Chicago Cubs: Top catching prospect Miguel Amaya needs Tommy John surgery

MLB.com Chicago Cubs beat reporter Jordan Bastain reported Tuesday that Miguel Amaya, the team’s top catching prospect, is widely expected to need Tommy John surgery. Amaya, 22, is ranked as the team’s fourth overall prospect. There is currently no timetable for his return to action, but regardless this is a very tough blow for one of the team’s top prospects.

Chicago Cubs: The outlook on Miguel Amaya and his future

Amaya was considered a top-100 prospect prior to 2021. The past few years have been rough for his development. This season, he played in only 23 games in Tennessee before missing the rest of the season. He slashed .215/.406/.304 with one home run and 21 walks. In 2020 he obviously did not play any MiLB games due to the COVID-19 pandemic but played a little bit in the Criollos de Caguas winter league in Puerto Rico.

Now, he faces yet another setback – this time in the form of Tommy John.The hope was to get him back in action in 2022 after missing so much time and see him make his way to the majors sooner than later. Amaya was part of the Cubs’ active 40-man roster.

This is tough news no matter how you look at it. Amaya has worked really hard in the minors and he is still an important piece in the farm system, even though his stock has begun to drop in recent years. Despite low batting averages, he had displayed good on-base skills with respectable pop in his bat. He is one of two catching prospects in Chicago’s top-30 crop, with the other being 20-year old Pablo Aliendo.

Now the only healthy catcher on the current 40-man roster is Willson Contreras. There was always going to be a need for the Cubs to go out and get more catching depth, but this is even more important now.

It is worth noting that Contreras will be on his final year of team control in 2022. It would be wise for Jed Hoyer to get on acquiring some veteran depth at the position or, at the very least, locking up Contreras long-term.