Morning Marquee: Kyle Schwarber ranked third best catching prospect in MLB

MLBPipeline ranked the Chicago Cubs Kyle Schwarber the third best catching prospect in all of baseball. Schwarber lived up to his billing as one of the best pure hitters in the 2014 draft, hitting .344/.428/.634 and reaching high Class-A in his first season as a pro. If he ends up a catcher remains the biggest debate, as there are a lot of questions about him defensively behind the plate.

For the same reasons the Cubs considered Jonny Gomes, the Atlanta Braves signed him to a one-year, $4 million deal with a vesting option in 2016. The Braves likes what he could offer in leadership quality, as well as the ability to help fill the void in left field. He will likely platoon,  but is still a valuable asset to a rebuilding Braves team.

After spending some more time in Detroit, it appears that David Price has taken a liking to the city, and would consider a ling-term deal to stay with the Tigers. With the departure of Max Scherzer to the Nationals, the tigers would love to have Price paired up with Justin Verlander for the coming years.

Are the Cubs still in the running for James Shields? While it may be unlikely, the longer the last remaining ace on the market remains, the higher the possibility his price tag comes down. The Cubs say they don’t intend to make another big signing, but if the price tag comes down enough, the Cubs would need to at least entertain the idea.

These stories and others from yesterday around the league:

‘Schwarber ranked third best catching prospect in MLB’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Are the Cubs still on to James Shields?’ – Cubbies Crib

‘Atlanta Braves sign veteran leader Jonny Gomes’ – Tomahawk Take

‘Cespedes and Price want to stay’ – Motor City Bengals

‘White Sox sign Geovany Soto’ – Southside Showdown