With the promotion of right fielder Jorge Soler to the Major League club on Wednesday night, the Chicago Cubs have now brought up six of their highly-touted prospects. Most of which were acquired by their management team of Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer in the past three seasons. The Cubs have one of the best farm systems in baseball, and as their prospects continue to reach the MLB level, the Cubs and their fans can look forward to a number of years of success.
How have the prospects fared so far in 2014, the debut season for these six players? A look at their individual performance to date (through August 28) -- and their Minor League performance as well as that of more top prospects to follow soon -- will show why the excitement has started to mount in and around Wrigley Field.
In July, 2B/OF Arismendy Alcantara made his Major-League debut while then-second baseman Darwin Barney took a few days off for paternity leave. Alcantara played so well in his then-expected three-game stint that the Cubs designated Barney for assignment and eventually traded him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
In 44 games, Alcantara is hitting .226/.284/.367 with 5 HR, 17 RBI, and 7 SB. At this point, the batting average is of less concern as that will come around with experience. Alcantara is showing similar rates of speed and power than he did in Triple-A (10 HR, 21 SB in 89 games). As he adjusts to Major League pitching, his average should gradually climb closer to the .300 mark.
Second baseman Javier Baez is a classic power hitter: low average but frequent long balls. He is one player whose strikeout total (41 in 23 games) the Cubs can overlook as long as he produces the power numbers they expect from him. He has hit 7 HR and driven in 13 runs in his first 23 games. He has hit 37 home runs in a single Minor League season (2012), and if he can reduce the strikeouts, then that total should become easy for him to reach in the Majors within a just a few years.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the bunch is starting pitcher Kyle Hendricks, who is not even listed in the Top 20 in the Cubs 2014 Prospect Watch. Yet, he has quietly become one of the best pitchers in the National League in his rookie season.
Hendricks is 5-1 with a 1.78 ERA, 1.01 WHIP, and 31 K-to-11 BB ratio in 8 starts (50.2 innings pitched). Comparing Hendricks to the pitchers listed in MLB.com's Top Rookie Tracker shows that his pace would put him right in the mix -- if not in the lead -- for Rookie of the Year had he come up earlier in the season and made the same number of starts.
In only two games since his August 27 call-up, right fielder Jorge Soler has already driven in three runs with his first coming on a solo home run in his first Major League at bat. Two games is a very small sample size, but during his 2014 progression from Rookie Ball (due to rehabbing from injury) through Double-A and Triple-A before reaching the Majors, Soler hit .340/.432/.700 with 15 HR and 57 RBI in only 62 games. He impressed the Cubs brass so much that they did not wait for the Minor League season to end to call him up because he had nothing left to prove in Triple-A.
While he is no longer a top-level prospect, speed demon outfielder Matt Sczcur got his call on August 17, and has a potentially bright future ahead of him. In his first ten games, he has hit just .188 (3 for 16), but his opportunity has been limited. In Triple-A, Sczuzr hit .266 and stole 30 bases for the Iowa Cubs. He also had a .996 fielding percentage in the outfield, mainly in center field. If not a starter, Sczuzr could become a valuable role player as he gives the Cubs more speed off of the bench or in the outfield as a defensive replacement.
Left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada has made eight starts for the Cubs since coming up on July 8, and he has a record of 4-1 with an ERA of 2.56 and a WHIP of 1.05. In fact, he has allowed more than two runs only once (his second start). He does need to stretch his outings out more as he averages less than six innings per start, but at age 33, he is more than serviceable and a solid compliment to fellow lefty Travis Wood.
Prospects in waiting
The Cubs have not completed their prospect parade. Still awaiting their chances are third baseman Kris Bryant (#3 overall MLB prospect), shortstop Addison Russell (#6), outfielder Albert Almora (#39), pitcher C.J. Edwards (#56), and catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber (#75).
Bryant has hit .328 with 43 HR and 109 RBI in 134 Minor League games, and Cub fans cannot wait to see him as the every-day third baseman in Wrigley Field. Russell (.300, 13 HR, 44 RBI) came over in the Jeff Samardzija/Jason Hammel trade with Oakland in July. Schwarber is hitting .350, with 18 HR and 53 RBI in 70 games this season.
The Cubs have made it known that they have rebuilt their team and they plan to bring a winner to Chicago's Northside. It may take another year or two, but when these players mesh with Starlin Castro, Anthony Rizzo, Jake Arrieta, Travis Wood, and Welington Castillo, then they will make a formidable contender year after year. The Carnival of Prospects has been successful thus far, and it will get even better as they develop into legitimate Major Leaguers.