How Cubs, Craig Counsell are approaching top prospects’ transition to MLB

The Cubs’ prospect camp at Wrigley Field this offseason included a visit with new manager Craig Counsell, giving the young players a chance to pick his brain. One exchange in particular stood out to general manager Carter Hawkins, who told the story on stage at the Cubs Convention last week.

One of the players, Hawkins said, asked what the manager expected from him on his first day in the big leagues. And instead of getting into the mechanics of that introduction to MLB, Counsell said he expected the player to be nervous.

“And the players just realized, ‘Oh, he cares about me. He cares about me as a person,’ ” Hawkins said.

If all goes to plan and the Cubs continue to produce young talent, Counsell will put that understanding approach into practice plenty in the coming seasons.

The Cubs had the most players on MLB Pipeline’s list of the top 100 prospects, released last week: outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong (No. 16), right-hander Cade Horton (26), outfielder Owen Caissie (47), infielder Michael Busch (51), infielder Matt Shaw (54), outfielder Kevin Alcantara (65) and utility player James Triantos (73).

The Cubs have a chance to set themselves apart in the division by acquiring established talent before the start of the season. But to sustain success — especially in a division that claimed four of the top five spots in MLB Pipeline’s farm-system rankings last August — they also must continue developing young talent at the minor-league and major-league levels.

The Cubs also haven’t been shy about aggressively pushing successful prospects through their system. Look at left-hander Jordan Wicks, who started meaningful games last September in the majors, two years after the Cubs drafted him No. 21 overall out of Kansas State.

His name came up at the Cubs Convention last month when Horton, the team’s first-round pick (No. 7) in 2022, was asked what it was like seeing the timelines of fellow pitchers such as Wicks. Horton himself rose from Single-A through High-A to Double-A in his first professional season last year.

“It’s been really good,” Horton said. “You go out there and you just try to compete. And at the end of the day, promotions are out of your control.”

On the position-player side, Shaw has been on an even steeper trajectory up the minor-league levels. The Cubs selected him No. 13 overall last July out of Maryland, and he rose to Double-A by late August. The 2023 Brooks Wallace Award winner for his contributions as a college shortstop, Shaw has been working out mostly at third base this offseason.

“You never know where the opportunities are going to come,” he said. “They could be anywhere. It could be outfield, you know? So just being all around, being able to play any position.”

After training their focus on making it to the big leagues, the next challenge for promising young players is sticking. Even in his short time with the Cubs, Counsell has emphasized that immediate success isn’t the norm.

“Player development does not stop when it gets to the big leagues,” Counsell said in his introductory news conference in November. “And I think that’s often the hardest thing to learn.”

Crow-Armstrong, for example, made some highlight-reel plays in center field in his 13 games with the Cubs late last season, showing the impact he’s ready to make on the defense. But he also made baserunning gaffes and went 0-for-14 at the plate.

“I think I set myself up well for success going into next year, just because I got to spend time around these guys,” he said.

Crow-Armstrong has spent much of the offseason in Arizona, swinging with hitting coach Dustin Kelly and working out with strength coaches Keegan Knoll and Ryan Clausen at the team’s spring-training complex.

And though Crow-Armstrong said he hasn’t spoken with Counsell specifically about the manager’s philosophy on the transition to the majors, they’ve had good interactions.

“He’s a good, calming presence and very personable,” Crow-Armstrong said.

He pointed out that Counsell’s sons, both college baseball players, are around the same age as some of the Cubs’ prospects vying for spots on the roster.

“He could probably relate to a lot of the younger dudes that are going to be impacting this team,” Crow-Armstrong said.