The Cubs will promote star prospect Javier Baez in time for tomorrow’s game against the Rockies at Coors Field, Bruce Levine of 670TheScore.com reports (Twitter link). Corresponding moves still need to be made to make room for the Puerto Rico native on both the Cubs’ 25- and 40-man rosters. Baez is a client of the Wasserman Media Group, as he just hired his new representation last week.
Baez is a consensus top-10 prospect in the game, as detailed in recent midseason minor league rankings by Baseball Prospectus (which puts him at #5), MLB.com (#6), Baseball America (#7) and ESPN’s Keith Law (#8). The 21-year-old impressed many with a big Spring Training performance but then got off to a slow start in his first couple of months at Triple-A. After 434 plate appearances for Iowa, however, Baez is hitting .260/.323/.510 with 23 home runs, so it seems his power swing is ready for the big league spotlight.
Originally selected ninth overall in the 2011 draft, Baez has a .278/.336/.545 slash line in 1350 minor league PA, cranking 76 homers and stealing 62 bases (out of 79 attempts) over his four minor league seasons. The 2014 Baseball America Prospect Handbook says that Baez could stand to slow down some of the natural aggressiveness in his game, yet raved about his “special bat speed” and baseball instincts. The Handbook gave Baez’s power a 75 scouting grade (out of 80) and said “he profiles as an all-star-caliber, 30-homer infielder wherever he lands.”
It seems likely that Baez will land at second base for his Major League debut, with Starlin Castro entrenched at shortstop at Arismendy Alcantara (another well-regarded prospect) capable of shifting to center field. Baez is a natural shortstop but has seen playing time at the keystone at Triple-A in preparation for both playing alongside Castro and because there is some concern that he might be better suited for second or third base over the long term. With Castro locked into a relatively expensive contract through at least 2019 and a wealth of strong infield prospects (Baez, Alcantara, Kris Bryant, Addison Russell) in Chicago’s system, it will be interesting to see how the Cubs juggle all these young talents in the coming years.
Photo courtesy of Rick Scuteri/USA Today Sports Images
I’ll be watching that game.
Um, half of the United States will be watching…
160 million people?
Silly Jeff….you know everyone’s a Cub fan deep down inside 🙂
Deep down id like to see the cubs finally end their drought. Padres fan. But always will have a soft spot in my heart for the cubs.
WGN got you in the 80s I see!
As a Cubs fan, that’s nice to hear!
As a Cubs fan, that’s nice to hear!
Hitting .320 over the last 50 games would explain it I’d assume
He had a slump at the beginning of the season in AAA, but he’s been a stud for the last 1 1/2 months
I fainted a little..this is awesome!
I’m not a Cubs fan, but it’s hard not to be excited to see all of their prospects come up. I think Baez is going to become a fan favorite very quickly.
don’t downplay it. he’s a first ballot HOF’er.
You’re still downplaying it. GOAT is his future!
I’m a yankees fan, but i am really excited to see this guy play.
By the end of the year, we should see:
1. Alcantara
2. Castro
3. Rizzo
4. Baez
5. Soler
The most excited I have been for a Cub game all year! Cubs Woo, Baez Woo!
If Russell wouldn’t have gotten hurt, he’d probably be up there next month as well. Exciting times coming for Cubs fans.
I think Russell will be the Cubs SS soon enough. Castro will probably go to 3rd, and Bryant / Soler in the corner outfield.
Or they can try to trade Castro to the Mets in the offseason for pitching.
No reason to. Cubs can buy an ace of their choice. Lester / Scherzer etc. If I have Scherzer, Arietta, Wood – and if either Dubrount or Straily can turn it around like Arietta did. GIve Johnson and Edwards another year in the minors. No reason to trade for elite pitching when you can buy elite pitching.
Except they have plenty of options at SS and would be able to net a cost controlled SP rather than overpay for Scherzer.
You are still looking at Castro as a SS. Castro would have been an All-Star 3rd basemen too.
Because Castro is a SS last time I checked.
