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Chicago Cubs: Chase Strumpf is showcasing his talents for Eugene
The Chicago Cubs landed a versatile bat in second-rounder Chase Strumpf in this year’s draft. Now with the Eugene Emeralds, Strumpf has been everything Chicago has wanted and more in a future major leaguer.
When the Chicago Cubs Theo Epstein and Jed Hoyer started their journey to find the next wave of future talent for the Cubs, they probably did not expect that Chase Strumpf would become part of that equation. However, once Strumpf began to slide, it became apparent that there was a realistic chance the club could land him. It is precisely what happened as the chips fell perfectly into place.
Strumpf spent his college career at UCLA. In three seasons as a Bruin, Strumpf carried a career .301/.414/.508 line with a .922 OPS. He was notorious for striking out, however, did manage to hold a 14.46 walk percentage.
In what was supposed to be a day one selection of the draft, Strumpf fell to day two which set Chicago up perfectly to grab him at number 64 overall. Strumpf has worked his way up to the Low-A Eugene Emeralds where he has already managed to find a good level of success.
Chicago Cubs: Finding success early on
Strumpf played just seven games in the Arizona Summer League before earning his call-up to the next level. He struggled in that span, slashing just .182/.406/.318, however, did finish with a well-above-average .369 wOBA and 117 wRC+.
In his 32 plate appearances, Strumpf struck out 21.9 percent of the time but also showed his patience by working a 21.9 percent walk rate. He scored a run in each of his first five games and had a couple of extra-base hits to add to his offense.
His call to Eugene kicked off with a bang as Strumpf finished 4-for-5 with an RBI and two doubles. He would hit safely in his first four games for the Emeralds, recording multi-hit affairs in his first three contests.
Chicago Cubs: Another call-up on the horizon?
Strumpf just saw his seven-game hit streak come to an end this past weekend. Impressively, he struck out only five total times which for a guy with a high strikeout rate is indeed pretty great. Overall though his 22 games thus far with the Emeralds, Strumpf has managed to produce a .299/.406/.468 line with a significantly improved .406 wOBA and 147 wRC+, respectively.
The strikeout rate is still high, sitting at 24 percent, yet Strumpf is still managing his at-bats well by working walks 12.5 percent of the time. He also has a couple of big flies along with 13 runs driven in, and while power has never been an issue for Strumpf, it is wonderful to see him driving the ball.
A whopping 27 percent of the balls traveling off his bat is classified as line drives, and his fly ball rate is a mighty 47.3%. While his natural ability is to pull the ball off the bat, Strumpf does possess the talent to drive the ball to the opposite field which will bode well for him as he continues on his professional journey.
Chicago Cubs: Forging his path to the Show
Ranked as the 57th-best prospect in this year’s draft by ESPN’s Keith Law, Strumpf’s 2019 season at UCLA was noted as the reason as to his value dropping. Strumpf did slash .289/.431/.469 last year however it was far from stellar in retrospect to his 2018 season. That year, Strumpf slashed .363/.475/.633 with a career-high in home runs.
Nevertheless, it is an excellent thing that Strumpf fell to where he did. Epstein has always been an outstanding judge of talent, and when the opportunity arose for an impact infielder on day two, he did not take any chances.
Next. Chicago Cubs: Where are these former Cubs now?. dark
Strumpf has an estimated time of arrival to the big leagues in 2021. Javier Baez will be in the late stages of arbitration by that point as well as Addison Russell. It would be a surprise to see Russell on the team in a couple of seasons and with veteran Ben Zobrist shortly making his return. He is another crucial part for the Cubs who could, in theory, have chosen to retire by that point.
Strumpf is the team’s current number ten overall prospect in their pipeline, and with a cluster of infield prospects outside of Strumpf, it remains to be seen when he will work his way to the top. At just 21 years old Strumpf has all the time in the world and fans could see a duo of him and Nico Hoerner as the future catalysts of the offense. Whatever the case may be, Strumpf is making an impact, and that should excite fans.