It’s no secret; the Cubs have one of the best farm systems in baseball. They’re stacked with hitters that are coming up right now. I’m going to look at Javier Baez and Jorge Soler, two guys who recently came up as the next wave of Cubs talent. I think both will have a big impact on the team in the future.
- The Cubs have a middle infielder log jam. They have Starlin Castro at shortstop, and Addison Russell in waiting, and at second they have Arismendy Alcantara and Javier Baez. Baez has taken the MLB by storm, showing power at second base and shortstop that few have. Baez has more trade value than Alcantara and could be used to acquire pitching, but if he stays at Wrigley Field and reaches his full potential, he could be a 40 home run candidate every year. Baez is a special player, but there are some things that can hold him back. His power has impressed, but 30% of his MLB hits have been home runs, which would be great, but he’s only hitting .174. Now Baez is obviously going to hit better, but I’m not sure by how much. He has an uppercut and if he doesn’t adjust and fix his wing along the way eh could be a .220-.230 hitter. Baez has extraordinary talent but his K rate is bad, and fixing that will help his average and on base percentage. If he could do that, he could be a great talent. If not, he reminds me of a Mark Reynolds, which Reynolds has had some great season (see 2007-09). Baez is a lot more valuable as a middle infielder, and has a lot more potential, but he needs to adjust or he won’t reach it. I still like Baez, but what he will be remains to be seen. There are some red flags, but it’s just his rookie season and can be improved upon.
- Jorge Soler is just the next big talent out of Cuba. I think he will develop more at the MLB level, but he has huge power potential too. He’s a good fielder and has a great arm. I think Soler is the closest thing to Yasiel Puig we will see. He’s a toolsy outfielder and he has done great so far. With the Puig comparison, it doesn’t mean he will do as well as him, or that he will impact the Cubs in a huge way, but he will be a really good MLB player. He has the potential to do some of the things Puig does on offense. It’ll be exciting to watch Soler, and I really like him.
- Just for fun, let’s look at a Cubs line-up in 2016 with all these prospects
- SS Addison Russell
- CF Albert Almora
- RF Jorge Soler
- 2B Javier Baez
- 1B Anthony Rizzo
- 3B Kris Bryant
- C Kyle Schwarber
- LF Arismendy Alcantara
Keep in mind that this line-up doesn’t even include Starlin Castro, Dan Vogelbach, or Billy McKinney among others.
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