Minor Cubs ready for Major roles

[dropcap]J[/dropcap]ust after the All-Star break, the Cubs farm system was ranked no.1 according to Keith Law and his mid-season minor league report.  Although we Cub fans have heard it all before, “wait till next year” looks only to be an offseason away.

In an interview with Comcast Sports net, Jed Hoyer expressed his displeasure with being sellers at the trade deadline for the last 3 years and gave all indications that this could very be the last time he and Epstein find themselves in that position. The Cubs made a step in that very direction Tuesday, July 22 after Darwin Barney was “Designated for Assignment” allowing for the return of Emilio Bonifacio from disabled list, more importantly clearing playing time for minor league star Arismendy Alcantara.

He was originally brought to the team for two days to take the roster spot of Barney who left via the Paternity Leave List to be with his wife for the birth of their third daughter. After going 0-4 in his first big league game, Alcantara bounced back with a furious run of 9 for his next 19 (.473 Batting average/.524 On Base %) including two walks. That was the type of spark Hoyer was looking for.

Alcantrara’s production made it hard for Hoyer to send him back to the minors, forcing him to make the hard decision of designating Barney. This move means more than just the changing of the guard at second base; it represents the Cubs bringing up the first of the many more expected minor leaguers that are making so much noise. If this move means even more to the Cub future, they could very well be set at 4-of-8 of their fielding positions, with three of the top four being home grown products.

Anthony Rizzo bats third in the Cubs order. Currently, Rizzo bats .284 with 25 home runs and 59 RBIs. Photo/Wikimedia Commons

Here’s a glance at the top 4 in the batting order as of now.

1. Emilio Bonifacio – LF/CF/2B
2. Arismendy Alcantara – CF/2B
3. Anthony Rizzo – 1B
4. Starlin Castro – SS

Add in possible long term Catcher Wellington Castillo and the Cubs have  the four  positions filled with Cub farm system call-ups and five possible everyday players. Emilio Bonifacio was never expected to make the impact that he has, making him a candidate for the Cubs to keep beyond this year. He could possibly be the super-sub reminiscent of Tampa Bay Rays’ Ben Zobrist with exceptional speed. Being able to play three infield positions and the entire outfield rises his value and could allow him to stick beyond this season.

Bonifacio signed a modest $2.5M deal after he was designated for assignment by the Royals in February of 2014. A career .263 hitter that is hitting just above that on the season (.272 BA) for the Cubs, Bonifacio could find himself as the veteran of the club if his demand doesn’t get too high on the trade market.

With Hoyer working towards picking up talent in the waiver wire trade season, the minor Cubs keep making their way to the Big club. With the talent on an all time high, the Cubs could actually field a team as soon as the September call ups that could last for the foreseeable future, if not only next season. Here’s a look at some of the players that could fill out the rest of the Cubs line-up on a regular basis as early as next season if the Cubs decided to promote from within.

5^th place hitter: 3B Kris Bryant –  Ever since the Cubs made Kris Bryant the no.2 over-all pick in the 2013 draft,  he has done nothing but tear the cover off the ball and dominate on every level. Bryant started the first 68 games of this season in AA where he hit a monster 22 home runs with 43 walks, 58 runs batted in and batted .355, all of which led the Southern league at the time of his promotion to AAA Iowa. Not skipping a beat, Bryant promptly greeted Iowa Cub fans with a homerun in his AAA debut. During his path of destruction of minor league pitchers, Bryant has passed the highly mentioned Javier Baez on most prospect watch lists and is currently 4^th on MLB’s Top 100 prospect list. Bryant has simply hit for average and power every stop he has made from college to the minor leagues. With his hitting prowess, there seems to be nothing outside of an injury that can derail Bryant from being the Cubs opening day 3^rd baseman in 2015. Starting his career off as the 5^th place hitter would likely take off the pressure to perform immediately and allow him to cut down on his occasional strike out. Barring any unforeseen circumstance, Bryant is simply too good of a hitter not to be promoted to the no.3 or 4 hitter shortly after solidifying himself as a major league hitter and getting adjusted to major league pitching.

6^th place hitter: 2B/SS  Javier Baez –  Moving his way up the minor league circuit, the 21 year old Baez has been dominating the lower level Cubs minor league affiliates since 2011. It seems as though he has been around a lot longer than that with all the press he’s received. Making his AAA debut this spring, Baez struggled mightily to start the season before returning to the force we had become accustomed to in the last 2 months. Baez has the power and potential to eventually be a 3^rd place hitter and possibly even a clean-up guy in the majors, but the hole in his swing combined with his free swinging mentality will keep him at 5^th place hitter or below to begin his Big league career. As far as defense is concerned, he could eventually reach a corner outfield spot and has been playing center field of late in order to find a spot for him to play every day anticipating a call-up. If Baez were to make the team out of spring training next season, he will most likely be the starting second baseman.

