Before he heroically took one off the knee to help the along in their comeback win, Jeimer Candelario gave the Cubs a lead in the 7th inning against the Nationals.
The Cubs didn’t have a lot of luck breaking through against Nationals starter Joe Ross, but Candelario helped end his day with this blast (via @Cubs):
Congrats to @jeimer24C on his 1st @MLB homer! pic.twitter.com/JsinWMoC4x
— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) June 29, 2017
Candelario, 23, has consistently raked at AAA, but has hit just .140/.245/.256 in 49 big league plate appearances across three brief call-ups. As we’ve said before in discussing Candelario, there’s really not much of anything there in the way of a sample – especially when you consider how inconsistently he was used in those call-ups – to tell you about what he could or could not be in the big leagues.
So, then, for today, I’m just hoping the knee is fine, and it was good to see that flash of power. It’s a stretch that Candelario can be a long-term starter for the Cubs, given that he’s currently limited to third and first base, the spots that are extremely locked down on this team. But he’s got a little chance right now to show off what he can do, and I hope he does. Only good can come from it.