Cubs prospect Christopher Morel shining at Double-A Tennessee

Christopher Morel tends to fly under the radar as he plays among the many hyped prospects in a deep Chicago Cubs system. Morel, 22, was signed out of the Dominican Republic back in 2015 and has played professionally in the system since 2017. Morel is currently ranked as the #21 prospect in the system per MLB.com. He is hailed for his athleticism, bat speed, speed as a runner and arm strength. He is also versatile, playing at short, third and centerfield.

It has been kind of a roller coaster for him since being drafted, both on and off the field. He sustained a non-baseball injury after being drafted and has seen mixed results at the plate. However, his recent performance has been very impressive and a positive sign for his development.

Christopher Morel is tearing it up in the Cubs system this season

Going into Thursday, Morel sported a .309/.385/.543 slash with four home runs, .928 OPS and 149 wRC+ in 21 games with Double-A Tennessee. He has made some very nice plays in the field as well. He is hitting 42.1 percent of batted balls in the air and a 21.1 percent of batted balls on a line.

Last season, Morel was playing in his first professional season since 2019 due to the COVID pandemic. He played with both Tennessee and Triple-A Iowa, slashing .223/.303/.427 with 18 home runs and .729 OPS in 111 games. The slash was not great, but he displayed very nice power with the 18 homers, 18 doubles and five triples. While he played in only 10 games at Triple-A, he hit .257/.333/.371 while there.

It was an abnormal season for so many MiLB players after missing 2020, so it is understandable the final numbers were not all that great. Now he looks like he is taking the next step as he is working on some of the kinks.

Morel is currently projected to make the Majors in 2023. He will certainly want to get more playing time in Triple A before making his MLB debut. With the way he is playing, he certainly looks deserving to get promoted sooner than later. It is a matter of the opportunity opening up for him.

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Looking at what he has done in the system, Morel could be a potential utility man who is a plus defender. He has not been much of an OBP guy, sporting a 7.4 walk rate in the minors, but if he can hit for the power and connect his quick bat with MLB pitching, then he can be a useful piece in the future. Time will tell, but Morel has been a fun follow so far this year.