CHICAGO -- When Mark Prior rolled into Wrigley Field, Sammy Sosa had a question for him. What took you so long?

"He's ready for the big leagues, no question about that," Sosa said. "I thought he was going to make the team in spring training. The guy has all the talent in the world and he's going to make our starting rotation better and better ... We're happy to have him."

	He can hit too: Prior hit three home runs and a triple in 19 at-bats in the minors.

Cubs management is more than happy about Prior. It is ecstatic.

Those feelings also apply to second baseman Bobby Hill and center fielder Corey Patterson. They are the first fruits of a rebuilt farm system that since the departures of Dallas Green and Gordon Goldsberry in 1987 had been among the very worst in the majors. It is now ranked No. 1 by Baseball America.

Along with Kerry Wood, these 24-and-under players provide this historically inept franchise with a foundation that might outlast the Sosa era. It seems like wishful thinking at this point, when the Cubs rank as the biggest disappointment in the majors with a 15-28 record, but Wood, Prior, Patterson and Hill should play a leading role in establishing a consistent winner.

Not only are the newcomers talented but they also bring high expectations for success. Unlike the team they are joining, they know how to win.

Patterson led Harrison High to a Georgia State title in 1998 and played on three consecutive teams that reached the minor-league playoffs. Hill, a switch-hitting leadoff man who played shortstop at the University of Miami, seized the moment in leading the Hurricanes to a College World Series championship in 1999. Prior, who has a victory over Cuba on his international resume, helped USC reach the College World Series last summer.

Winning is no small thing to the Cubs, who haven't won the World Series since 1908. As the T-shirts say: Anybody can have a bad century.

Following an 88-win season, manager Don Baylor had the Cubs poised for their first back-to-back winning seasons since Leo Durocher was in the manager's office. Assuming Moises Alou and Fred McGriff are not headed for the same scrap heap as Todd Hundley, this is still an achievable goal.

It would say a lot about the future to have a winning season after this start. That statement would be especially loud considering it would be done with a Cubs' team featuring more youngsters in key positions than any team since 1988, when Greg Maddux, Mark Grace, Rafael Palmeiro and Shawon Dunston set the table for the '89 East title, which remains one of only two the North Siders have won in 33 years of division play.

Patterson is a success story that goes against the grain of the Cubs' awful start. Baylor gambled by putting the 22-year-old into the No. 2 spot in the order and he has responded with Rookie of the Year-type numbers -- .322, 10-for-10 in stolen bases -- in his first 39 games. The catch, of course, is he's not a ROY candidate, having played 70 games in stints that began when he was 21.

He can relate to the hype surrounding Prior, with his impact having been anticipated since the Cubs bypassed J.D. Drew to take Patterson with the third pick in the 1998 draft. He was compared to Kirby Puckett when he was drafted but, at Baylor's urging, is using his speed more than his power.

In his final minor-league tuneup, Prior maintained a mid-90s fastball over 90 pitches on a rainy night in New Orleans. His curveball was a plus pitch at USC but scouts say it is a better pitch now. They are also impressed with his changeup, which he rarely threw in college. That's the total package, basically.

Patterson has sacrificed power in becoming on-base conscious. As he becomes more comfortable against big-league pitchers, the power that allowed him to hit 22 homers in 38 games as a high school senior should allow him to do more damage at the plate.

With Hill around, there shouldn't be a need for Patterson to hit leadoff. After the White Sox drafted him -- they failed to sign him -- Ron Schueler compared his run-production skills to that of a young Chuck Knoblauch. Hill showed that by scoring 28 runs in 29 games with Triple-A Iowa this year, even though his batting average was only .269.

Hill, who played his first big-league game on May 10, is still getting his legs under him. His on-base percentage (.243) should rise over time.

"He has been really tight at the plate," Baylor said. "He hasn't had a chance to relax. Young guys get away from what they do. In the minor leagues, you see the baseball and hit it. Now all of a sudden you try to think."

Hill's reckless style of play led to the Cubs' 5-4 victory Sunday in Milwaukee. He scored a ninth-inning run tagging up from third on a ball that shortstop Mark Loretta caught running away from the infield.

"It's tough," Hill told the Chicago Tribune's Teddy Greenstein. "I'm only 24. I've only been in the big leagues [a short time] and this team has been going through something since before I was here. For someone like me to try to wave a wand and work some magic, it ain't gonna happen."

Prior was similarly respectful when he met the Chicago media before Tuesday's doubleheader against the Pirates. Some have questioned whether the Cubs are picking a bad time to start a 21-year-old in his first pro season, but how could they tell Prior he wasn't ready?

"Believe it or not," Baylor said, "being in the major leagues probably will take a lot of pressure off of him."

Prior's not sure about that. He is sure he'll do his best.

"I'm not going to change what I've done," Prior said. "I'm just going to go out there and have some fun. One of two things is going to happen: I'm going to do well or I'm going to do bad. Either way, I've got to come back the next day. They called me up to do a good job. Hopefully I can get it done."

After pitching well in spring training, Prior went 5-2 with a 2.29 ERA in nine starts with Iowa and Double-A West Tenn. The guy who carries the label of the best college pitcher ever had more than twice as many strikeouts (79) as hits allowed (39) over 51 innings.

"I don't plan on him struggling at all," said Wood, who was the NL's Rookie of the Year in 1998. "When young guys struggle it's usually a case of them not being able to locate the fastball and getting behind in counts. With him, he can throw the fastball pretty much anywhere he wants to. He's more ready than I was." Like Patterson, Prior is a consolation present for the Cubs having won 68 games or fewer in three of the last five seasons. It's evidence that in the modern game, if you are not going to win you might as well lose large.

Signing concerns prompted the Minnesota Twins to take St. Paul high school catcher Joe Mauer instead of Prior in last June's draft. Had they selected Prior and signed him quickly -- a task that even the deep-pocketed Tribune Co. could not do -- he might have been able to help the Twins down the stretch. He and his group of advisors weren't interested in that, largely because he had already thrown about 150 innings for USC.

When Wood reached the big leagues, fans were expecting a raw Texan who blew heat. It turned out his fastball was impressive, but it was his slider that was overpowering (see Houston, 20 strikeouts, fifth big-league start). He had more command than was expected.

Prior could prove to be just the opposite. It his polish and flawless mechanics -- "you could put a cup of water on his head before he throws a pitch and he wouldn't spill a drop," says one scout -- that jump out at you. But don't be surprised if the Pirates, who will also face him next Monday at PNC in a follow-up from Wednesday night, are struck by his stuff.

In his final minor-league tuneup, Prior maintained a mid-90s fastball over 90 pitches on a rainy night in New Orleans. His curveball was a plus pitch at USC but scouts say it is a better pitch now. They are also impressed with his changeup, which he rarely threw in college. That's the total package, basically.

It gets unwrapped Wednesday. But don't feel too bad if you miss the debut. Like Patterson and Hill, Prior could spend the next decade at Wrigley Field. If they are able to turn the Cubs into winners, how could a general manager ever let them leave?

Phil Rogers is the national baseball writer for the Chicago Tribune, which has a web site at www.chicagosports.com.