The Chicago Cubs promoted infield prospect Luis Vazquez from Triple-A Iowa on Sunday. The move comes as fellow infielders Nico Hoerner and Dansby Swanson have been hampered by injuries. Vazquez, 24, plays shortstop and is quite possibly the strongest prospect defensively in the Cubs system.
Chicago Cubs sputtering on offense
There has been no corresponding move up until this point, but it’s possible that the Cubs will option either Nick Madrigal or Miles Mastrobuoni. With both Hoerner and Swanson due back as early as Tuesday, one has to wonder if the Vazquez promotion is about more than just his defense.
The Chicago Cubs offense has been disasterous as of late, as they just finished a four game series against Pittsburgh in which they scored just 10 runs. In the series they hit .151 as a team and were a combined 3-16 with runners in scoring position. With Madrigal hitting just .221 and Mastrobuoni at a dreadful .125, the Cubs could be looking for a spark from Vazquez.
Vazquez has shown improvement offensively
Vazquez was a 14th-round pick out of a Puerto Rico high school by the Chicago Cubs in 2017. He currently ranks as the No. 13 prospect in the Cubs farm system. The Cubs protected Vazquez on their 40-man roster for the first time after a 2023 season in which he showed huge improvement offensively. He started the 2023 season at Double-A Tennessee, but finished the season in Triple-A Iowa after being promoted.
Overall Vazquez put up a slash line of .271/.361/.456 in 2023, good for an .817 OPS. He also added 24 doubles and 20 home runs. Considering his previous best OPS was .680 in 2021, last year marked a huge improvement at the plate for Vazquez. Before being called up on Sunday, Vazquez was slashing .262/360/397 in Iowa, and that’s after being mired in a slump that has him hitting just .143 in the month of May.
The #Cubs are reportedly calling up their No. 13 prospect, Luis Vazquez, for what would be his big league debut, per @jorgecastillo.
The plus shortstop has shown his versatility at Triple-A this season: https://t.co/TUNx32Pd1c pic.twitter.com/7Mi33QiNGo
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) May 20, 2024
The Chicago Cubs have been extremely streaky offensively so far in 2024. And quite frankly, Mastrobuoni isn’t the answer to the pressing need for offense. I still have hope for Madrigal, as he has at least shown capability in the past, but the clock is ticking on these two. At 24 years old, the time is now for Vazquez. If he can step in and play the stellar defense he’s been playing all along, and perhaps continue his progression at the plate, he could find himself a new home in Chicago.
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