know just how much or when it would be tapped into. Before the start of the 2022 season, Chicago had moved up to No. 18 in MLB Pipeline’s organization rankings. As some of that talent got on the field and showed what it could do, the ranking got better, reaching No. 10 by the middle of the 2022 season. Then No. 12 before the start of last season and No. 4 by the middle of 2023.

The Cubs now enter the 2024 season with the second-best system, behind only the Baltimore Orioles. Some of the players picked up in those deals have led the charge, turning into mega-prospects as they got older and more experienced. Outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong, picked up in the Baez trade, is ranked as the 16th-best prospect in baseball. Hard-hitting outfielder Owen Caissie, who was moved to the Cubs in the Darvish deal, is listed at 45. Kevin Alcantara, an outfielder acquired in the Rizzo deal, is ranked 62nd.

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There are others. Pitcher Ben Brown, who was traded by the Phillies, recently made his big-league debut. Outfielder Alexander Canario was sent over by the Giants in the deal for Bryant. He’s one of the organization’s top bats.

“I think we’ve turned it up a notch,” said Iowa manager Marty Pevey.

Perhaps no one will reap the benefits more than the Iowa Cubs and their fans this season. Six players on MLB Pipeline's Top 30 Cubs prospects are on Iowa's roster. Crow-Armstrong, Caissie and Canario are all starting in Iowa’s outfield. That could be just the start of things in what could be a memorable summer in Iowa. Chicago's last two first-round picks are right-handed pitcher Cade Horton (2022) and infielder Matt Shaw (2023) could be here soon.

Iowa president/general manager Sam Bernabe predicted before last season that the 2023 team could be his most talented. He now believes 2024 could be even better.

“There isn’t anybody on that roster that can’t play in the big leagues either right now or coming up,” Bernabe said. “We have had the team come to town (some years) and if you found about two guys that were capable of moving or helping the big leagues in the next two or three years, you were feeling pretty good things.”

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The talent in the outfield resembles the group of infielders that was expected to start the season in Des Moines in 2015. The Cubs were hoping that Baez, Bryant and Russell would anchor Iowa’s infield for a bit before they were ready for Chicago. But injuries led to Bryant, Russell and eventually Baez heading for the major leagues and didn't play in Iowa that season. It’s a cautionary tale that even though players like Armstrong, Canario and Caissie are in Iowa now, they may not be for long.

“This is long-term Cubs organization stuff,” Bernabe said. “They’re all really good-looking, young, athletic baseball players, and I think it just really bodes well for how the Cubs organization is going to lay out over the next six, seven years.”

Banner credits the Cubs' acquisition teams on the amateur and international side for the rapid rise of the system. He said the Cubs took a different approach on things, hiring coaches and members of their front-office staff with different skillsets, backgrounds and abilities. Together, they’ve helped come up with individualized plans for every player in the organization to maximize their talent.

Jason Kanzler, Chicago’s director of player development, said fans in Des Moines should be eager to see some of those players make their way to Iowa and, eventually, the big leagues.

“They should be pretty excited,” Kanzler said. “There’s a lot of great talent and great human beings on that team.”

Tommy Birch, the Register's sports enterprise and features reporter, has been working at the newspaper since 2008. He's the 2018, 2020 and 2023 Iowa Sportswriter of the Year. Reach him at tbirch@dmreg.com or 515-284-8468.