Chicago Cubs: Former prospect Dan Vogelbach mashing for Mariners

In 2016, the Chicago Cubs sent two minor league prospects to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for someone who would help them win a World Series.

It’s always nice to see former Chicago Cubs prospects making their presence felt in the big leagues after years of growth. Over the years, Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer have perfectly flipped trade pieces to piece together their very own Trojan Horse.

Looking back at their World Series campaign, Chicago used Gleyber Torres, Billy McKinney, Dan Vogelbach, Rashad Crawford, and Paul Blackburn to acquire Aroldis Chapman and Mike Montgomery.

Removing Torres from the organization bumped Eloy Jimenez to the top of their farm list. Later on, Jimenez was sent to the White Sox for Jose Quintana in an effort to get back to where they were just a year prior.

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He, like others who spent time within the Cubs farm system, are in the Majors. Right now, let’s take a look at how Vogelbach is holding up with the Mariners.

Before we dive into stats, let’s look back on Vogelbach’s journey when he was drafted to the North Side during the 2011 draft. Unfortunately, Vogelbach would eventually find himself on borrowed time as the Cubs acquired Anthony Rizzo the following year.

There was no way he’d end up dethroning Rizzo at first base, so using him as a trade piece made more sense. Obviously, one that involved an American League team considering his size and power, fitting the designated hitter profile such as David Ortiz.

Debut

Vogelbach found himself on Seattle’s Major League roster on September 12, 2016. During a limited playing window, Dan struggled to find his footing, recording only one hit in 12 plate appearances.

Ahead of his breakout arrival this season, the 26-year-old powerhouse managed to tally 24 hits, four home runs, and 13 RBI between 2017-2018. Thankfully for his sake, he’s beginning to see the ball better in 2019 as the Mariners emerged as an early threat in the American League.

Along the way, the former second-round draft pick has reached early-career milestones with 132 at-bats, 34 hits, seven doubles, 14 homers, 30 RBI, and 29 walks while slashing .258/.393/.629/1.021.

On May 1 during a brief two-game encounter with his former team, Vogelbach went 0-for-3 in a Cubs 11-0 victory. He’ll get another shot at redemption when Seattle travels to Chicago to finish their four-game Interleague set on Monday, September 2.

Pending any hurdles along the way. Hopefully, the Cubs will be in a position to win the National League Central when it’s time for these two clubs to meet again.