Chicago Cubs: Brailyn Marquez profiling as a special talent

Chicago Cubs: Leading it into the future

Last season, Marquez took a massive step towards the Show. Working his way to Low-A Eugene and then South Bend, Marquez proved strong. In making 12 starts between the two leagues, he finished an uninspiring 1-4, however, posted a 3.13 ERA over 54 2/3 innings.

Notably, Marquez saw an improvement in his WHIP as it dropped from 1.409 to 1.262. At Low-A, Marquez struck out 26.4% of the batters he faced and 22.4% of batters at South Bend. What stands out from Marquez across this sample size is his FIP at South Bend. From Rookie ball to Low-A and then to Class-A, Marquez improved it significantly, as it dropped from 3.82 to 2.77, respectively.

Strangely, between Eugene and South Bend, Marquez saw his ground ball rate drop from 52.4% to 30.0%, while his fly ball rate nearly doubled from 33.3% to 55.0%. Although the fly ball frequency went up so vastly, Marquez’ HR/FB also dipped from 11.9% at Eugene to an even 0.0% at South Bend. Granted, the sample size for Marquez was just two starts, however with the stronger competition, it was something great to see for the then 19-year-old.