Cubs top prospect Jorge Soler will be promoted to the Major Leagues and join the team for tomorrow’s game against Cincinnati, according to David Kaplan of CSNChicago.com (Twitter link).
The 22-year-old Soler entered the season ranked as a consensus Top 50 prospect in all of baseball, and while a pair of hamstring injuries has limited him to 61 games, he still ranked 28th on the midseason edition of Keith Law’s Top 50 prospects list over at ESPN.com. Soler has obliterated Rookie-level, Double-A and Triple-A pitching to the tune of a .338/.432/.687 batting line, belting 14 homers, 23 doubles and two triples in just 234 plate appearances.
Law called Soler a “monster if he can just stay on the field,” praising his “electric” bat speed and plus-plus raw power in his midseason scouting report. He also noted that Soler had the offensive ability to profile as a top-10 prospect, but his troubles staying on the field prevented him from being ranked any higher than 28th overall. Additionally, he points out that Soler has the arm and athleticism to profile as an average or better defensive right fielder.
Soler becomes the next elite Cubs prospect to make the jump to the Major Leagues, joining shortstop/second baseman Javier Baez and second baseman/center fielder Arismendy Alcantara. Baez has played second base since his recall (a spot vacated by the trade of Darwin Barney), while Alcantara has shifted to center field. Presumably, Soler will be playing right field at the Major League level, as he has throughout his minor league career.
Soler has already made plenty of headlines in his career, as the Cuban phenom inked a nine-year, $30MM contract with the Cubs back in 2012 just days before the collective bargaining agreement’s new rules on international signings kicked in. Had Soler signed after those rules, as a 20-year-old from Cuba, he would have been limited to a $2.9MM signing bonus.
Soler is guaranteed $2MM in 2014 after earning $1MM in 2012 and 2013. He will earn $2MM in 2015 before his salary rises to $3MM in 2016 and 2017. Soler is technically slated to earn $4MM annually from 2018-20, but his contract allows him to opt into arbitration once he is eligible. The contract, of course, seems light when compared to the contracts signed by Jose Abreu and Rusney Castillo, but keep in mind that Cespedes was 26 when he signed his deal and Abreu was 27.
Because of Soler’s guaranteed contract, the Cubs needn’t worry about service time considerations or Super Two status like they would need to with top prospects such as Kris Bryant and Addison Russell. Additionally, his Major League deal meant that he was already on the 40-man roster, so the Cubs don’t need to concern themselves with clearing a 40-man spot.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
It’s happening!! It’s happening!!!!
Newest addition to the Wrigley renovation? Soler Power… Hopefully this version operates while cloudy
If Wrigley installs plenty of Soler panels, then his bat speed would truly be electric.
As long as that “electric” bat isn’t clobbering players in the opposing dugouts.
Kris Bryant Next
If by next you mean next year, then yes. The Cubs have already stated that Bryant will not be called up this season, there’s no point.
I think there’s points to both sides. Sure GM 101 when all you care about is $$ then don’t bring em up. But if you want a month of the current crop of kids playing together, Bryant getting to see ML pitching, seeing how he makes adjustments, learning from current veterans on the roster so he won’t be so green when it “could” matter in ’15. If $ is all that matters (and people want to toe the line of he could still work on the holes in his swing at AAA) then ya there is no point :)
Bryant is going to get the Evan Longoria treatment. Three weeks at AAA next year then Super Two status. That’s his future. I feel bad for Bryant because based on performance/health he probably should have gotten called up before Baez or Alcantara. That’s how the MLB CBA works.
I feel like at one point they said this about all of the prospects we have already seen come up. I thought (pretty sure anyways) they said that neither Alcantara or Baez would be up and look what happened. Bryant was not too far behind being promoted to AAA from Soler, so we could see him come up.
Now is the time to do it. You obviously aren’t contending but if they want to make a splash in the FA for pitchers next year and try to contend as much as possible, these kids need time to mesh at the major league level.
IIRC, they told everyone that Baez would not be up last season and basically never spoke of Alcantara.
