3 Chicago Cubs prospects who have been on fire lately

The Chicago Cubs, written off and left for dead after trading nearly everybody of value at the trade deadline, have surprised some folks of late – winners of seven of their last height heading into the final weeks of the 2012 season.

Still, they find themselves a full 10 games out of a Wild Card spot and, while this isn’t about that, it begs the question that stranger things have happened in years past.

One thing for sure is this group, at its core, is not capable of putting together a viable product on the field day in and day out, which is why we’ve turned our coverage so heavily to the minors in the second half. As a result, there isn’t much to enjoy right now as a Cubs fan except, well, when your team somehow runs off seven straight wins and has the NL Player of the Week and Rookie of the Month for August in Frank Schwindel.

Instead, we look into the lower levels, where many of the future projected members of the major league squad continue to put in the work in the waning days of the MiLB campaign. There is a handful who have caught their wave of success over the past couple of weeks.

Chicago Cubs: An underrated 24-year-old catcher continues to perform well

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Bryce Windham became one of the most intriguing prospects last summer especially considering his 32nd round draft value in 2019. Windham continued to move up the ranks, and a couple of years after he last played baseball, Windham picked up exactly where he left off if not for the stoppage.

This season Windham is slashing .294/.376/.441, suitable for a 126 wRC+ and probably the best ‘catcher’ season at all levels of the organization. He has always been an above-average offensive player but now, to do what he is doing is fantastic for Cubs fans.

Windham is continuing that streak over the past couple of weeks. In his past nine games, he is slashing .400/.514/.633, one home run and five RBI. Windham’s walk numbers double the number of strikeouts, and he even has a stolen base. Windham is progressing nicely, and it would not be a surprise to see him in Tennessee at the end of this year as the Cubs continue to move him onward and upward.

Chicago Cubs: The kid from Mount Carmel is showcasing his first-round talent

As it has been touched on before, Ed Howard’s near carbon-copy major league comparison is Chicago White Sox shortstop Tim Anderson. The difference, at least in terms of size, is an inch of height. They were also selected one slot apart as Howard was the 16th overall pick in the first round in 2020 while the White Sox picked Anderson 17th overall in 2013.

Howard has struggled in his first year in professional baseball, hitting just .217/.273/.307 through 70 games at Myrtle Beach. The 19-year-old has, however, been on a tear over the past couple of weeks, and it should not go unnoticed that he has stepped up his game.

Over his past ten games, Howard is slashing a monstrous .342/.419/.500 with a .919 OPS and a 152 wRC+. The strikeouts have also decreased as he’s striking out at a 20.9 percent clip which is a near ten percent drop from where he is currently at 30 percent.

Getting the swings and misses under control will be the biggest hurdle for Howard, but that is to be expected since it is his first professional season, and he hasn’t faced college-level pitching. Nevertheless, Howard is the guy in the future who will man the void left by Javier Báez, and Cubs fans can get excited for what that future holds.