I mentioned one of the big promotions in the Cubs Prospect Notes this morning, but, as anticipated, it was part of a series of moves throughout the farm system.
That move was outfielder Alexander Canario going to Double-A Tennessee, but a bunch of other guys got the call, too, which left open spots at High-A South Bend for more promotions:
https://twitter.com/SBCubs/status/1524083390852612098
That’s a lot to digest, but it looks great to me. You’ve got two starting pitching prospects in Max Bain (UDFA, 24) and Chris Clarke (4th rounder in 2019, 24 in a few days) who’d gotten really hot of late, and have earned their next challenge at Double-A. And you’ve got a reliever in Nicholas Padilla (25) who was simply too good for High-A (45.0% K rate in 10.0 innings). Exactly the kind of guys you want get an early bump and an opportunity to either show that their gains at High-A will carry forward immediately (which gets you thinking about what they might be for the big club in 2023), or an opportunity to see the next thing they need to be working on.
Bain, by the way, does a podcast with Bryan, and was the dude who completely remade himself as an undrafted free agent. He is an extremely thoughtful, kind, hard-working guy who is very easy to root for. The fact that he’s even reached Double-A is so impressive, and he’s got big league upside from here. He and the Cubs deserve a lot of credit.
As for the second group up there, you’ve got outfield prospect Cole Roederer returning from his rehab stint at Myrtle Beach, and ready to make his High-A debut. Because of the pandemic and Tommy John surgery, Roederer has played just 24 games since 2019. He’s just 22, was a very high-upside high school draft pick in the second round in 2018, and I’m really excited to see how he looks at South Bend this year.
https://twitter.com/SBCubs/status/1524119424810340352
Slaughter, 25, is returning to High-A to start his season after a delay coming out of Spring Training. An 18th rounder in 2018, Slaughter is a corner infielder who is probably going to have to rake this year to stay on the radar.
Powell, 25, was an undrafted free agent signing after the 2021 draft, and he was clearly just way too advanced for Low-A. This should be the first real test for him, and give a better sense of whether he should now be on the prospect radar.
There it is! Padilla has been a fantastic breakout coming off injury, Clarke’s changeup is better than ever, so is Bain’s slider, Canario mashes too hard for High-A, Roederer’s return continues, Jake Slaughter up from Extended ST, Walker Powell too polished for Low-A. https://t.co/tRI4DlErSq
— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) May 10, 2022