Chicago Cubs former prospects thriving at the MLB level

Chicago Cubs: Despite these players still having promise and shown flashes, these are trades that should not be regretted.

There are a few names that Epstein has traded away that did not fit with the Chicago Cubs, and that’s okay. One of the biggest examples is Jorge Soler. Once thought to be one of the core pieces of the Epstein rebuild, he could not stay healthy for a full season and did not develop as hoped despite showing flashes of greatness. Soler is currently hitting .239/.309/.500 with 23 homers in Kansas City.

Power and run production (59 RBIs) look outstanding. However, I would personally do the Soler-Wade Davis trade 10/10 times as Epstein did before the 2017 season. Davis converted 32/33 save opportunities and posted a 2.30 ERA, 1.14 WHIP and 12.1 K/9 in 58 2/3 innings in 2017. Soler’s defense is not good at all and will be best used as a DH in the American League, especially with the injury history.

Another example is Jeimer Candelario, who was involved in the Justin Wilson and Alex Avila trade in 2017. Wilson did not pan out as hoped, but Candelario has not exactly budded just yet. So far as a Tigers he has hit .234/.325/.389 with 25 homers in 222 games. Candelario played in 16 games as a Cub, but only when extra reinforcements were needed. He had no permanent place on the team. At least Avila had some big game-winning hits as a Cub in 2017 which aided to their division title.

The consensus on looking at the success of these prospects should arguably not necessarily be on what the Chicago Cubs Cubs lost, but what they still have. It is disappointing to see all these guys leave and have success while former big-time prospects still on the team like Albert Almora, Kyle Schwarber, Ian Happ and Addison Russell has not panned out as hoped.

Yes, some of these guys were key in a World Series run and have shown flashes, but we want to see growth with them, and that has not happened yet.