I still don’t understand why Alexander Canario was promoted to the major leagues only to be stashed away on the bench, but hopefully the 23-year-old prospect gets into a game here soon. Besides him, there are a handful of Cubs prospects who can still make their MLB debut in 2023 and hopefully get an actual chance to contribute on the field.

Pete Crow-Armstrong

I went from thinking Pete Crow-Armstrong maybe had a chance to get called up in September, to expecting it, to now doubting it will happen. However, you still have to think that if there is an injury of if the team feels the team needs an extra boost of energy, that PCA will be the next man up from Triple-A.

We know that Crow-Armstrong can play a vital role defensively in the outfield and this speed can be a weapon on the bases, but I will say that it doesn’t really seem like the Cubs care much about those things right now. Even with the recent struggles of Christopher Morel and Mike Tauchman, the lineups haven’t changed much during the past month and the speed guy on the bench, Miles Mastrobuoni, has rarely been used.

As for how PCA has been playing with the Iowa Cubs, he had a 15-game hitting streak, but has come back to Earth the past couple of weeks. The left-handed hitter only has 8 hits in his last 43 at-bats, while striking out 21 times in 49 plate appearances since Aug. 23.

So, not a slam dunk as it appeared to be when Cubs GM Carter Hawkins teased a possible PCA call up, but I still wouldn’t count out the possibility either, especially when the team tries to put together the best 26-man roster for the postseason.

Luke Little

Like we saw during the Cincinnati Reds series this past weekend, the Cubs could use another shutdown-type reliever. That’s where left-hander Luke Little comes in and seems like the organization has been preparing the 2020 draft pick to eventually come up and be a weapon out of the bullpen since they transitioned him to a full-time reliever earlier this season.

Little is probably closer to a promotion than PCA, especially when you consider that the team tested the young pitcher last week at Triple-A, having the left-hander throw in back-to-back games for the first time this season. Little responded well, first recording 1.1 scoreless innings and then getting two outs in his second appearance, getting the win last Thursday.

Overall this season, Little has recorded a 2.12 ERA in 63.2 innings, striking out 105 batters across three levels in the minor leagues. Since his promotion to the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A, Little has posted a 1.54 ERA, with 21 strikeouts in 11.2 innings. He’s given up a total of 8 hits at the Triple-A level.

What’s been even more impressive is that Little has consistently shown the ability to pitch multiple innings while maintaining his effectiveness on the mound. Dating back to July 6, Little has recorded 4+ outs in 10 of 16 appearances. During that period of time, Little has a 1.16 ERA in 23.1 innings, with 46 strikeouts. He only allowed runs in 2 of his 16 outings during the past two months.

Ben Brown

Jordan Wicks was called up in August to take over the fifth starter spot and the lefty has been incredible in his first two starts in the majors, earning two wins after allowing a total of two earned runs in 10 innings pitched. It’s been a great development for the Cubs and another starting pitching prospect could be up soon, too.

There’s a good chance that Ben Brown was next in line to get the call up, but Wicks moved up after Brown suffered a muscle injury in late July. Brown was shut down in August, but the right-hander returned to the mound this past Sunday, making a rehab appearance out of the bullpen at Triple-A.

Brown faced four batters on Sunday, allowed one hit and struck out two.

Ben Brown goes strikeout, strikeout, double, line out in his return. Numbers below (tho remember the algo is wrong – slider is curveball, cutter is slider).

Fastball was 94.9-96.6, breakers played well. Good first step back. pic.twitter.com/nrOp3ZovHq

— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) September 4, 2023

Brown has had his ups and downs since his promotion to Triple-A after April, but it did seem like he had broken through and conquered some of his struggles in July. Brown combined to give up three runs in 15 innings in three starts prior to his injury list stint. In those three games, Brown had 16 strikeouts, walked 6 and only gave up seven hits.

Like Little, the Cubs may look to Brown as an option out of the bullpen because he has the ability to come in and miss bats on a consistent basis. Brown has 122 strikeouts in 86 innings this season, including 92 strikeouts in 66 innings at Triple-A.