Cubs' Willson Contreras leads crop of MLB's top summer call-ups
There’s no official acknowledgment of the summer solstice by Major League Baseball, but the seasonal shift is evident merely by glancing at rosters.
The top prospects have arrived – and more are probably on the way.
With the season safely past the point teams might risk paying an extra year of arbitration salaries should they start a player’s service-time clock, there’s no artificial barriers preventing the promotion of top-shelf prospects. If a kid’s ready, and there’s a need on the big club, he’s probably coming up.
With that, Paste BN Sports breaks down several blue chip prospects who have already announced their presence, along with a couple more who may debut or reemerge soon:
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Willson Contreras, C, Cubs
Pedigree: No. 50 on MLB.com’s preseason prospect list; No. 2 Cub prospect
Why he’s up: No. 1 catcher Miguel Montero is not hitting – he’s at .202 with a .643 on base plus slugging (OPS). No. 2 catcher David Ross is retiring after this season. And Contreras – at worse the No. 2 catching prospect in the game – knocked down the door with a .350, nine-homer, 1.030 OPS at Class AAA Iowa.
Outlook: Pretty sunny – Contreras homered on the first pitch he saw in the major leagues, from Pittsburgh Pirates reliever A.J. Schugel on Sunday night. Oh, sure, it won’t all be first-pitch homers and curtain calls, but make no mistake: Contreras, 24, is up to play, and learn. Manager Joe Maddon said Monday that Contreras may catch up to three games out of five, with Montero catching Jake Arrieta and Ross receiving Jon Lester. If Contreras slumps and injuries elsewhere make carrying three catchers cumbersome, it might compel the Cubs to adjust. But as Maddon put it, “We’ll be creative.”
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Albert Almora Jr., OF, Cubs
Pedigree: Sixth overall pick in 2012. Ranked Cubs’ sixth-best prospect by Baseball America, and No. 83 overall by Baseball Prospectus.
Why he’s up: Naturally, an injury to another uber-talented Cubs youngster – in this case, Jorge Soler, out with a hamstring strain. Almora, 22, has nine hits in 26 at-bats, a game-winning double and a go-ahead hit in extra innings of another game.
Outlook: You can’t blame the Cubs’ top prospects if they start feeling like Billy Preston trying to break into the Beatles. With Chicago on a 113-win pace and superstars – or mere stars – at every position, there’s little room for the kids to break in. And Almora will likely return to Iowa when Soler is healthy. Still, Maddon has shown little hesitation to throw talent on the field, regardless of how young. So count on Almora being a significant factor, though perhaps not a constant presence, the rest of the season.
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Jameson Taillon, RHP, Pirates
Pedigree: Drafted between Bryce Harper and Manny Machado in 2010. Consensus top 15 prospect from 2011-2013.
Why he’s up: A triceps injury to ace Gerrit Cole created the current opening in the Pirates rotation, but injury or poor performance among Francisco Liriano, Jeff Locke, Juan Nicasio and Ryan Vogelsong means there’s work in Pittsburgh.
Outlook: After Tommy John surgery in 2014 and a hernia in 2015, Taillon is healthy and capable of holding down a rotation spot – perhaps for years to come. He allowed just 11 baserunners in 14 innings of his first two starts, both against the New York Mets, before the Cubs touched him for eight hits and four runs Sunday. In 10 starts over 61 2/3 innings at Class AAA, Taillon had a 61-6 strikeout-walk ratio, a 2.04 ERA and a 0.81 WHIP. If Taillon can get even somewhat deep into games, he should stick with the Pirates a while.
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Cody Reed, LHP, Reds
Pedigree: 46th overall pick in 2013. Ranked 34th-best prospect by Baseball America, No. 2 among Reds.
Why he’s up: When Reed took the mound at Minute Maid Park on Saturday, he became the 12th Red to start a game this year – and the 26th pitcher overall. But in this rebuilding year, some arms bear watching more than others and Reed, 23, is emerging as the potential centerpiece of last year’s Johnny Cueto trade haul. He struck out nearly a batter an inning at Class AAA Louisville, where he posted a 1.18 WHIP.
Why he’s up: Brandon Finnegan was the recognizable name in the Cueto deal, and John Lamb beat Reed to the majors. In his big league debut, however, Reed completed seven innings – which to manager Bryan Price probably felt like finding a winning lottery ticket.
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Tim Anderson, SS, White Sox
Pedigree: 17th overall pick in 2013. Consensus top 50 preseason prospect, White Sox’s No. 1 prospect.
Why he’s up: And a rookie shall lead them? The White Sox’s 23-10 start followed by an 11-26 freefall prompted a flurry of button-pushing, and perhaps a promotion of Anderson sooner than imagined. It wasn’t a hard decision: Veteran Jimmy Rollins was batting .221 and Anderson overcame a slow start at Class AAA, boosting his average 78 points in less than a month, batting .309 when he graduated from Charlotte.
Outlook: Alexei Ramirez ain’t walking through that door – this is Anderson’s job for better or worse. He has acquitted himself well thus far, with five extra-base hits in his first 39 at-bats, and he should be a defensive upgrade over Rollins. But through 10 games, he has 13 strikeouts and has yet to draw a walk. Anderson’s offensive approach figured to take time to fully form, and that will be a tough developmental hurdle while batting leadoff for a team in a four-team division dogfight. Still, the White Sox will benefit from Anderson’s youth – he turns 23 on Thursday – and upside.
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A.J. Reed, 1B, Astros
Pedigree: Ranked No. 11 overall prospect – and No. 1 Astros prospect – by Baseball America.
Why he’s not here: Reed, 23, made a strong case in spring training to win the first base job, but the Astros had more seasoned, legitimate options in Tyler White and utility infielder Marwin Gonzalez.
Outlook: Well, White batted .211 with a .682 OPS and has joined Reed at Class AAA Fresno. Meanwhile, Reed has 28 extra-base hits and an .826 OPS at Fresno. He also has competition. Alex Bregman, the second overall pick in 2015, has 14 homers and a .981 OPS at Class AA Corpus Christi (Texas). Would the Astros promote Bregman before Reed? The guess here is no, and we’re going to see some youth in the corner infield spots fairly soon in Houston.
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Trea Turner, SS, Nationals
Pedigree: Consensus top 10 prospect in 2016; No. 2 Nationals prospect, per Baseball America.
Why he’s not here: That’s a really good question. Turner has dominated Class AAA, with a .363 on-base percentage and 21 stolen bases in as many tries for Syracuse. He shined in a three-day big league cameo while Ryan Zimmerman was on paternity leave, and it’s hard to imagine the Nationals couldn’t use his speed off the bench, at least.
Outlook: In all fairness, the #FreeTreaTurner movement is a bit overblown; Nationals shortstops, led by Danny Espinosa, are in the middle of the NL pack in slugging and OPS, and manager Dusty Baker has the club playing .606 ball while relying heavily on veterans, per usual. So what now? Well, in about 10 more days Turner should fall below potential “Super 2” arbitration status, which may make carrying him on the bench more palatable. Will he take over at short by year’s end? It seems unlikely, but it’s almost certain he’ll make meaningful contributions to a playoff-bound team, probably fairly soon.
Follow Lacques on Twitter @GabeLacques
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