Cubs Face Top-100 Prospect Gap as Kimbrel Signs with Mets

Bleacher Nation notes MLB Pipeline’s Top-100 list now has only two Cubs prospects likely to graduate this season (Moises Ballesteros and Jaxon Wiggins), highlighting concern about the Cubs’ top-end depth. Yet the club still fields a cost-controlled core through the decade (Busch, Amaya, Horton, Crow-Armstrong, Palencia, Matt Shaw, Ballesteros) and several potential breakout talents (Ethan Conrad, Kane Kepley, Jefferson Rojas), plus near‑major leaguers like Alcantara, Long, and Birdsell. The piece also recaps Craig Kimbrel’s uneven arc—great early rebound years followed by wanderings—before noting his new minor-league deal with the Mets, signaling another fresh chapter for both the Cubs’ pipeline and a veteran reliever in 2026.