Hey, the good folks at MLB Pipeline haven’t forgotten about Chicago Cubs catching prospect Miguel Amaya.
The 21-year-old backstop was targeted for a breakout 2020 season at AA Tennessee after posting an above-average offensive season at High-A in 2019 as one of the youngest players in the league. Unfortunately, the pandemic ended those hopes, and Amaya was sent to the South Bend alternate site to get in his work for the year.
But that didn’t take him off the radar for prospect list promotions as other guys have graduated off:
As Sean Murphy graduates, #Cubs prospect Miguel Amaya enters the Top 100 Prospects list: https://t.co/oVoqFBggR6 pic.twitter.com/KtcsvwFICG
— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 8, 2020
In the non-rankings season, MLB Pipeline simply inserts the “next man up” into the top 100, so Amaya’s current ranking is exactly that, 100. That doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll stay in that slot when the full re-rankings take place in the fall, but it does mean he is currently considered one of the best 100 prospects in baseball to MLB Pipeline.
And that’s pretty awesome when you consider the loss of the minor league season, and the fact that the Cubs also have Brailyn Marquez at number 69, and Brennen Davis at number 79 (Nico Hoerner has graduated off the list). Each of those three – now the big three Cubs prospects – will have a substantial opportunity to climb the rankings as offseason scouting reports come in, and once we get back to having a minor league season in 2021. Each of those three – all at South Bend this year – could see themselves promoted rapidly next year to try to find the level that best challenges them. For Amaya, he might find his way to AAA Iowa before too long.