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Chicago Cubs: Luis Devers and Kelvin Feliz are two future prospects to watch
It may be true the Chicago Cubs do not have a top farm system in baseball, or more than a couple of top pitching prospects in the pipeline, however, the future is bright with a couple of up-and-coming hurlers.
Perusing through the endless amount of content I have created surrounding the Cubs and their farm system, I somehow missed the boat on a couple of young hard-throwing right-handers who have seemingly improved exponentially over their first two years in professional baseball.
While the two together are probably still four to five years away from reaching the Show, the future is a bright one for both young kids and a step in the right direction for the development of the pitching core as we head into a new decade of Cubs baseball.
Trusting Theo Epstein has become more difficult in the last couple of years. The state of the Cubs feels almost like an asteroid off course hurtling toward the earth. Okay, maybe this is an overreaction, but Wrigleyville is in full tilt, especially as the rest of the division continues to make moves.
Fear not though, because while we may have to wait for what feels like an eternity, at least there is a level of talent in the system that still exists, and that should give us solace.
Chicago Cubs: A tale of two starters
Luis Devers and Kelvin Feliz are two prospects most fans don’t know exist. Without a notion to dig into the Fangraphs leaderboards, these two guys may as well not exist in the eyes of Cubs fans. Most people are not as intrigued by the future guys as myself, I will admit, which is why it is essential to continue touching on those who find themselves away’s away from making an impact.
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Devers and Feliz were a part of the Cubs’ 2017 international class. Signed at 17 years old, Devers has dominated in his first two years while Feliz took his first year at rookie ball to figure his stuff out and how it would play. Considering the lack of production in his first pro season, Feliz turned it around last year.
In his first year with the organization, Devers posted a solid 2.77 ERA in 55 1/3 innings. The right-hander made 14 appearances with 13 of those as starts. Devers managed a well-above-average 3.59 FIP and a slightly higher 3.64 xFIP, respectively. The walks became an issue with Devers, but he limited the long ball.
Feliz, meanwhile, struggled immensely in his first professional season in 2018. Making 13 starts, spanning across 50 1/3 innings, Feliz finished with a not so great 5.54 ERA, with a below-average 4.39 FIP and 4.25 xFIP. His strikeout to walk ratio was a horrendous 4.9 percent, as Feliz walked 14.4 percent of the batters he faced.
Chicago Cubs: A chance at redemption
This past season was each of Devers’ and Feliz’s second professional season as the pair remained at rookie ball to gain some more reps and innings. Devers was better this past season than in 2018. However, the most significant jump was Feliz and his much-improved production.
Devers finished with a 2.66 ERA, slightly ahead of where he was the year before last. The biggest jumps were in Devers’ FIP and xFIP as the 19-year-old improved in each category significantly. By the end of the year, Devers had posted a 2.98 FIP and 3.03 xFIP, respectively. If it was not enough of a positive thing, Devers also saw an increase in his strikeouts to 23.2 percent as well as a decrease in his walks from eight percent to just over five percent.
Feliz excelled in 2019 and was one of the best overall prospects in the Cubs’ rookie league. His ERA finished at just 2.12 across 59 1/3 innings, and Feliz managed to decrease his FIP and xFIP as well drastically. The strikeouts rose, and the walks dipped, as well as his home runs. While his LOB numbers were scary high at 81.1 percent, so long as he can improve on that, he should be fine.
Chicago Cubs: Future expectations
As discussed above, it is realistic to expect these two to be closing in on the Show by around 2023-24. Devers and Feliz went the opposite way in their seasons with ground ball rate as Devers greatly improved upon his 2018 numbers while Feliz saw a more considerable increase in his fly-ball rate.
Next. Nico Hoerner could be the Rookie of the Year. dark
Assuming, of course, that Feliz can get that aspect under control, as well as his LOB numbers, these two could profile as future arms either in the rotation or out of the pen. There is still a ways to go for Devers and Feliz. Right now, however, all they can do is to continue to progress and hope their talent does not drop off. Especially for the sake of the front office and the fans, we all should hope these two kids turn out a few years down the road.