Chicago Cubs: Chase Strumpf is showcasing his talents for Eugene

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.

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.