NEWSLETTER
For the first time in, I don’t know, three years, the Chicago Cubs Minor League system feels like it’s taking big, obvious steps forward.
Adbert Alzolay has already contributed at the big league level this season, while other guys like Nico Hoerner, Miguel Amaya, Brailyn Marquez, Cole Roederer, Aramis Ademan, and even recent first-rounders Alex Lange and Brendon Little are dazzling us with potential at all levels of the organization. But one name that’s been standing out here lately, even among that talented list of prospects, is outfielder Brennen Davis.
Davis, 19, was drafted in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft and had a good first season in rookie ball last year (132 wRC+), before bursting onto the scene here in 2019. Through 44 games at A-Ball, Davis has done nothing but hit like an animal: .295/.371/.481 (145 wRC+), while keeping his strikeout rate below 20%.
Indeed, as recently as today, FanGraphs bumped up his potential future value, citing his improved timing, comfort at the plate, and potential “impact opposite field power.” And just yesterday, we were enjoying his walk-off opposite field shot right here at Bleacher Nation.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Shelly Verougstraete ranks him all the way up at #25(!!) in all of baseball in her midseason update, while Ray Butler had him jump from #233 preseason to #37 today. That is … WOW. There is some serious love out there for Davis.
But, apparently, we’re not allowed to have nice things …
He's leaving the game…
— Michael Ernst (@mj_ernst) July 15, 2019
First of all … NEVER BUNT! This is literally the second time this has happened to him in a week.
Second of all, yeesh … that stinks. Without any video or other news it’s impossible to know how bad of an injury this was – the Cubs could have easily been acting out of an abundance of caution, given his recent rise – but it’s still quite a bummer. The only bright side – if you’re crazy enough to think this way – is that a small, short-term injury like this (if that is what this is) could conceivably keep Davis off the field long enough not to be traded at the deadline, while also not impactful enough to hurt him long-term. So if you’re a prospect hoarder (and a little crazy), you might’ve just scored a victory.
But that’s a little tin-foil hat-y, because if another team wanted him badly enough, I doubt a small injury would be a lasting roadblock. But again, that’s the rub here: we don’t know how bad it is. So until then, I’ll leave the guess work to Twitter.
We’ll update this post if and when we hear more, but we don’t always get immediate injury updates about prospects, especially not this close to the trade deadline. So stay tuned, but be patient.
