When all is said and done, Jorge Soler might have the most upside of all the Cubs blue chip prospects.
Kris Bryant is the Chicago Cubs super-prospect getting all the headlines right now. After all there is controversy surrounding him. There’s buzz around Javier Baez and Addison Russell, as well, who will join Bryant by beginning the 2015 season in the minor leagues.
(We’ve covered the current statuses of all four of these prospects in more detail: Bryant here, Russell here, Soler here and Baez here)
Although the luster is truly off Baez now; the days of #Baezus are probably long gone…at least he makes a drastic change of course.
ESPN MLB analysts Curt Schilling and John Kruk (Sunday Night Baseball) participated in ESPN’s MLB Opening Night/Opening Day media conference call earlier today. ESPN will nationally televise the Cubs season opener, at home versus the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, April 5, at 7 p.m. CST.
Curt Schilling on Jorge Soler:
“I’ll tell ya the kid that blew me away, and I had heard of this kid, was Soler. When Joe Maddon used Vladimir Guerrero plate discipline as a way to describe him…Vladimir Guerrero had everything, could run, throw, everything and this kid is a physical specimen first off.
“He kind of got a little more anxious at the plate this year, which is something I think he can fix, but he’s going to be something special.”
It’s not just the talent of this Havana, Cuba native, but also his temperament that has drawn comparisons to Vlad the Impaler. Cubs Manager Joe Maddon raved about Soler to the media this week, and it’s fostering a ton of optimism within the Cubs fan base; a base that is always famous for being extremely optimistic.
Of course, Guerrero is a very very high bar to set; especially for a guy that hasn’t played a Major League game yet.
Still, the numbers Jorge Soler has put up thus far in the preseason and in AAA are impressive. In 48 at bats during spring training, Soler had 3 HR, 11 RBI, .333 BA and a .972 OPS. Last season at Iowa he had a .996 OPS in 110 AB with 8 HR and 11 RBI. Indeed the future looks very bright for this member of the Cuban National Team.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with Fox Sports Digital. You can read Banks’ feature stories and op-eds in the Chicago Tribune RedEye newspaper and hear his regular guest spots on numerous sports talk radio stations all across the country.
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