After successful MVP honors on the 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Recreation and capping his season with 4 homers in 15 Triple-A video games, Brennen Davis figured to hitch the Cubs in some unspecified time in the future in 2022. However as a substitute of realizing his dream of changing into a giant leaguer this 12 months, he as a substitute endured a number of months of ache.
Although Davis’ again started bothering him in Spring Coaching, he was decided to not let discomfort derail him. He batted simply .195 with two homers in 22 Triple-A contests through the first month of the season because the ache obtained worse and his proper foot felt fully numb. The Cubs shut him down in early Could with an preliminary analysis of a herniated disc that may have ended his 12 months.
When medical doctors carried out surgical procedure on June 2, they found that Davis had no structural injury. As an alternative, a nest of blood vessels was urgent on a nerve and inflicting his ache. He returned to the diamond in mid-August and is making up for misplaced time by taking part in with the Mesa Photo voltaic Sox within the Arizona Fall League.
Although his 2022 season did not play out almost like he hoped, Davis hopes the adversity will make him higher in the long term.
“It is positively irritating since you grind all offseason and also you make targets for your self,” mentioned Davis, MLB Pipeline’s No. 48 ranked prospect. “I’ve excessive expectations for myself and I need to be on the market serving to my staff in any manner I can.
“In order that sort of stunk however it’s a part of baseball, a part of life. It is the way you overcome these obstacles that makes you the very best model of your self.”
Davis usually did not seem like the very best model of himself through the common season, when he hit simply .180/.299/.298 with 5 homers in 53 video games at three ranges. However he has seemed wholesome and able to play within the Majors within the AFL, the place he went 5-for-17 with two homers in his first 4 video games whereas placing out simply as soon as in 20 plate appearances.
A second-round choose as an Arizona excessive schooler in 2018, Davis possesses a few of the greatest all-around potential within the Cubs system. His bat velocity, energy and leverage in his 6-foot-4 body give him properly above-average uncooked energy and he makes probably the most of it by driving the ball within the air to all fields. He has the potential for strong instruments throughout the board and an opportunity to stay in heart subject.
The Cubs even have Pete Crow-Armstrong, the very best defensive heart fielder within the Minors, so Davis could wind up in proper subject. They’re the 2 greatest prospects in a farm system that climbed to No. 10 in MLB Pipeline’s midseason rankings, up from No. 26 two years earlier.
Davis obtained to play with Crow-Armstrong and what turned out to be a Excessive-A Midwest League championship membership late August earlier than returning to Triple-A, the place he teamed with two of the highest dwelling run hitters within the Minors in outfielder Alexander Canario and first baseman Matt Mervis. Now in his fifth 12 months within the group — “I am a vet,” he mentioned with a smile — he sees a brighter future forward for a giant league staff coming off consecutive dropping seasons for the primary time since 2013-14.
“I obtained an opportunity to spend every week in Excessive-A with a few of the guys and now we have a lot expertise there, it is superior,” Davis mentioned. “That is the way you make an important group. You might have guys funneling up from the underside who’re going to push the fellows on the high. I really feel like we’re at an important spot and we’ll be actually good in a few years.”
Cubs hitters within the Fall League
Owen Caissie, OF (No. 10): The perfect of the 4 prospects acquired from the Padres within the December 2020 Yu Darvish commerce, Caissie suits the right-field profile with properly above-average uncooked energy and plus arm energy. He batted .254/.349/.402 with 11 homers and 11 steals in 105 video games in Excessive-A throughout his age-19 season.
Matt Mervis, 1B (No. 21): After tightening his left-handed stroke and bettering his swing selections, Mervis hit .309/.379/.605 with 36 homers in 137 video games whereas advancing from Excessive-A to Triple-A. The 2020 nondrafted free agent from Duke led the Minors with 78 extra-base hits, 310 whole bases and 119 RBI whereas additionally rating second in doubles (40), third in homers, fifth in slugging and eighth in OPS (.984).
B.J. Murray, 1B/3B: The Cubs drafted Murray within the fifteenth spherical out of Florida Atlantic in 2021 as a result of they appreciated his strong uncooked energy and mature strategy on the plate. He batted .286/.410/.429 with eight homers in 95 video games between Excessive-A and Double-A.
Cubs pitchers within the Fall League
Bailey Horn, LHP: Horn’s velocity has improved for the reason that Cubs moved him to the bullpen after buying him from the White Sox for Ryan Tepera in July 2021, and he now operates with a mid-90s fastball and a mid-80s slider. He posted a 2.79 ERA, .204 opponent common and 74 strikeouts in 51 2/3 innings, principally in Double-A.
Zac Leigh, RHP: Pairing a 93-96 mph fastball with excellent carry and a low-80s breaking ball with good depth, Leigh has been a revelation since Chicago drafted him within the sixteenth spherical out of Texas State in 2021. He logged a 2.86 ERA, .181 opponent common and 53 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings between Excessive-A and Double-A.
Riley Martin, LHP: Martin led NCAA Division II with 152 strikeouts and 17.4 whiffs per 9 innings at Quincy (In poor health.) in 2021 earlier than signing for $1,000 as a fifth-year senior within the sixth spherical. Armed with a low-90s fastball, downer curveball and sweeping slider, he compiled a 3.38 ERA, .188 opponent common and 120 strikeouts in 82 2/3 innings, principally in Excessive-A.
Sheldon Reed, RHP: Signed as a nondrafted free agent from Clemson in 2020, Reed had a 3.96 ERA with a .196 opponent common and 60 strikeouts in 38 2/3 innings between Single-A and Excessive-A. He works with a 91-94 mph fastball and a pair of common breaking balls, a mid-70s curve and a low-80s slider.