7^th place hitter: RF Jorge Soler – This spot in the order might be a little more up for grabs than the previous mentions on the list. Jorge Soler followed fellow Cubans Yoenis Cespedes and Yasiel Puig to America in 2012 as the youngest of the trio. As his former countrymen, Soler possesses all the necessary tools to perform on the big stage; however, his development has been stalled by injuries in consecutive seasons that has prevented his movement up the minor league ladder. With his undeniable talent, Soler could use a September call-up to display his surprising power, over-all approach at the plate, willingness to take a walk, and versatility to play all three outfield positions to force a spring training invite. If he is able to avoid injury and display the skills he showed in convincing the Cubs to pay him $30 million over 9 years, he should be able to command a spring training invite so try to and force his way onto the major league club. This opportunity will not come without competition from other more experienced outfielders. If the Cubs decide to hold on to former Miami Marlin and 2009 rookie of the year Chris Coughlan, Soler could wind up using 2015 as a year to prove he can stay healthy. After impressing the Cubs brass late in the 2013 season, Junior Lake emerged from spring training as the 2014 the starting left fielder. His over-aggressive swing, inability to make contact on a regular basis which led to his high strike-out ratio and low baseball IQ led to Lake seeing only spot duty in 2014. Lake will need a major showing in spring training to not only make the Big league club, but remain on the 40 man roster. If Lake performs the way he did in 2013, he could very well occupy the 7^th spot in the order and send Soler back to the minors to finish his development. Justin Ruggiano is more of a threat to take a roster spot rather than be the starting right fielder or 7^th place hitter in the Cubs 2015 line-up. Ruggiano started many games early in the 2014 season for the Cubs mainly by default, getting much of his playing time as a result of his June hot streak and injuries. Ryan Sweeny and Nate Schierholtz played their way out of starting positions on other teams and were picked up by the Cubs in hopes of them resurrecting their careers and being used as trade pieces to solidify the Cub farm system. Neither player ever materialized as Hoyer intended, and if he doesn’t find a new home for either one, both could be used as bench players in 2015, but don’t expect either to compete as the 7^th place hitter or starting right fielder in 2015 if the Cubs decide to go young. And if all the previously mentioned possibilities don’t work for Hoyer, look for him to call on Bonifacio once again to man RF and assume the 7^th order in the line-up.

8^th place hitter: C Welington Castillo – On the eve of the final day for waiver trades, the Cubs sent the 2008 rookie of the year Geovany Soto to the Texas Rangers for a minor league pitcher. The plan was to promote soft hitting homegrown back up Steve Clevenger into the starting line-up. In a corresponding move, Welington Castillo was brought in to be his back up. Castillo eventually outperformed Clevenger and was awarded the starting job and has remained the starter ever since. Due to the lack of pure hitting catchers throughout baseball, there stands a chance that Castillo could man the position for years to come. Earlier in 2014, the Cubs drafted Kyle Schwarber who was the best overall hitter coming out of the draft. He so happens to be a catcher, but early indications suggests that he will eventually be moved to an outfield position. If the Cubs decide to keep him behind the plate, he could very well be a nice fit higher in the order and eventually take over the starting catcher job. But Schwarber is a couple good seasons of minor league ball away from challenging for a spot on the major league roster, so therefore Castillo is probably one of the most sure things in an ever changing line-up for at least the next two seasons. Currently Castillo is batting 5^th and sometimes 6^th, but that is probably as high in the order as he will ever get, and if the Cubs decide to bring these youngsters up as Hoyer suggests, his spot will be at the bottom of the order for the foreseeable future.

These prospects could perform and become part of the future or become parts of bigger deals to form the Cubs into the championship contenders that we have been waiting for over 100 years. As it turns out, the Cubs are seeing fewer holes and filling them with prospects that have been spoken about more times than seen on the field. Alcantara represents the first of many, and his move to the outfield suggest that they are making an infield position available for someone currently in the farm system, more than likely Baez. But with the frequency of Cub transactions, this suggestive piece could be altered in less than a week. But if these up and coming prospects are not used as trade chips, we could very well be looking at a very bright future. As early as next season.