We complete our second-annual Cubs’ minor-league All-Star team today by naming three outfielders to the squad. In previous installments, we selected pitchers; a catcher and first-baseman; and a second-baseman, shortstop and third-baseman.
The most obvious choice to fill out our outfield is Jorge Soler, whose dominance earned him a promotion to the Cubs on August 25. Despite the promotion and missing action with injuries to both hamstrings, the right-handed slugging Soler, 22, still managed 236 minor league plate appearances between the Rookie-League, AA and AAA levels. Soler, who was signed to a nine-year, $30 million contract after defecting from Cuba in 2011, only spent time with the Cubs’ Rookie team as part of his rehabilitation program (eight games, 20 plate appearances).
In a 22-game stint with AA Tennessee of the Southern League, Soler hit .415 with six homers, nine doubles and 22 RBI in only 70 plate appearances. In 32 games and 127 plate appearances with AAA Iowa of the Pacific Coast League, Soler batted .282 with 11 doubles, eight homers and 29 RBI.
Among the 83 Southern League players with a minimum of 70 plate appearances, Soler had the highest OPS of 1.355 and WRC+ (Weighted Runs Created by league) of 265 (any number exceeding 100 is considered above average). He also ranked 10th in walk percentage at 15.2.
Among the 243 Pacific Coast League players with at least 120 plate appearances, Soler ranked 10th in WRC+ (149) and 8th in OPS (.996) and tied for 22nd in walk rate (13.4%).
Since joining the Cubs’ major league squad, Soler has continued to feast on opposing pitchers. In games played through Friday, Soler was batting .361 in 68 plate appearances with five homers, six doubles, 18 RBI, a 1.143 OPS and a 207 WRC+.
The only downside for Soler, playing one of the most challenging home right-fields in Major League Baseball, is his slightly below-average Ultimate Zone Rating, a defensive metric, of -0.3 (any number better than zero is considered above average).
While preparing his Cooperstown speech might be grossly premature based on such a small sample size, Soler appears to be on the verge of solidifying right-field for the Cubs.
Bijan Rademacher, a 13th round selection in the 2012 draft, makes our All-Star team based on a solid season for Advanced A Daytona of the Florida State League (FSL). In 111 games and 438 plate appearances, the left-handed hitting Rademacher batted .281 with 22 doubles, six triples, 10 homers and 56 RBI.
Among the 54 FSL players with a minimum of 430 plate appearances, Rademacher, 23, was second in both OPS (.811) and WRC+ (133). Rademacher did commit eleven errors, almost three times as many, three, as he did in his first two seasons in the Cubs’ system combined. Hopefully, his error total was an anomaly and the result of adjusting to left-field after playing primarily right-field in 2012 and 2013.
The competitive and feisty Rademacher will almost certainly be plying his trade at the AA level next season.
Billy McKinney rounds out our All-Star outfield. McKinney was acquired in the midseason trade from the Oakland Athletics in which the Cubs parted with starting RHP’s Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel. The left-handed hitting McKinney was the 24th pick in the first round of the 2013 draft.
In 51 games and 210 plate appearances for Daytona, McKinney, who turned 20 last month, batted .301 with 12 doubles, four triples, one homer, 36 RBI and 25 walks. Among the 127 FSL players with a minimum of 210 plate appearances, McKinney ranked 13th in batting average; was 7th in WRC+ (136) and OPS (.822); and tied for 11th in BB rate (11.9%).
McKinney did not flex the power he did before the trade when, in 333 plate appearances for Stockton of the Advanced A California League, he cranked ten homers. However, his post-trade production was better in every other regard.
McKinney will likely join Rademacher with the Cubs’ AA affiliate next season.
Mark Zagunis, 21 and the Cubs’ third-round selection in the 2014 draft, merits Honorable mention even though he made only 22 appearances in the outfield during a 61-game stint between Short-Season Boise and Low-A Kane County. The right-handed hitting Zagunis spent most of his time serving as a designated hitter with a handful of appearances at catcher, although we expect the Cubs to significantly reduce his catching duties to avoid compromising his speed.
In 281 combined plate appearances, including the playoffs with Midwest League Champion Kane County, Zagunis batted .304 with four triples, 17 doubles, two homers, 48 runs, 36 RBI, 41 walks and 18 stolen bases in 20 attempts. He also produced exceptional WRC+ and OPS numbers of 155 and .893, respectively, as well as an excellent walk rate of 14.6%.
Zagunis also flashed outstanding speed and base-running efficiency. His SPD (base-running efficiency) of 8.0 ranked “excellent”, the highest grade for this metric; and he produced a wSB + (Runs created by a player’s stolen bases) of 2.4.
Zagunis could start next season for the Cubs’ Advanced A affiliate.
One notable absence from our squad is 2012 first-round pick Albert Almora, who split the season between Daytona and AA Tennessee. In 89 games and 385 plate appearances for Daytona, the right-handed hitting Almora averaged .283 with mediocre OPS and WRC+ numbers of .712 and 100, respectively, and produced a walk rate of just 3.1%.
His production improved markedly in his final 27 games and 124 plate appearances for Daytona, as he averaged .373 with a robust .988 OPS and 179 WRC+.
However, Almora, just 20, struggled for Tennessee, where in 36 games and 145 plate appearances, he batted just .232 with an OPS of .600 and well-below-average WRC + of 63. His walk rate was an abysmal 1.4%,
Almora, who is highly regarded for his defensive prowess in center-filed and off-the-charts intangibles, has yet to have a wire-to-wire season with above-average offensive production. Injuries truncated his 2013 season for Kane County.
We expect Almora to start at the Cubs’ AA affiliate next year and that the Cubs will exercise more patience in allowing him to develop after what might have been a premature promotion to Tennessee this season.
We next look forward to charting the progress of the Cubs’ prospects selected to participate in the Arizona Fall League.
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