The Chicago Cubs aren’t messing around.
Days after calling up uberprospect Kris Bryant, the Cubs called up phenom Addison Russell on Tuesday, a move that Jon Heyman of CBS Sports first reported.
Russell was in Pittsburgh for Tuesday night’s game and made his major league debut at second base.
While the news of Russell’s promotion comes as a surprise, there had been growing speculation that the Cubs might turn to the 21-year-old sooner rather than later after shifting him from shortstop to second base late last week. However, few expected him to get the call this soon.
Entering Tuesday, Cubs second basemen ranked last in the ...
Spring training is set to begin next week when pitchers and catchers report to camp, meaning Major League Baseball’s long and at times insane offseason is coming to an end.
So far, much of the focus has been the movement among big leaguers due to all the free-agent signings and teams trading their top chips to new squads. However, this offseason also has featured plenty of action on the minor league front. And with spring training just around the corner, it's time for Prospect Pipeline to officially rank the farm systems of all 30 clubs.
As always, our rankings are based on two ...
Javier Baez was one of the hottest names in baseball last year heading into spring training. In 2013, Baez, in his age-20 season, smashed 37 home runs and slugged .578 in 130 games between High-A Daytona and Double-A Tennessee.
As if on cue, Baez put on a show in major league camp with five booming home runs in 18 games, and he did so while playing a new position, second base. The Cubs assigned Baez to Triple-A Iowa to begin the regular season, but it was widely believed that the then-21-year-old would quickly hit his way to the major leagues.
Instead, Baez ...
The Chicago Cubs graduated former top prospects Javier Baez and Arismendy Alcantara to the major leagues last season, but the organization still houses one of the best collections of young hitters in the game.
Kris Bryant continued to blow past all reasonable expectations with his performance at the Double- and Triple-A levels, as the 23-year-old slugger paced the minor leagues with 43 home runs and ranked among the league leaders in every other important category.
The Cubs added another impressive bat in Kyle Schwarber, whom they selected with the No. 4 overall pick in last year’s draft, and he rewarded the organization by reaching ...
Though the Chicago Cubs failed to sign free-agent catcher Russell Martin last week, it doesn’t mean the team won’t have other intriguing options moving forward.
With plenty of money to spend on the open market this offseason and an opportunity to upgrade behind the plate, Cubs’ president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer made it clear in early November that the team would pursue Martin.
As expected, the Cubs made a serious attempt at signing him, offering the 31-year-old a deal in the ballpark of four years and $64 million. Meanwhile, news of the reported offer prompted Ken Rosenthal of FOX ...
The Chicago Cubs' future was on display late last summer with franchise cornerstones Anthony Rizzo and Starlin Castro playing on the same field as highly regarded prospects such as Javier Baez, Jorge Soler and Arismendy Alcantara.
Suffice it to say, the future is bright on the North Side of Chicago.
After stocking the Cubs farm system with top-flight hitters for almost three years, club president Theo Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer seem poised to make a splash this season on the open market with possible pursuits of free-agent pitchers such as Jon Lester and Max Scherzer to headline the starting rotation for ...
Kris Bryant was recently named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year, and it would be shocking if the 22-year-old didn't sweep the award across all major outlets.
The No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 draft, Bryant put up monster numbers in his first full professional season, leading the minor leagues in home runs (43), slugging percentage (.661), OPS (1.098) and wOBA (.472). He also ranked second in runs (118) and fourth in RBI (110). Overall, he batted .325 with a .438 on-base percentage in 594 plate appearances between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa.
But despite the video game numbers, the ...
The Chicago Cubs are ticketed for another last-place finish in the National League Central this year, but there won’t be a more exciting team to watch over the final month of the season.
The Cubs have played .500 ball (23-22) since the All-Star break thanks to an electric offense that is pacing the National League with 57 home runs during that span.
In general, things have been looking up for the North Siders since the beginning of July, when they began infusing the big-league lineup with some of their prized prospects.
Now, a little less than two months since the process began, it’s ...
Twitter erupted Saturday night following news that Kris Bryant was pulled during the middle of Triple-A Iowa’s game. He didn’t appear to suffer an injury in the game, which only fueled speculation that the 22-year-old slugger was headed for The Show.
Unfortunately, it was learned soon thereafter that Bryant departed the game after aggravating a left-foot injury suffered earlier in the week, when he fouled a ball of his big toe, and would undergo an MRI the following day.
And just like that, the excitement regarding Bryant’s potential call-up shifted to concern about the injury. With less than a month left in ...
It’s official: Javier Baez is must-watch television.
The 21-year-old continued to blow past all reasonable expectations Thursday against the Rockies with a 3-for-4 performance that included a pair of impressive home runs.
Baez is now batting .286 with five RBI through his first three games, and his three home runs during that span make him the second player in the last 100 years to accomplish the feat, according to High Heat Stats, via Twitter:
In his debut Tuesday, Baez went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts before connecting for his first major league hit—a go-ahead, solo home run in the top of the 12th inning. He turned ...
Next Page »
