As we note that one Cubs pitching prospect did something no other has done in 13 years, we also note that the Cubs might have their best pitching prospect in that long, and it’s not the same guy.
Lefty Brailyn Marquez just keeps on ripping apart High-A, hitting 101 mph on the gun and doing this:
What a start for Brailyn Marquez!!!
He punched out 8⃣ batters and exits in line for the win!!
TONIGHT: 5.1 IP | 5 H | 1 R | 1ER | 8 K | 1 BB pic.twitter.com/Ywp3LGjmWG
— Myrtle Beach Pelicans (@Pelicanbaseball) August 21, 2019
And, with incredible stuff and a dominating run, Baseball America has already named Marquez the Cubs’ minor league player of the year:
Brailyn Marquez has front-of-the-rotation upside.
His 2019 performance made that clear.
The LHP has 118 K's over 92.2 IP and has held opponents to a .216 average over 20 MiLB starts this year.
Marquez is the Cubs' Minor League Player of the Year, https://t.co/GZJA82R69Y pic.twitter.com/DHWwANqQYV
— Baseball America (@BaseballAmerica) August 21, 2019
Once things clicked for Marquez a couple months ago after he found his footing at South Bend, he’s just been on a run where hitters at A-ball and High-A simply cannot do anything with him. In his last six starts, he’s allowed TWO earned runs. That’s it. He’s also walked just 8 and allowed 13 hits in 32.1 innings … while striking out 45.
You want to see the Cubs finally develop an “ace”-caliber pitching prospect? This is the guy. Marquez is unquestionably now on that potential trajectory, and if he’s not a consensus top 75 prospect in the game over the winter, I’ll chuckle about it come next year.