105 OPS+
That isn’t enough bat to be an all-star third basmen.
Look at the 3rd basemen stats this year. Castro would be in top 3 of every offensive category.
Castro will either be traded or moved to LF. Bryant is going to stay at 3B as scouts have been more impressed with his defensive growth than his offense, which of course has been tremendous.
Not many 6-5 3rd basemen. Scott Rolen? Conventional wisdom ways you save the big mans body from diving after ground balls at 3rd, and let them roam left field, right field and first base.
Huh? Nobody is saying that. If anything it is Bryant to RF with any further change depending upon how much Russell fills out. (Although to be honest, i will admit that I was on the push baez to 3b wagon. I can admit being wrong with the raves hes getting at 2b.)
But it is a lot harder to find offense than it is pitching. No reason to trade a three time All Star who is young and has a team friendly contract for more unknowns
Umm no, cost controlled young pitching is hardest to find.
Who would be worthwhile on the Mets right now? Syndergaard and Wheeler haven’t looked great whereas all the Cubs SS guys have played outstanding
Jacob Degrom is looking pretty darn good. Also numbers don’t tell the whole story, look at scouting reports on Syndergaard, Montero.
Wheeler has also been very good over his last 6 starts. 1.71ERA, 1.28WHIP, 8.3K/9 over 36.8 IP.
7 straight starts of 2 runs or less. He seems to be turning a corner. Right now, only King Felix and the Indians Cory Kluber have his numbers or Kershaw if you throw his lemon out from yesterday. Wheeler is reminding me of Zack Greinke of 5-6 years ago.
Castro has played outstanding?
I’m not sure, but I’d enjoy having an All-Star SS (Castro) on my team.
Umm look at offenses throughout MLB, most are pathetic and power bats are the hardest to find
Right handed bats and right handed power is at a premium right now in MLB. The cubs have a ton of it.
Money is not going to be an obstacle for the Cubs in 2 years. Wrigley renovation started, new TV deal. Plenty of money 2 sign 2 aces, when you consider what they will be paying 1-8.
So you are saying all of these guys will definitely pan out?
So you are saying the Mets pitching prospects that you are offering for a proven player will pan out?
Yes, I said that every single one will work out and they will have a cost controlled 1-5 rotation. Then they can go spend all their money on offense.
Bryant looks like a can’t miss. Baez, Russell and Bryant are top 7 in all of baseball. This isn’t counting on the 70th best prospects here.
The only thing that has pushed Soler down, has been injuries. He seems to be over them.
All are good prospects but would be thrilled if 3 out of 5 became regulars. Remember that Corey Patterson was once a can’t miss guy.
Corey Patterson, was can’t miss for the Cubs. He never cracked top 10 in all of baseball.
Ranked Baseball America #16 prospect after the 1998 season
Ranked Baseball America #3 prospect after the 1999 season
Ranked Baseball America #2 prospect after the 2000 season
Patterson was #3 in 2000 and #2 in 2001 according to Baseball America.
What killed Cory Patterson was his knee got torn up in 2003. He was hitting in the 290s as a rookie before he was hurt, then he decided he had to be Babe Ruth rather than being Cory Patterson. One thing about both Baez and Alcantara so far, theyve both adjusted after initially struggling at every level.
A lot of top kids don’t pan out, but then again, a lot of top kids don’t look like Baez, Russell, Bryant, and Soler. With all 4 of these kids, I’ll be shocked if they DON’T succeed.
Maybe, but in recent years scouting has gotten better for top guys. And every one of the Cubs young prospects has played up to the hype sp far.
Cubs have been sort of cornering the market on power hitters. Many teams have maybe one stud power bat in the minors. The Cubs have potentially 5 or 6.
Wood is nothing to boast about. He’s a back of the rotation starter at a cheap price, dime a dozen in this league.
With the crown jewel Bryant being up early next year
Careful, Ronnie Woo Woo might sue you for royalties on that comment.
The Cubs have a chance to be scary good for a long, long while
Finally, something for Cubs fans to be excited about!
