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Chicago Cubs: Three intriguing prospects to watch following Rule 5 Draft
The Rule 5 draft officially took place on Thursday morning. While the Chicago Cubs did lose a solid infield prospect in Vimael Machin, the club did gain a few interesting names to keep an eye on moving forward.
Entering Thursday, the Cubs had wiggle room with their current 40-man roster, giving them the chance to make some moves. The club selected five players in the Rule 5 Draft, and while all five probably will not make a significant impact, there are still a few guys to keep tabs on as we enter the new year.
The most significant loss for the Cubs was infielder Vimael Machin, who was selected by the Philadelphia Phillies. Machin showed up in 2019 between Double-A Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa, slashing .295/.390/.412 with a .802 OPS. Many fans were under the impression the club would protect Machin. It, however, did not happen, and the Phillies scooped up the 26-year-old.
Theo Epstein and company did not come away empty-handed, however. A trio of three prospects in Trevor Megill, Vance Vizcaino and David Masters will now call Chicago their home organization. While we don’t know the impact these guys will have on the club, there is an heir of intrigue surrounding them.
Chicago Cubs: Bolstering the relief core
While the buzz surrounding the big-name pitching names did not involve the Cubs, the team did not leave the Winter Meetings with nothing to show. The Cubs selected former San Diego Padres pitching prospect Trevor Megill in the first round of the Rule 5 draft.
San Diego drafted Megill back in 2015 and he’s experienced some success during his years in the system. In 2019, Megill posted a respectable 3.86 ERA across High, Double and Triple-A. At Double-A, Megill posted a 1.42 ERA over 6 1/3 innings. While that is barely a sample size to go from, it is still a promising outlook for the big 26-year-old right-hander
The 6’8″ hurler struck out 71 batters in 50 1/3 innings at Triple-A last season and managed to carry a strikeout rate north of 30 percent over all three levels.
Megill hosts a three-pitch mix of a fastball, slider, and curveball. His slider bites and sits between 84-86 mph and he can run his fastball up to 96 mph. Throw in a 12-6 curve, and Megill could profile this season as a reliable relief arm for David Ross and the Cubs.
Chicago Cubs: Finding help in the outfield
The Cubs also bolstered their outfield depth. Currently, however, their outfield is fine. Kyle Schwarber has dramatically improved his defense over the past two seasons, and Jason Heyward is a perennial Gold Glove candidate. The likes of Brennen Davis and Cole Roederer in the pipeline also greatly help.
A new face arrived with the club as they left the Winter Meetings, and that is former Colorado Rockies prospect Vance Vizcaino. Still just 25 years old, Vizcaino enjoyed success at Double-A for the Rockies in 2019. He slashed .266/.341/.408 with 32 stolen bases and a 121 wRC+.
Vizcaino spent just a season in Colorado’s organization before Chicago picked him up in round three of the Rule 5 draft. Before that, he was with Kansas City, experiencing some semblance of production.
The speed will be a significant factor for the Cubs who ranked 29th out of 30 teams in stolen bases last season. It does not hurt to keep a speedster on the bench, and that is precisely who the Cubs got in Vizcaino.
Chicago Cubs: Retooling the infield
After what was long overdue, the Cubs said goodbye to shortstop Addison Russell a couple of weeks ago. Now, after losing Machin to Philadelphia, the club made a new addition in infielder David Masters, formerly of the Washington Nationals.
Masters has been in professional baseball for a while. He is a former 13th round selection by Washington in the 2013 amateur player draft, yet is still only 26 years old. Machin is 26 years old himself, so it doesn’t feel like too much change in direction.
Beginning the year at Low-A, Masters worked his way to Double-A by the end of last season. Across the three levels, Masters slashed a respectable .256/.345/.466 with a .812 OPS. Masters finished his 2019 as an above-average player for all three leagues posting a wRC+ of 131, 150, and 110, respectively.
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While Machin should have been protected, Masters is a relatively decent consolation prize and should help to provide at-bats for the infield this upcoming season.