Pair of Cubs prospects named to Futures Game roster
The Cubs will be well represented in Seattle next month.
Outfield prospect Pete Crow-Armstrong (the team’s top prospect, per Marquee Sports Network’s Lance Brozdowski) and infielder B.J. Murray (30th-ranked prospect, per MLB Pipeline) will represent the Cubs at the 2023 Futures Game. The announcement was made Monday night. The game will take place during All-Star Week on July 8 at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
It will be the second straight appearance at the Futures Game for the Cubs’ top prospect. He was 1-for-2 with a double in last year’s edition of the game.
Crow-Armstrong, acquired for Javier Báez and Trevor Williams at the 2021 deadline, started the year at Double-A Tennessee and has thrived in the pitcher-friendly Southern League. He’s hitting .280/.363/.491/130 wRC+ with 9 home runs, 45 RBI and 19 stolen bases. Known for his defensive prowess — he was a minor league Gold Glove recipient last year — Crow-Armstrong has shown he can be more than a defensive wizard in center field.
Murray, 23, was drafted in the 15th round of the 2021 draft by the Cubs and had a strong showing last season, hitting .286/.410/.429 with 8 home runs and 53 RBI across Low-A and High-A. A native of the Bahamas, Murray represented team Great Britain at the World Baseball Classic this spring and played in all 4 games for Team GB, going 3-for-13 with 2 doubles, 2 RBI and 2 stolen bases in a tough group that featured semifinalist Team Mexico and finalist Team USA.
An RBI single from BJ Murray!! The Smokies trail 3-2 in the bottom of the 1st. @BJMurray14 #BestYearEver #NextStartsHere pic.twitter.com/gEumAtjUBP
— Tennessee Smokies (@smokiesbaseball) June 23, 2023
This season, Murray is hitting .258/.376/.446/126 wRC+ with 7 home runs, 36 RBI and 5 stolen bases with Double-A Tennessee. The Smokies are 36-32 this season and feature several intriguing Cubs prospects beyond Murray and Crow-Armstrong. 2021 first-round pick Jordan Wicks (no. 5 prospect, per Brozdowski), Owen Caissie (no. 6 prospect) and DJ Herz (no. 15) are just some of the prospects on the Smokies’ roster.
The Futures Game has featured some of the Cubs’ top prospects over the years. In 2021, Brennen Davis was named the MVP of the game after going 2-for-3 with a pair of solo home runs. This is the first time the Cubs have had two representatives in the game since then when reliever Manuel Rodríguez also represented the Cubs at the game.
Current Cub Miguel Amaya played in the Futures Game in 2018 and 2019. A large corps of the 2016 World Series-winning team played in the game. Jorge Soler (2013), Kris Bryant (2014), Báez (2014), Carl Edwards Jr. (2015) and Kyle Schwarber (2015) all featured in the event.