My mistake, you are right. I thought they had mentioned earlier in the season that Baez would not be up this year. I had also thought they had mentioned Alcantara as well. Thanks!
Bryant should get a legitimate chance to open the 2015 season as the everyday 3B. Once(if?!?) he gets healthy, he really should spend a couple weeks on the ML roster/ playing games this year. The “service clock” argument isn’t weighty in Chicago, and almost non-existent if you’re winning Now or in 2015 and beyond. .
Calling up Bryant also burns a 40-man roster spot for the coming offseason, which is not an insignificant factor. Bryant will be fine, development-wise, whether he plays in 2014 or not. There’s value to keeping the spot open for the winter.
Couldn’t agree more Steve. They have a few promising guys who are eligible for the Rule 5 draft, including Eric Jokisch, who could be a solid lefty in the pen next year. It would be better to protect guys now, and worry about Bryant’s 40 man spot next April.
The Cubs are not in a pennant race this year. Bryant WILL be left in the minors until May 2015 because he IS a Boras Client. We Cubs fans are optimistic in nature, but we need to be realistic too as this wave of success comes.
excited to see what this guy can do
Theooo. Let these kids take their licks the rest of the year and then go get em’ in 2015!
This team could be a monster by 2016. The bullpen has suddenly looked great and it’s young. The starters ( not named Jackson) have been impressive. A veteran bench and a top starter could make this team super scary.
Theo should sign Lester or Max Scherzer this offseason.
How about both? Fonzie a ram big z samardja $$ he turned down all those contracts are off books. Get that checkbook out and spend for aces
I think the Cubs should go after both Lester and Shields (I think he’s a FA). You can probably get them both for what you were to pay for 1 Max Scherzer or David Price.
This would make a rotation of 1.Lester 2. Shields 3. Arrieta 4. Hendricks 5. Wada
I would swap Jackson for another bad, but manageable contract (NOT BJ Upton)…or outright cut him
Send Wood to the BP or trade him for some low level prospects
I think Lester and Scherzer will end up with very similar AAV but Scherzer probably gets another year or two on his deal from someone. If the Cubs could grab one of those two that would be something.
Lester + Shields is going to cost far, far more than Scherzer. Lester alone can probably land somewhere in the $150MM range.
It all depends on if Scherzer gets the Kershaw money he wants…
Not really, they way Lester has pitched this season him and Scherzer will get similar money but like someone else said Scherzer will probably get more years.
The Red Sox valued Lester at 4 years $80 million, the Tigers offered Scherzer $144 million (forgot how many years).
Lester will probably sign first, which means Scherzer will have all the leverage to request a higher contract in AAV and years.
Scherzer has almost three times the WAR as Lester in the last two seasons.
Even if they get a similar AAV, which they won’t, more years equals more money anyway.
I believe Lester gets 5 years/$125million and that would cause Scherzer to ask for somewhere around 7 years/$190 million.
If he gets it, that’s another story. Someone is going to break the bank on him.
Wood will have a spot in the rotation next year most likely. He’s had a rough year this year, but I think he can turn it around and be a solid contributor.
I love how fans get super impatient and vote to jettison people once they start struggling. Everyone loves Hendricks and Wada right now, but I totally see them having the same struggles as Wood has had this year sometime in the future.
I understand that the Cubs are trying to build a solid club, but sometimes you gotta have faith in guys, coach them and help them overcome what’s wrong with them and send them back out there to try again.
This applies to everyone but Edwin Jackson. Unfortunately he’s just really bad.
This year has been disastrous for Wood. His ERA is nearly two points higher then last year and he has a negative WAR.
I’m not saying he can’t turn it around next year, but if there are better options in the FA pool or down on the farm, by all means the Cubs should take then.
I suggested a move a move to the bullpen might do him well and he can replace the hole left by Russell.
Travis Wood’s FIP: 4.21
Edwin Jackson’s FIP 4.34
Not too much difference.
You have better opportunity to get Shields..
errr mah Gawd!!! This is the greatest day evah!!!
That will make it 2 of the “Big 4” (now Big 5) in Chicago with a good chance that we’ll see a couple more of them by the end of next season. Cubs baseball is getting fun again!
