Patience is Key with Prospects

The Cubs have called up some of their most promising prospects recently and some have performed much better than others.

Anthony Rizzo has come up and proved that he is for Rizzo, oh yeah, I did that. He has hit .305 with 9 home runs and 25 RBI. That is only in 42 games. He has played so well that almost everyone has forgotten about his rough stretch in San Diego last season. His stats will only get better as his career progresses.

Brett Jackson is another big time prospect that has come up. Things have not been great for him. He is hitting .125 and striking out 51% of the time in the big leagues. This is obviously bad, but before we go pulling the plug on him; he has only played in seven games. There have been celebrity marriages that have lasted longer. Let’s give the guy some time. He has never seen this type of pitching and there have to nerves shaking him. Hopefully he has a big game soon and his confidence gets a boost and then he starts to play to his potential.

The last prospect up right now is Josh Vitters. The sample size for him is even lower, but the initial returns aren’t great. Vitters is hitting .100 in his 20 AB’s. He is still yet to hit his first HR and has made an error in the field. The same thing needs to be applied here. Let the kid learn a bit. There have been players who have tore up the league in their first weeks and then amounted to nothing. There have also been people who don’t play well until being around for a long time: Jose Bautista.

This season is over for the Cubs and now it is time to give prospects valuable experience. There will be more call ups in September and the team could have a very young starting nine. The prospects need time. As fans, we need to support them and give them that.