Chicago Cubs News: Miguel Amaya homers, Marcus Stroman shoves, and more

Chicago Cubs catching prospect Miguel Amaya launches first career Major League home run

After being recalled from Triple-A Iowa on Saturday, Chicago Cubs catching prospect Miguel Amaya launched his first career Major League home run on Sunday as he was in the lineup as the team's designated hitter against the San Diego Padres.

Amaya was 3-for-3 on the day including the 2-run home run and the conversation continued around what will be the best course moving forward for the catcher's development. For as much as the Cubs may like Tucker Barnhart's veteran presence, Barnhart is slashing .156/.257/.172 with a wRC+ of 27.

It is reaching the point where Barnhart's offensive deficiencies is making him unplayable. There is no reason why Amaya can't serve as the team's backup catcher for the remainder of the season. There has been pushback against this idea as some believe Amaya serving as a backup catcher at the Major League level may thwart his development by not catching every day as he would with the Iowa Cubs.

That is a misguided belief. Amaya, even as the backup to Yan Gomes, would still get catching duties at least once a week, and with the flexibility of having the designated hitter in the National League, there would be plenty of opportunities to get his bat in the lineup. Having an extended stint at the Major League level for the remainder of the season would be the best course for Amaya as he slots into the team's starting catcher role next season.

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Marcus Stroman dominates San Diego Padres

Chicago Cubs starting pitcher Marcus Stroman is an ace. The latest supporting piece of evidence for that claim was Stroman's start against the San Diego Padres on Sunday as he only allowed 1 run in 6 innings of work while striking out 6.

Stroman now leads all of Major League Baseball with 11 quality starts this season and for a team that will be in the market for starting pitching this winter, the Cubs would be best served to sign the veteran starting pitcher to a contract extension before the end of the season.

The Chicago Cubs avoid facing Shohei Ohtani as a starting pitcher

After the Chicago Cubs conclude their series against the San Diego Padres on Monday night, the team will begin a series with the Los Angeles Angels on Tuesday. Angels' two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani was previously scheduled to get the start against the Cubs on Thursday but with the Angels adjusting their rotation after the day off on Monday, Ohtani has been pushed back a day and will not be making the start on the mound against the Cubs.

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