Brailyn Marquez won’t be throwing his triple digits fastball for the Cubs organization in 2024.
The left-handed pitcher signed a deal with the Houston Astros this week and was assigned to Triple-A Sugar Land.
Once upon a time, Marquez was seen by many as the top pitching prospect in the Cubs organization. He ranked as high as MLB’s No. 37 prospect in Baseball America prior to the 2020 campaign and drew national acclaim before the 2020-21 seasons.
Marquee Sports Network’s Lance Brozdowski ranked Marquez 3rd among all Cubs prospects entering 2021 — behind only Brennen Davis and Miguel Amaya (and ahead of players like Adbert Alzolay and Christopher Morel).
He made his MLB debut in 2020 after spending the early part of the season at the alternate site. Marquez appeared in just 1 game, allowing 5 runs in 0.2 innings against the White Sox late in the shortened campaign.
Now 24, Marquez has hardly seen the field over the last few years since that debut. Between bouts with COVID and injuries, he didn’t pitch at all in game action in 2021-22.
In 2023, Marquez made 23 appearances in the Cubs system, including 16 with Double-A Tennessee. He carried a 4.99 ERA with 44 strikeouts and a whopping 38 walks in 30.2 innings.
Marquez elected free agency in November. He also was a free agent last winter but the cubs re-signed him to a minor league contract in December 2022.
