Theo Epstein, along with Jed Hoyer, Jason McLeod, Jaron Madison and the rest of the Cubs’ front office, have been rightly praised for their ability to draft and develop talent. Since Epstein’s first draft with the Cubs in 2012, they have produced major-leaguers in Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber and most recently Albert Almora, Jr… However, something that has yet to be done under the Theo administration is to have a non-first round draft pick debut with the Chicago Cubs. Across the majors, 57 non-first rounders from 2012, 16 from 2013, three from 2014 and zero from 2015 have made their major league debuts. One of those players was actually drafted by the Cubs, but 2013 10th rounder Zack Godley actually made his debut with Diamondbacks after being part of the package that was dealt to Arizona in exchange for catcher Miguel Montero.
As a fun exercise, I wanted to dig deeper into Theo’s first four drafts with the Cubs organization and try to predict which Cubs non-first rounder will be the first to make his major league debut.
To do this, I dug through the Cubs system, (over)analyzed their minor league rosters and came up with a list of 25 potential guys who could be the first to make their debut. To save everyone a heck of a lot of time, I whittled that list down to just eight names that I will go more in depth about. Perhaps most interesting is that none of these names appeared in Baseball Prospectus’s Top 10 prospects‘ list for this year. With none of these guys on the 40 man roster it was definitely a tough call, but here are the top eight names that I came up with. Your mileage, as always, may vary.
David Berg, RHP
Drafted 2015, Round 6
Current Level: Double-A, Tennessee Smokies
Berg was drafted out of UCLA in 2015 as one of the most accomplished closers in NCAA history. The sidewinding right-hander was expected to breeze through the system, and to this date he has yet to disappoint. After dominating Eugene and Myrtle Beach last year to the tune of a 1.40 ERA and almost a strikeout per inning, he repeated the same this year at Myrtle Beach. Since his promotion to Double-A Tennessee, he has struggled a bit with giving up too many hits, stalling his rise through the ranks a bit.
Conclusion: Recent struggles cooled his momentum a bit. He won’t be the guy.
James Farris, RHP
Drafted 2014, Round 9
Current Level: Double-A, Tennessee Smokies
Farris, a starter out of the University of Arizona, was drafted in 2014 and immediately moved to the bullpen. Since moving to the pen, his stuff has definitely played up. After striking out 21 in 14 innings in Eugene, he followed that up by striking out 56 in 46 2/3 innings at South Bend and Myrtle Beach in 2015. He picked up where he left out at Myrtle Beach this year, striking out 36 in 30 innings while giving up only 21 hits. He just earned a promotion to Tennessee, so we’ll see if he can continue the trend.
Conclusion: Good power bullpen arm, but too many guys at Iowa ahead of him.
Chesny Young, 2B
Drafted 2014, Round 14
Current Level: Double-A, Tennessee Smokies
Young was drafted out of Mercer University in 2014 as a guy with a great contact bat and solid plate discipline. So far in his pro career, that’s exactly what he’s been. Across three levels in 2014, Young had an OPS of .797. He continued that trend in 2015 with a .778 OPS all while walking more than he struck out. This year it’s been more of the same with a slightly lower .746 OPS, though he is still walking more than he strikes out. Unless he can develop some power, he profiles best as a utility infielder who can play second, short and third.
Conclusion: Quality bat, but will be tough to crack the Cubs bench with both Baez and La Stella around.
Jacob Hannemann, OF
Drafted 2013, Round 3
Current Level: Double-A, Tennessee Smokies
Hannemann was an extremely interesting guy when he was drafted, for many reasons. For one, he’s on the older end age-wise because he took time off for a Mormon mission. While he has mostly struggled with the bat, he possesses great speed and plays great defense. He may not end up being an everyday guy in the big leagues, but he certainly is the kind of guy who can fill a 4th/5th outfielder role. For me he’s on this list because of the potential to be a late season pinch-runner, similar to how the Cubs used Quintin Berry last year. However, I think the Cubs have enough quality baserunning that they’ll avoid doing that type of thing.