Big 6 with what Schwarber’s been doing this year.
I believe Soler has the option of going to arbitration so those last 3 years arent locked at 4 mil.
That is what the story states!!
It wasn’t in the original story. Probably did some double checking of my comment and added it. Thanks for attempting to point out a mistake though.
Is it possible? The Cubs rise to the top in 15???? A lot of interesting/good prospects and pitcher reclamations.. A couple key F.A acquisitions in the coming off-season… I take them over the stroh’s as “most likely to go from worst to first”.
Bryant, Baez, Soler, and Russell should all be very successful hitters with power at the big league level. Any fan of any team would be salivating about the future for their club with a group of players like that.
Or fear they won’t be able to afford them all in the future, especially Bryant the Boras kid. There is always reason to panic over something as a Cubs fan.
Well, at the very least, Soler isn’t part of that concern as he’s signed long-term already
Not really, he can and will opt out.
According to some quick research, he can only opt out in order to get Arbitration money. He’s not eligible for that for three more seasons and then will have three Arb years. So he is signed long-term already.
He will be a free agent the same time as any other rookie as far as I know. His contract does not buy out any free agent years. Correct me if I’m wrong, this is what I have assumed.
Yep. So he’s a Cub for at least the next six seasons, which is long-term, imo.
He can blu opt out if he isn’t on the major league roster
Reminds me of Generation K.
except it’s nothing like Generation K.
A bunch of over hyped prospects is the correlation I was drawing. None are pitchers though. Celebrate your world series now Cubs fans because it’s likely less than 50% of the big names become good MLBers, historically it’s closer 33%.
To be fair, “Generation K” were (3) pitchers. One (Wilson) would have been good but blew his arm out. Another (Izzy) became a tremendous closer who pitched into his 40’s. Pulsipher rode their coat tails… he was always hurt too. It’s different with the Cubs guys, they are position players and every one of them is really, really talented physically. They aren’t “good” prospects, they are seen as franchise talents by even skeptical baseball people who have seen them play. And they have a few of them so even if half of them pan out they produce two legit studs.
At least one or those — probably two — will be gone, traded for pitching.
Good times for Chicago baseball.
The Cubs’ prospects are starting their takeover.
Jackie Robinson West won the U.S. Little League title.
The White Sox…umm, let’s not talk about the White Sox.
At least not until 2015. Hopefully we can shake the cubitis virus. Yikes!
I don’t think the White Sox are too far behind the Cubs. A rotation of Sale, Quintana, Rodon is a good start. A few nice pieces on offense but it definitely still needs some work. But the Sox are in much better shape than a year ago.
I agree. I think the White Sox will be better than the Cubs for some time. They can REALLY pitch, and hitting is easier to acquire than pitching. This assumes Sale’s arm doesn’t fall off, as everyone always predicts (which means it probably won’t).
One big difference is the Sox players are already producing at the major league level. You have a Cy Young candidate in Chris Sale and a strong MVP candidate in Jose Abreu. Let’s not forget future superstar Avi Garcia, Adam Eaton and Jose Quintana. Now we can talk about Micah Johnson, Carlos Sanchez, Tim Anderson, Carlos Rodon, Erik Johnson, Courtney Hawkins, Keon Barnum, Spencer Adams, Tyler Danish, Andy Wilkins, Marcus Semien, Chris Bassitt, Frank Montas, Micker Adolfo, Josh Phegley and Jace Fry. I hope I didn’t forget anyone. Yep! Soon to be another party time. After all, its been nine years already.
Whoops! Forgot Chris Beck and Andrew Mitchell.
The White Sox have the second worst pitching staff in baseball in terms of FIP/xFIP.
Get rid of Belasario and Downs and we are probably like fifth best.
The starters are 5th and 7th worst overall in FIP and xFIP, respectively.
I hope Mike Olt comes up and rakes this september. That would make for some real interesting choices for the FO next year re: Bryant and Russell
He will be traded… To make room for those producing…as he is only batting a paltry .198 58/293 at AAA & MLB combined with 117k and only 27bb in 100 total games….
