Backup plans for the South Siders
The second major piece of this prospect puzzle is Dylan Cease. The young right-hander has also found great success to this point in his career. This season for the White Sox High-A club, Cease is 2-1, in four starts, with a respectable 2.79 ERA.
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Cease was strong as a Cub. His strengths include a high strikeout rate and the ability to keep the ball in the yard. As he is just 22, it should be awhile before Cease sees time at the Major League level, however like Jimenez, he is on a strong path.
The other two prospects, Matt Rose and Bryant Flete, are nothing special. In 65 games for the Cubs High-A last season, Rose slashed just .227/.281/.481. In 2018, Rose is hitting .247/.293/.364, while striking out at a whopping 34.1 percent clip.
Flete, seemingly based off his production so far, seems like a better bet to become a better player in the long run than Rose, but still nothing too exceptional.
The former, in his last year with the Cubs High-A, slashed .305/.355/.425 with a 120 wRC+. He is not a big power guy, as he is just 5’10”, 146 pounds and has hit only fifteen career home runs in six years in the minors.
Prospects can be strange, regarding value. As Cubs fans and Major League Baseball saw, Jose Quintana found himself dealt in a one-for-four trade. Realistically, however, it can be boiled down to Jose Quintana for Eloy Jimenez and Dylan Cease.