The Chicago Cubs continue to show off their future while playing in the present. The Cubs have once again reached down into their farm system and called up one their highly-touted prospects — this time from Triple-A Iowa — to give him some experience at the Major League level. The announcement came Tuesday as MLB.com’s Carrie Muskat and Manny Randhawa reported. Soler start in right field Wednesday night — marking his Major League debut –as the Cubs took on the Cincinnati Reds.
The Cubs have also recalled second baseman Logan Watkins, who has seen action in four Major League games already this month.
#Cubs today recalled OF Jorge Soler and INF Logan Watkins from Triple-A Iowa. Both are available for tonight’s game in Cincinnati.
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) August 27, 2014
Soler is the seventh big-name prospect to debut with the Major League club this season behind Arismendy Alcantara, Javier Baez, Dallas Beeler, Kyle Hendricks, Matt Szczur, and Tsuyoshi Wada.
So, how did Soler fare? He took a 2-1, 90-mph fast ball from Cincinnati’s Mat Latos over the left-center field wall for a solo home run in his first Major League at bat!
Soler is the #5 prospect in the Cubs’ Prospect Watch and the #51 overall MLB prospect. He battled through two extended DL stints this year (right thigh strain), so he was limited to only 62 games. However, when heatlhy, he put up totals of .340/.432/.700 with 15 HR and 57 RBI while working his way up and playing in three levels from Rookie League through Triple-A.
When word first came out Tuesday evening that Soloer would make the jump, Cubs manager Rick Renteria spoke of the team’s excitement about Soler joining the other prospects who have already found their way to the Majors. Said Renteria,
“I think it’s pretty exciting for the whole organization. A young man that’s been talked about quite a bit will be joining us [Wednesday]. Everybody’s pretty excited about it.”
The Cubs’ young and very powerful first baseman Anthony Rizzo, a Cubs star in the making, also expressed his pleasure at seeing the young talent make it to the Big Club:
“We’re starting to see that light at the end of the tunnel. There’s always an expectation to win, but with these guys coming up, they’re going to be patient and let them develop and get their at-bats in, but at the same time, we want to win, too.”
With these seven players now in the Majors, the Cubs and their fans still await the arrivals of even more top-ranked talent, some possibly during the September roster expansion or early next season. These players include third baseman Kris Bryant (#3 overall prospect), shortstop Addison Russell (#6), outfielder Albert Almora (#39), pitcher C.J. Edwards (#56), and catcher/outfielder Kyle Schwarber (#75). Adding all these prospects to the ones already at the Major-League level — in addition to Rizzo, Starlin Castro, Welington Castillo, Travis Wood, Jake Arrieta, and Pedro Strop will soon turn the “Loveable Losers” into winners.
Even some of the experts expect the young Cubs to bring a winner to Wrigley Field — maybe not in 2015 but soon after. In fact, FOX Sports’ Dave Cameron says that 2015 “really might be the year, Cub fans” for the team to at least show some of that promise that Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have made since they took over the team in December of 2011. In fact, the Cubs had the National Leagues’ second-best August record (14-10) as play began on August 27. They stated to turn things around in late July when the prospects began coming up one at a time.
We have heard about the future of the Chicago Cubs for quite some time. Expect the Cubs to start turning things around next year and progress toward division titles and more very soon after. With Soler and the rest of the bunch gradually making their way to the Major-League club, the Cubs are transforming that future into the present.
PHOTO CREDIT: Joe Robbins, Getty Images Sport (Cropped)