Chicago Cubs: Miguel Amaya has a future in the Windy City

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Not too long ago, the Chicago Cubs added a catcher out of Panama. Fresh off an appearance in this season’s Futures Game, Miguel Amaya is starting to shine.

The international signing period of 2015-16 brought with it a handful of massive seven-figure contracts. One main beneficiary of such a deal is the aforementioned Miguel Amaya. Amaya came to the Cubs during that signing period and has since started to find his niche in Chicago.

A significant attraction which garnered the Cubs interest towards Amaya was his evident defensive prowess behind the plate. At the time of Amaya’s in 2015, Amaya was just 16 years old and indeed found himself in an exceptional spot for future success as a part of the Cubs organization.

With Willson Contreras having the dish locked down, it will be some time before Amaya can ascend the throne. But make no mistake. This is a guy we’ll see in Chicago, perhaps as the heir apparent to the Cubs’ All-Star backstop.

(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Chicago Cubs: Humble beginnings

Once signed, Amaya began his professional ball in the rookie league with the AZL Cubs. There, Amaya put together a somewhat respectable season, finishing with a .245/.344/.317 slash line and one home run along with twenty-two runs batted in.

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Outside of the average, Amaya did have a successful professional debut season. Amaya finished with a .341 wOBA and a 104 wRC+. He struck out a respectably low 11.2 percent of the time, as well as stole nine bases.

After one season in the rookie league, the Cubs decided to promote Amaya up to Low-A. After making the transition to Eugene last season, Amaya, unfortunately, saw a dip in his production. As Amaya finished with a slash line of .228/.266/.338 with three home runs and 26 runs batted in, his wOBA dropped all the way down to a porous .279 and saw his wRC+ decline as well to a pathetic 71.

Strong defensive work

However, his strength came from behind the plate with his glove. At just 18 years old, Amaya posted an incredible .987 fielding percentage, with a caught-stealing success rate of 41 percent, and an RF/9, which measures players range on defense by looking at his putouts and assists, at a ridiculous 10.44. To put it into perspective, the highest RF/9 in Major League Baseball at the catcher position is 8.89, so Amaya is certainly doing something right.

Chicago Cubs: A new season brings new hope

The 2018 season has been a fresh beginning for the Cubs’ tenth-ranked prospect, and the response is an admirable one, to say the least. Arriving at High-A South Bend, Amaya is slashing .280/.348/.478 with 12 home runs and 43 runs batted in through 79 games.

The most significant jump back to normality for Amaya and expected value and priority is his considerable increase in wOBA as well as wRC+. Amaya is now up to a career-high in both categories. For wOBA, he is batting .371 while ascending back over the line of normality, to a 129 wRC+. At 19 years old to be making a strong showing such as this, at higher level baseball is utterly remarkable.

Amaya has decreased his strikeout percentage from 20.1 to 18.9 percent while doubling his rate of walks from 4.5 to 8.5 percent. The power is also shining through, as his twelve home runs are a career high. It also gives sweet hope for Amaya as he had just four total home runs in one-hundred and sixteen games since arriving at the professional level.

Chicago Cubs: Development is everything

The continued progression of Amaya will undoubtedly be a fun one for the franchise and fans to follow across the next few years. As Amaya is just 19 years old, he is a few years from arriving in the show. Conversely, the Cubs currently have a pretty solid backstop who doesn’t plan to go anywhere for a long time.

Someone such as Victor Caratini feels like an expendable piece, as unpopular of an opinion as it is. A move like this will help to give way to a future duo of Willson Contreras and Miguel Amaya. According to projections, his expected arrival to the Chicago Cubs is 2021. Allowing this will give him proper developmental time. Needless to say, the Miguel Amaya era is on the horizon.

Next: Could the Cubs stand pat at the trade deadline?

A bright future ahead

All things considered, Miguel Amaya has a very bright future ahead for himself. The Cubs and fans will find excitement as he continues to climb through the depths of minor league baseball. For everyone involved, it will definitely be worth the wait.

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Chicago Cubs Minors: Miguel Amaya has a future in the Windy City