Although the lack of outfield depth at Triple-A Iowa has gotten the bulk of focus around here – and from the Cubs, who’ve added Justin Dean, Dylan Carlson, and Chas McCormick in the last few weeks – the Cubs were in a spot where they could use a little more depth at Double-A, as well.
Consider that, although the Cubs have some very high-upside outfield prospects who’ll hopefully rise as high as Double-A later this year, the group currently at the level might lose Brett Bateman to Triple-A, and then they’d have Carter Trice, Jordan Nwogu, and Andy Garriola remaining (with Trice likely to move all around as a utility guy). It’s possible Kade Snell could come up soon from High-A South Bend, but that group is pretty low on outfielders, too, until and unless Kane Kepley and Ethan Conrad are installed.
When we talk about wanting available depth at Double-A, we’re talking about the ability to manage positions and innings a little better for your prospects, and make sure you’re putting an acceptable defense behind your pitchers so they can go without having implosion innings that wreck a week of work. Yes, sure, you’d love it if a minor league veteran is signed and suddenly breaks out in your organization at Double-A, but that’s pretty rare on this kind of deal.
By which I mean, the latest minor league signing for the Cubs, Alexander Ramirez.
Ramirez, 23, is a former Angels prospect who had played kind of up and down the system over the last couple years, but who hadn’t fully established himself as a prospect the Angels wanted to keep for development purposes. Perusing the stats, you can see why: although Ramirez has shown some good power in the lower levels, his strikeout rate has been unthinkably massive for a 21/22/23-year-old who has been a pro for six+ years, ranging from 35% to 50%. Tough to dream on a future there, or to allocate innings and at bats at Double-A, if that number doesn’t come WAY down.
So, then, meaning it as respectfully as possible, that’s why we describe this kind of signing as a minor league depth move. The Cubs have available innings and at bats for Ramirez, so they can see what happens in his first new organization, but, realistically, his presence simply fills a need.
All of this outfield talk, this entire offseason really, is a reminder of just how rough the upper levels of the farm system have gotten not only on the pitching side but also on offense. Trades and graduations have done most of the dinging, rather than development failures, but it’s really an enormous gap in the system. The hope on the outfield side is that, among other things, guys like Kepley and Conrad blow up quickly, Bateman shows the potential to be an average hitter with his elite defense, someone like Jonathon Long adds more corner outfield experience to his ledger, and Kevin Alcantara fully becomes who we think he can be. It’s not hard to imagine the Double-A/Triple-A outfield groups actually looking really strong by end of this year. The bones are there for it to happen. But it’s just a long way to go at the moment.
Which, by the way, is incredibly important for the timing: the Cubs have a pair of outfielders in Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki who are free agents after this season.
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