Chicago Cubs’ Trent Giambrone looks for a late-season call-up

The Chicago Cubs’ Trent Giambrone looks for a call up late in the year as he’s taken the cover off the ball in spring training.

The Chicago Cubs‘ Trent Giambrone was selected in the 25th round for a $1,000 out of Delta State in 2016. He was the NCAA defensive player of the year that senior year. $1,000 for a D.P.Y.? Sweet goodness. That’s impressive. He was recently sent down to minor-league camp, whether it’s Double-A or Triple-A he goes to–but it’s likely to be Triple-A.

And ‘smashing the leather’ off it was an understatement. He had a slash line of .458/.500/.625 with an OPS of1.125. He also had a home run, a double and 12 RBI. He only faced ‘Double-A’ pitching, but that’s fine. Double-A is fine by me. If he’s hitting, he’s money.

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At 26, he’s reached the edge of the scale–but take that with a grain of salt. He hit 23 home runs, 27 doubles, and a .779 OPS. It’s possible that he could be ‘stretching the edge’ of it. If that’s the case, lookout. But the 41BB/131K is a little disappointing. Granted, if he supplies the power? That’s irrelevant.

According to his ZiPS, he’s gotten worse. He’s ‘set’ for a disappointing year. He hits .222 with 17 home runs, 51 RBI with 19 triples and one triple. Obviously, these are projections and not the real deal. And the regular season? Mid-May or June, at the earliest. So the July 14 All-Star Game could be in jeopardy. Basically, with gatherings of 50 or less as dictated by the CDC, they’re a bit screwed–bite my tongue.

Anyways, Giambrone will be contributing part-time, if not full. He’s an average to an above-average player, and he was an exciting final cut for the 2019 season. In the last two seasons, he’s shown to handle second and third base plus the corner outfield spots.

David Ross–when the season starts–will be an exciting choice. He diminutive in size (5’8″, 175 lbs,) but he packs power in the package. He will be a notable choice if he makes the team. Ross has some leeway as to the players that were sent down to minor league camp. Now, he needs to make the 40-man roster, that’s a fact.

Giambrone will be an interesting story. He’s got the skills to be a major leaguer. There’s no denying that, even it is the ‘edge of the scale.’ The only question is, will he be?