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Last Friday, the Cubs added top prospect Kris Bryant to the lineup, taking a step toward their bright future while also likely improving their present. Tuesday, they will add yet another piece of the puzzle by calling up shortstop prospect Addison Russell to play second base with Tommy La Stella on the disabled list. Russell was the prize received from the A’s in last summer’s Jeff Samardzija deal, and he’s not just some other promising player: he ranked third, fifth and second overall among prospects in Baseball America, MLB and Baseball Prospectus this spring respectively.
He might not be up for the long haul, as he’s only played 11 total games at Triple-A this season. La Stella didn’t exactly have a stranglehold on the position, though, so if Russell thrives in this chance, maybe he’s up for good. He won’t get to play shortstop, though, unless the Cubs move Starlin Castro, and as we’ve discussed before, that’s something they are open to.
It’s not just the Cubs bringing up their best prospects, as on the other side of Chicago, the White Sox have called up last year’s third overall pick in the draft, lefthander Carlos Rodon. Rodon impressed in spring training, but before that, shot all the way up to Triple-A in his first year of pro ball. He’ll pitch out of the bullpen at first, which should help him transition to major-league batters, but eventually, he’ll be a part of the Chicago rotation.
If the White Sox want to compete, they can’t have both John Danks and Hector Noesi in the rotation, not in the difficult AL Central. Rodon might not be able to reach his top-of-the-rotation ceiling out of the gate, but the 22-year-old just might be the stable, back-end presence they need.
- Carlos Rodon isn’t the first pitcher to start out his career in the ‘pen only to move to the rotation. Here are five current -- and successful -- MLB starters who kicked off their success as a reliever.
- Reds manager Bryan Price went on a tirade that included the F-word roughly every four seconds, for over five minutes.
- This is probably also a good time to discuss some contention between a Reds reporter and Reds public relations.
- Trevor Bauer was traded from the Diamondbacks a couple years back as then-GM Kevin Towers didn’t feel his development was worth the aggravation. It took some time, but Bauer is starting to break out with the team who took a chance on him.
- ESPN’s K-Zone is not the most popular new addition to their broadcasts.
- Brett Lawrie’s slide and the numerous hit by pitches that followed all got the Unwritten Rules grading treatment from Grant Brisbee. Please don’t throw objects at or near his head if you disagree with him.
- Nelson Cruz has been on a tear lately, and Jeff Sullivan broke it down over at FanGraphs.
- Kris Bryant hit a Little League homer on Monday night, with a little help from a Pirates’ defense that just couldn’t make the play end.
- Jose Iglesias had no such trouble putting hitters away. He just makes ridiculous plays look easy, like anyone at short could do them if they wanted to.
- Here are the Royals and their Disney villain counterparts.
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