Chicago Cubs: Working our way up the organizational top prospect rankings

Chicago Cubs: Chase Strumpf, 2B

Rolling in at number nine is the Cubs’ 2019 second-round selection out of UCLA, Chase Strumpf. Strumpf is one of my favorite picks in recent years, and I do believe he will become something special at the big league level.

Strumpf began his professional career at Rookie ball. Playing only seven games before jumping up, the 21-year-old slashed .182/.406/.318 with an RBI and a 117 wRC+. While the average wasn’t there, other parts of his game did shine through positively.

Chicago then moved him from Rookie ball to Class-A Short Season Eugene. There, Strumpf played a majority of his games, registering 111 plate appearances. He turned that into a .292/.405/.449 slash line with two home runs and 14 RBI. Most notably, Strumpf improved his wRC+ up to 146.

Strumpf earned his way up to South Bend towards the end of the season. Unfortunately, Strumpf struggled out of the gate, slashing .125/.214/.292 in 28 plate appearances. Positively, his ISO did increase by a small margin, and his strikeout rate dropped a tiny bit.

While there is much more development ahead of Strumpf, what he showed in his first year at the professional level and what his potential brings leads him into the top ten of Cubs’ prospects. It’ll be exciting to see how Strumpf can improve and make an impact in 2020.