If it’s true that the Chicago Cubs are going to be selling again this year – and I think they will be – then it’s also true that the Cubs are, at some point, going to get back into “development and evaluation” mode.
And if that is true, then it’s probably time to talk about a 26-year-old former 4th overall pick who is obliterating Triple-A, and who has had some past success in the big leagues. I say it that way because, if you think about Nick Madrigal more in those terms (as a prospect), it’s getting difficult to argue AGAINST the idea that he should be up with the big league team getting everyday starts for development and evaluation purposes.
Some context: since being sent down to Iowa on May 27 for his first really extended time at Triple-A, Madrigal’s numbers are just kinda stupid. He’s hitting .488/.580/.854/256 wRC+ over 50 PAs, posting a 10.0% K rate, a 16.0% BB rate, and a (LO FREAKING L) .366 ISO. If he were literally any other player on earth, we would look at those numbers and think we were seeing some mondo slugger with the best barrel ability and best plate discipline ever.
It’s a very small sample, so take it easy, but I do think it confirms something that would’ve been easy enough to predict: Madrigal is too good for Triple-A. Maybe he winds up a Quad-A guy when all is said and done, but I think it’s clear that he may not actually get much from playing at Triple-A, outside of posting hilarious numbers.
For his part, Madrigal thinks this is all just a matter of playing time:
In today’s 🗞: The Cubs thought there was a problem with Nick Madrigal’s swing.
He thought his troubles stemmed from something else: lack of playing time.
Madrigal is getting plenty of at-bats with the @IowaCubs and making the most of them. https://t.co/eJkxQ1S2MC— Tommy Birch (@TommyBirch) June 8, 2023
If he’s right, and if the Cubs’ season is careening toward “development and evaluation,” then it’s probably time to talk about bringing Madrigal back up to play every day. He showed previously he could handle third base defensively, much to many of our surprise, and if Patrick Wisdom is going to really struggle (as he is right now), then so be it. Let Madrigal take a good long run at third. Whatever, you know?
I’m not alone in this position, as some of the louder voices in our bloggy sphere – guys who are not just Nick Madrigal homers – are saying the same thing:
Some of that is reflective of what this last week has wrought at the big league level, and how much it has catapaulted a lot of fans’ brains (including mine) into the eff it zone. But a lot of it really is just an evaluation of the situation. Maybe it’s unlikely that Madrigal establishes himself as a regular this year, but there *IS* talent there. The Cubs aren’t really doing themselves any harm at this point in trying to find out if he can tap into it. Just let the guy play and see what happens.
My gut says this is probably going to go down sooner rather than later, because the Cubs are scrambling to figure out some way to turn the offense around. It’s not really about THAT for me, but again, I don’t see any harm in bringing Nick Madrigal back anyway.
