Cubs Top 30 Prospect Wraps: Caleb Kilian

InsidetheCubs.com will review each of the Chicago Cubs’ Top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com at the end of the 2023 season.

No. 23: RHP Caleb Kilian, Iowa Cubs (Triple-A), Chicago Cubs (MLB)

Statistics for 2023: (at Triple-A): 8-3, 4.56 ERA in 25 games (24 starts), 120.1 innings, 123 hits allowed, 66 runs (61 earned runs), 17 home runs. Struck out 95 and walked 36. Opponents batted .266 against him and he had a 1.16 WHIP.

With Cubs: 0-1, 16.88 ERA, three games (one start), 5.1 innings, 13 hits allowed, 10 runs (all earned), no home runs. Struck out five and walked two. Opponents batted .481 against him and he had a 2.81 WHIP.

Season Transactions: Started season with Iowa. Called up to Cubs on April 29 and optioned back to Iowa on April 30. Called up to Cubs on Aug. 6 and optioned back to Iowa on Aug. 15. Recalled by Cubs on Oct. 2 after end of regular season.

Season Summary: Kilian has performed well at Triple-A Iowa, as his record shows. His ERA is higher than the Cubs would like, but he has a solid strikeout-to-walk ratio and a low WHIP, comparatively. The opponent batting average is too high, though. He made a couple of appearances with the Cubs, as he did in 2022, but didn’t do nearly enough to stick longer than a week. In six MLB games over two seasons he is 0-3 with a 12.42 ERA. What he has done at Iowa hasn’t translated to the MLB level yet.

Path Through the Organization: One of two players the Cubs got in the Kris Bryant trade (along with another Top 30 prospect in outfielder Alexander Canario), the former 2019 Giants draft pick didn’t get going until 2021, when he started 19 games and went 7-4 with a 2.42 ERA in Class-A and Double-A ball. That remains his best season in the pros. He has spent the last two season with Iowa, stuck in a netherworld between having respectable stuff and trying to do enough to stay with the Cubs. MLB.com notes he has a fastball (with sinker, four-seam and cutter variation) along with a curveball and change-up.

What’s next: Kilian is 26 and has been a pro since 2019. In other words, 2024 is the time for him to either show he can be of consistent help with the Cubs at Wrigley or it may be time for him to get a chance of scenery, either by trade or release. Command is his biggest issue, according to MLB.com scouts. He’s had a 4.00 or higher ERA each of his last two minor league seasons. For him to get a true shot at the Majors, he has to turn that around.

2023 Chicago Cubs Top 30 Prospect Wraps:

No. 30: Christian Franklin | No. 29: Brody McCullough | No. 28: Kohl Franklin | No. 27: Pablo Aliendo | No. 26: Porter Hodge | No. 25: Luke Little | No. 24: Jaxon Wiggins |