Cubs Minors: BJ Murray Jr. continues to make improvements

The Chicago Cubs continue stockpiling a plethora of young inexperienced, and newly minted draft talent. Among that talent network, often tossed aside by scouts, writers, and those armchair quarterbacks who claim to know everything is a 22-year-old Bahamian kid starting to put it all together.

Bertram Gerard Alfonzo Murray is a stocky corner infielder on a journey in professional baseball. He is climbing the ladder at a rapid pace, as he began 2021 in the Complex League and is ending his 2022 campaign in High-A. However, Murray has also been quietly producing at a solid rate.

Cubs Minors: The system of unending talent

Murray slashed a respectable .286/.344/.482 in 2021, with a pair of home runs finishing the year with a 113 wRC+ in 16 games and 61 plate appearances. The Cubs moved Murray along to Single-A to begin the year as his year prior was strong. So the young switch-hitter took it and ran.

In 39 games with 161 plate appearances, Murray slashed .305/.441/.461 for Myrtle Beach and now finds himself in a new city and league at High-A Southbend. Naturally speaking, Murray continues to impress at a higher level as he holds his own through his first 56 games. I’d imagine Murray is near age/talent projection, as he is just a couple of months younger than his cohorts right now.

However, Murray also does not become Rule-5 eligible until December 2024. It is a beautiful thing for everyone. First, it gives Murray a somewhat-elongated window of time to continue his progression in showing the Cubs he belongs. Secondly, it assures fans that the team seems to be trying its best to bring quality talent while investing in that talent. Finally, there is more involvement in giving the correct amount of time and quality, which is exciting.

In the 95 games Murray has experienced in this 2022 season, he’s not too far off from when he began, and that is a nice thing to see. He slashed .286/.410/.429 with eight home runs between the two leagues and continuously showed off more power and consistency in each at-bat.

FanGraphs has the Cubs holding firm in the fourth spot, which seems so unlikely because they probably don’t have any recognizable names. Okay, that was a joke from a Cubs fan’s perspective.
Oddly enough, however, the general public feels that regarding the farm system hierarchy.

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At the same time, it’s like a giant game of roulette, except each square on the wheel is a different color. There is no accurate way of telling until you know, and Murray fits the mold perfectly as a genuine baseball guy. More importantly, he is beginning to build his future here, which is exciting for fans.