Perfect time to call him up. In Colorado, when Colorado pitching is struggling after a few extra inning games last week.
Where do the Cubs plan to play him? 2B with Alcantara moving to the OF?
yep
I wonder who will be next. The way Soler has been raking, it seems like he’s had enough of Iowa.
Soler will be up before or at September.
Soler will be up for sure. He has a 9 year contract, and already on the 40 man. Service time is not an issue.
He’s had enough of Iowa? He’s played 12 games there and he only spent 22 in AA.
Hope the mets can trade for one of your SS …we got the prospects to do it….don’t be surprised in the off-season!!
You can have Valbuena, he can play SS too.
I’m surprised he never got traded. With how many teams needing middle infield help, I’m sure the Cubs could/might have gotten a couple of good offers.
Theo and Jed are in love with him, I don’t know why. He hits 250 in a platoon situation. If he can play outfield too, he would be a nice super utility guy on this team.
He gets on base at a solid clip and has some pop in his bat. Not a star, but definitely more than serviceable.
maybe…he also is under contract until the end of 2016, is pretty underrated and can help fill in if any of the rookies struggle.
True. Also if he continues to succeed like he has this year, then that will only drive up his price for maybe next year at the trade deadline, where the Cubs should have a better idea of how ready prospects like Baez, Alcantara, and Russell are to play everyday in the major leagues.
Not going to happen.
If they’re going to make a move in the offseason, they’d be more inclined to just sign someone and keep the prospects.
I got to see Baez play last night. Hit two home run for Iowa.
And two walks
Here we go!
Hopefully my patience will pay off.
My body is ready.
YES!!! Welcome to Chicago Javy!
all these young prospects remind me of my dodgers when they had a stack farm and had guys like loney,kemp, bills and kershaw in it
They don’t need to trade for pitching prospects. They have plenty of pitching talent that nobody is talking about i.e. edwards, johnson, and many more. Plus they can get a legit ace this offseason. Baez will play second and Alcantara will play cf. They are going to be scary next year.
Just because they have some pitching prospects doesn’t mean they are set for the future. It is still a weak crop, and they have plenty of question marks at the major league level as well (did the switch flip permanently for Arrieta, can Wood and Jackson turn it around).
Jackson will be traded or released after the season if not put on waivers. Theo and Jed realize that signing him was a mistake. Wood has had a down year. Arrieta is a number 2 starter and they will go all out Lester. They have Hendricks who seems like a good number 3-4 in the rotation. And Wada will be the number 5 starter.
It’s far from a weak crop.
Dude as much as I love CJ Edwards his arm scares me becajse he weighs 165 soaking wet and is 6ft3! Pierce Johnson has the stuff also but he needs to show he isn’t going to walk so many guys same goes for Corey Black they all have TOR stuff but with our offense looking awesome next yr we need a sure thing or 2 so we either need to trade for a TOR arm or sign one this offseason along with a good #3 type..Since Kyle Hendricks looks very solid and can be that solid #3 I speak of that’s awesome,not so sure about Wada though he may be a decent 4 or 5
How much does Chris Sale weigh?
15 pounds of muscle heavier. And you don’t assume a guy is the exception. Chris Sale is one in a…well, Chris Sale is simply the first Chris Sale ever. He’s a freak that defies logic. He’s not Randy Johnson, who had 50 more pounds of muscle, and he’s not Pedro Martinez, who was a lot shorter and actually stockier. I doubt we’ll see someone like Chris Sale ever again, let alone while he’s still in the league.
Cubs/Astros World Series 2018
*Twins
*Twins
We all know there will be significant bumps in the road for all of these players, so I think the Cubs are being very smart in bringing them up over a period of time to take attention away from each other as they learn how to play big league ball. No question this should be an exciting couple of years on the north side for any baseball fan.
The more power the Cubs add to the lineup, the better Rizzo, Castro and Alcantara are going to look also. If pitchers have to face 4 guys in a row in the middle of the lineup who hit 30 hrs a year; that puts a ton of stress on pitchers – more mistakes than if you are pitching around 2 guys in a lineup.