Conclusion: Perhaps has a future role as a bench guy, but he won’t be the first to be called up.
Rob Zastryzny, LHP
Drafted 2013, Round 2
Current Level: Triple-A, Iowa Cubs
After being taken in the 2nd round in 2013 as an underslot guy, Zastryzny has actually underwhelmed in terms of production, but he’s continued to move up through this system nonetheless. He’s more a crafty lefty than a dominant stuff guy, but I could see his role varying at the major league level depending on the need of the Cubs at the time. For his career he has been more split neutral than tough on lefties, but if Clayton Richard continues to struggle Z might be given the chance to fill that role before the Cubs tap into the left-handed reliever trade market.
Conclusion: The need is there and the organization is lacking in left-handed options, but Zastryzny hasn’t had the results to get the call. If his stuff played up better against left-handed hitters he would be the easy choice, but it seems Gerardo Concepcion would get the first crack at it.
Ryan Williams, RHP
Drafted 2014, Round 10
Current Level: Triple-A, Iowa Cubs
A closer at East Carolina who the Cubs largely saw because they were scouting Jeff Hoffman, Williams signed for $1,000 and has since sky-rocketed through the Cubs system. In his first full season, he went straight from South Bend to Tennessee, skipping Myrtle Beach in the process, all while posting a 2.16 ERA with an 0.90 WHIP. Before a recent injury in Iowa, which isn’t believed to be serious, he had performed pretty well. However, the way the Cubs rotation is throwing and with Cahill, Warren and Wood waiting in the wings, it would likely take a couple injuries for him to get a chance.
Conclusion: The Cubs’ rotation is too dominant and too well-protected against injury for it to be Williams. If healthy there’s a good chance he would be my pick, but the injury has slowed him a bit.
Mark Zagunis, OF
Drafted 2014, Round 3
Current Level: Triple-A, Iowa Cubs
Zagunis was drafted out of Virginia Tech as a catcher, though the Cubs moved him to the outfield in 2015. Like Young, Zagunis makes a ton of contact and has great discipline at the plate. He currently has a career .833 OPS in the minors and is the recipient of a recent promotion to Iowa. He is one phone call away from the bigs, but as a corner outfielder without much power, it’s going to be tough for him to find a spot. Ultimately I think Zagunis has a high probability of being traded, so while he might debut soon I’m not sure it’ll be with the Cubs.
Conclusion: Great bat, but he might be a bit of a tweener. He doesn’t have enough power for a corner and I’m not sure if he can play center. Plus, the outfield bench already includes right-handed hitters Matt Szczur and Almora. In addition, I think there’s decent chance he’s traded at the deadline. Might be the next to debut, but not sure it will be with the Cubs.
Bijan Rademacher, OF
Drafted 2012, Round 13
Current Level: Double-A, Tennessee Smokies
Rademacher is yet another Cubs prospect who walks more than he strikes out. He can even hit a little bit too. After posting an .811 OPS in 2014 in the pitcher friendly Florida State League, he followed that up with a .748 OPS at Tennessee last year. Starting again in Tennessee this year, he rode a hot start to what is now a .916 OPS. It’s safe to guess that Rademacher has a promotion to Iowa coming soon. For his career he’s largely been a guy who has hit righties better than lefties, making him a quality left-handed bat off the bench or even the strong side of a platoon option. The recent acquisition of Chris Coghlan might make his path a bit more cloudy, but you could certainly see a spot for him with the Cubs.
Conclusion: Coghlan is back, but if he struggles, Rademacher could be a guy that comes up to be a left-handed outfield bat off the bench, even if it’s only for September. He’s eligible to be taken in the Rule 5, so he might have to be added to the 40 man in the off-season regardless. Bijan Rademacher is your winner!
So that is my prediction, now give me yours. Tell me why I’m wrong, I’m used to it.
Lead photo courtesy Mark J. Rebilas—USA Today Sports.