With a minor league system loaded with talented position player prospects, and lacking high-end pitching prospects, the Chicago Cubs made a somewhat surprising move when they drafted slugger Kris Bryant over RHP Jonathan Gray with the 2nd overall pick of the 2013 MLB Draft. Just over one year later, Cubs' president Theo Epstein and his staff look like geniuses as Bryant is now one of the most intruiging prospects in the game.

Bryant is an elite level offensive prospect with good contact skills, impressive plate discipline, and incredible power. At the lower levels of the minors last season, Bryant hit .336/.390/.688 with 9 homeruns and 25 total extra-base-hits in only 128 at-bats. He ended his 2013 season at the High-A level which is very impressive for a player who was just drafted that season.

Bryant entered the 2014 season with a ton of momentum. He was ranked as the 8th best prospect in the entire game by Baseball America at the start of the year, and was dominant in his short stay at MLB Spring Training. Bryant started his year at Double-A Tennessee, where he was far and away the best player in the league. Hitting .355/.458/.702 with 22 homeruns and 20 doubles in 248 Double-A at-bats. Bryant has taken his game a completely different level this season, and could realistically be considered the best prospect in the game of baseball.

The jump to Double-A is supposed to be the most difficult step for prospects in their minor league development. Bryant took it in stride and completely dominated the Southern League.

On Wednesday, the Cubs decided that Bryant was ready for the next step, and gave him a promotion to Triple-A, where he will be joining an already loaded Iowa Cubs' roster.

Bryant will be making his Triple-A debut on Thursday night. When he does so, he will become teammates with the only Cubs' prospect who was commonly ranked ahead of him entering the season, shortstop Javier Baez.

After an impressive 2013 season where he hit .294/.346/.638 with 20 homeruns and 15 doubles in 218 Double-A at-bats, Baez was ranked as the 5th best prospect in the game by Baseball America, and the 4th best by Baseball Prospectus. Baez is not as polished of a hitter as Bryant, but he has an incredibly high offensive ceiling.

He is an incredibly aggressive hitter who needs to become more selective at the plate. That said, he has fantastic bat speed that allows him to generate a ton of power.

With nothing left to prove in Double-A, the Cubs sent Baez to Iowa to start the season, but the results have been mixed. He still shows the obvious raw tools that make him an elite-level prospect, but his numbers have dipped dramatically.

Baez is hitting .215/.269/.426 on the year, as the more experienced and crafty Triple-A pitchers have been able to take advantage of his aggressiveness. While it may not have been for this length of time, Baez has struggled like this before. He is a streaky player, and while his plate discipline simply must improve, Baez is still an incredibly talented player with huge upside. At only 21-years-old, Baez is one of the youngest players in Triple-A. This is a great learning experience for him, as he looks to make needed adjustments at the plate.

Bryant and Baez are two of the best prospects in all of baseball. However, when it comes to intriguing young talent on the Iowa Cubs' roster, they are just the tip of the iceberg.

Arismendy Alcantara has great athleticism, and an impressive mix of power and speed. He was commonly ranked as a top 100 prospect entering this season after posting a .271/.352/.451 line with 31 steals, 15 homeruns, and 36 doubles in his 2013 Double-A season.

He has spent the entire season in Triple-A thus far, and has a .278/.321/.508 line with 14 steals in 17 attempts. Alcantara mostly plays 2B at the moment, but he came up as a shortstop, has played some 3B, and has recently started occasionally playing the outfield. Alcantara’s athleticism and position versatility is very intriguing, making him just another prospect to keep an eye on in Des Moines.

The Cubs’ 2013 Minor League Pitcher of the Year Kyle Hendricks is one of the most fascinating arms on the Cubs’ Triple-A staff. He does not have top of the rotation “stuff”, but Hendricks is a solid pitcher who has incredible control and command over his pitches. While his Major League ceiling is likely one of a number three starter, Hendricks is a safe bet to become a MLB starting pitcher. In fact, expect him to get his first crack at the big leagues later this season.

While Bryant was the most exciting player to get a Triple-A promotion on Wednesday, he was not the only one. The Cubs also promoted pitchers Arodys Vizcaino and Armando Rivero from Double-A. Both pitchers have electric stuff, and are solid bets to be key parts of the MLB bullpen as soon as later this season.

There is also RHP Dallas Beeler, who has come on strong in the past year and appears to have a future as a MLB starting pitcher. LHP Eric Jokisch is an interesting starting option as well. Blake Parker, Alberto Cabrera, and Zac Rosscup are more bullpen arms for the Iowa Cubs who have big league experience, and nice upside.

Former top prospects like Brett Jackson, Josh Vitters, Ryan Kalish, and Matt Szczur still represent some upside, and are worth looking as well. Heck, even big league catcher Welington Castillo is heading to Des Moines to begin his rehab assignment on Thursday, and do not forget about Manny Ramirez who appears to be almost ready to join the team in his player-coach role.

Simply put, the Iowa Cubs are loaded with intriguing prospects throughout the roster, and are an incredibly interesting squad to look. This is a testament to the Cubs’ front office who has put an emphasis on acquiring impact prospects over the past few seasons.

The Chicago Cubs may not be contenders this season, but with Bryant, Baez, and their current teammates are only one step away. Things could be turning around very quickly.