Number 18
Luis Vazquez SS
Age: 24
2023 Level(s): AA Tennessee, AAA Iowa
Joined the organization via: 14th Round Pick in the 2017 Draft
2023 Stats: 528 PA, .271/.361/.456 20 HR, 44 XBH, 10/20 SB, 54 RBI, 72 R
Luis Vazquez definitely wouldn’t have made this list last season (or any previous season for that matter). He’s a career .236/.304/.350 hitter who picked up more than half (20) of his career total (36) in homers last season.
That being said, he had a career year last year and it begs the question: is this a player that could help the Cubs as early as this season? He hit for significant power in terms of both homers and doubles, he has good speed even if he was a little overly aggressive on the basepaths last season and he can get on base while playing solid middle-of-the-diamond defense.
Good teams have players like Vazquez who come out of nowhere and help the major league club when things go awry. In a perfect world, Dansby Swanson and Nico Hoerner play 162 games each at shortstop and second base respectively, but in the real world, it’s nice to have a solid player like Vazquez waiting in Iowa if he’s needed.