Rizzo hit a paltry .141 with 46K’s in 49 games in the majors in 2011… Fans need to calmmmm down and let these guys develop. Prospects rarely come up and kill it on their first call-up.
Throw in the heath issues and there is reason for concern. Olt has been struggling for a while now, Rizzo continued to hit as well as ever after his poor debut, Olt is just now hitting again. It’s nice he is hitting at AAA, but he looked lost this season. Olt will get a shot, if only to increase is value, but I expect him to be moved at some point. There just won’t be room at some point if Bryant stays at third or if someone moves there. If Olt can hit lefties and play LF/RF than he maybe be valuable to hold on to though. I’m just not confident he can be a consistent lefty masher.
In the fantasy world of both Bryant and Olt being solid run producers. Olt would be at 3rd as he is a superior defender to anyone else on the hot corner in the Cubs system right now. No need to rush to move him now, since they seem adamant about keeping Bryant off the 40 man roster.
The difference is Rizzo was 22 at the time, Olt is 26. His time to develop is running out.
Mike Olt? He may be close to being out of baseball. OK, that’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but he no good.
I don’t think there’s anything interesting about it. Bryant and Russell are staying, Olt is as expendable as you can get at this point.
watch out for the cubs in 2015.
Congrats to Jorge Soler, and congrats to the Cubs and their fans. It’s been a long road, but the tide seems to be turning, and the Cubs could be one of baseball’s most fascinating stories going into 2015.
It is really starting to look that way!!!! GOOD LUCK CUBBIES!!!!!
Still no pitching, other than Arrieta (and that magic pixie dust may be wearing off soon). A bunch of those prospects are going to end up somewhere else, traded for pitching.
They have money to add high-end pitching, like Scherzer or Lester, and a solid back-end piece like say Kuroda. Arrieta, Hendricks, and Wood are good options to have, especially with Straily, Johnson, and Edwards on the farm as well.
Kuroda will either retire or pitch for the Yankees, Dodgers or back in Japan.
Maybe. But the Cubs could have a decent pitch for him. That is all.
I’m really excited to get a chance to watch him play! Wait…
*checks schedule and makes sure the Cubs don’t play the Giants again this year*
I’m still really excited to get a chance to watch him play!
they applied to change their nama from the cubs to the cubans
Freudian typo? Except the Spanish for “name” isn’t “nama.”
I think this is great news….but not let us get too far ahead of ourselves….this game is still about “pitching”……..even though Arietta, Hendricks & Wada shows promise……Theo needs to sign Lester…..and Price……to take control of the World Series run for the next ten years.
With how pitching-dominant the league is now, the game is now about hitting. The Cubs have stockpiled the best young group of hitters by far, giving them a gross advantage over any other team in that regard.
Lots of reasons why the Cubs will be a force in the coming years…….
Rizzo
Castro
Baez
Bryant
Soler
Russell
Almora
Hendricks
P Johnson
Blackburn
Olt
Vogelbach
Edwards
Schwarber
Vizcaino
Rondon
Arietta
Wood
Strop
Ramirez
McKinney
Tseng
Caratini
Alcantara
Turner
How often do prospects pan out?
not often, hence excitement over the long list?
I wonder what the % is of prospects panning out to make it big in the MLB? Also, something that Cubs fans need to remember is that we do not need all of these guys to come up and be allstars. Even if 2 out of that list translates to allstar type play, doesn’t mean half of the list can’t be contributors at the major league level.
I saw a study done a couple years ago with BA’s top 100 over a 13 year span 30% of guys were worth over 1.5 WAR. Most experts stick to the 1/3 of top 100 guys will be successful. pitchers bust at a higher clip than position players though and lefty pitchers are the most likely to bust. The Cubs should ask the Royals fans how many of these guys will be all-stars especially considering how much some of these guys love to swing and miss.
I would say top-10 prospects tend to pan out fairly often. The Cubs had 3 (arguably 4, if it wasn’t for Soler’s injuries) of them.
Not often, but it’s better to have lots of potential than very little. The Cubs farm is pretty loaded.
Great move. I think he will be the best out of the group of prospects.