It’s a shame that when you post something on this site that you can’t control who is able to respond to it, or more importantly, who can’t. It would certainly make for more rational discussions.
Cubs should give Baez and Bryant a contract extension after their first year in the MLB.
Could you imagine having Bryce Harper, Mike Trout, Giancarlo Stanton. Anthony Rizzo – all on the same team?
The Cubs can!
sure
Guesses on who’s going down to AAA and who’s coming off the 40 man? I’d think Lake goes down and Brett Jackson is waived here.
I think with Fujikawa coming off the 60 day DL he comes off the 40 man making Baez the 40th. Could be wrong though.
I definitely wouldn’t call Castro an “expensive” contract.
Like, he’s not making the MLB minimum or anything, but 5 yrs – $43mm isn’t like an albatross deal or anything. It’s such a team-friendly deal that it gives Castro even more value. In contrast, behind door #2 is Elvis Andrus.
I’m assuming that the author wrote that in a relative sense. He’s making more than their other options and is making substantially more than someone like Ruben Tejada of the Mets, who have been mentioned as a potential trade partner. imo, the Mets would absolutely view his contract as expensive and not worth the upgrade, which is not a commentary on Castro’s value but one on the Mets’ spending habits.
I think it’s pretty clear that Castro is NOT going to the Mets, despite all the hopes and dreams of loudmouthed New York sportswriters
Exactly. The whole thing is/was drummed up by the NY writers, who have an obsession with telling the Yankees and Mets what moves they should make.
I definitely wouldn’t call Castro an “expensive” contract.
Like, he’s not making the MLB minimum or anything, but 5 yrs – $43mm isn’t like an albatross deal or anything. It’s such a team-friendly deal that it gives Castro even more value. In contrast, behind door #2 is Elvis Andrus.
So is Lake going down or did someone clear waivers and get traded?
Lake sure seems to make the most sense.
Schierholtz is going to be the odd man out, and I am guessing Russell gets promoted to take Baez’s spot in Iowa.
This team is looking too young, in my seasoned baseball opinion.
Not everybody plays until they’re 49
Yees!! but I think the realistic ceiling of Javier Baez is a 260 hitter with 35 + HR and good defense in second base and I hope that 😡
Before we start printing playoff tickets, Cubs need to see how Baez, Bryant, Russell all adjust to major league hitting……..to get better pitching……..and at least reach to playing 500 baseball.
So how many HRs does he hit at Coors?
This made my day!!! go cubbies
I hope Brett gives him a first pitch fastball anywhere in the zone.
BREAKING: CUBS IN TALKS TO DEAL CASTRO TO REDS
Hacked by a reds fan sorry
BREAKING: CUBS IN TALKS TO DEAL CASTRO TO REDS
And so it begins… the Cubs and their fans can finally start to see the light at the end of the tunnel on their way down the road of relevance.
Will the #2 pick in next year’s draft already be making an impact by then?
Baez has certainly looked the part against major league pitchers in spring training.
Yes, we need to pump the brakes a bit. But for somebody who has been so dominant at such an early age, my level of “yeah, he’ll figure it out” seems justifiably high.
Eleventy.
It’s becomes a little bit fair to say the eye test doesn’t like him, when statistics back it up. No baseless arguments here!
He’s not “better than most hitters out there”, he’s worse than average. 96 career WRC+, 98 career OPS+, UZR can’t stand him, a negative dWAR. Better year this year, no doubt, but his body of work is pretty much smack-bang average.
I couldn’t really care for the guys attitude or any of the other nitpicking things that people choose, and I hope he turns out to be a fantastic player. But he really isn’t at the moment. Shortstop is, by the opinion of many, the toughest position to play, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s pretty average full stop.
Troy Glaus, BTW whom Bryant has drawn many comps too. From what Ive see, Bryant will likely be better. The kid is a stud.
He reminds me of Hanley Ramirez