FIRST PITCH GAME PROGRAM
DESTINATION WRIGLEY
WHO WILL BE NEXT TO MAKE THE JUMP FROM THE BEND TO THE BIGS? By Josh Sperber
J
ason Vosler, Zack Short, Justin Steele, and Brailyn Marquez. These are the four most recent South Bend Cubs that made their MLB debuts. It’s a goal that any player you will see this season is striving to achieve, and South Bend is where it starts. Some of the top players in the game today, like Gleyber Torres, played their first full season of professional baseball at Four Winds Field. Now there is a new wave of young talent ready to prove they belong. The Cubs farm system isn’t the most admired in the majors, but they are certainly making improvements. Over the past 2 years they have jumped seven spots in MLB Pipeline’s rankings and landed three prospects in this year’s top 100. They are in the middle of the pack in terms of young talent, ranking 18th in 21-and-under minor league talent. And it is that contingent of younger talent that is leading the Cubs minor league system in its rise back to the prominence. You may remember a Championship victory last season right here in South Bend, where over 150 players who went on to the Major Leagues began their journeys. Steele became one of the first players to make his MLB debut in the 2021 season back in April. He struck out four batters in three and a third innings during his threegame stint in Chicago. Steele last played in South Bend in 2016, but there are plenty of Cubs prospects who played here as recently as the 2019 championship season who may be ready to make that jump. This begs the question that is on the mind of every person
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involved in Minor League Baseball, as a fan or employee: who’s next? Here are four former South Bend Cubs who have a shot at becoming a Chicago Cub this year.
Miguel Amaya, C (Cubs #3 Prospect, MLB Top 100: #81): Miguel Amaya has been a known entity in the Cubs system and throughout the minor leagues since he came in as a highly touted 16-year-old. Though the power-hitting catcher turned 22 less than two months before Opening Day, the 2018 Midwest League Midseason All-Star selection has played in the Futures Game and was named a Cubs Organizational All-Star in each of the two years he has played full-season minor league ball. Of those two seasons, Amaya played his best in South Bend, exhibiting power at the plate and skill in the field. He played most of his innings behind the plate, but he showed strong athleticism in the field in nine starts at first base. Amaya hit .256 with 12 home runs and 52 RBIs in South Bend and threw out 34 percent of potential base stealers. He left South bend with three different All-Star selections, as he was named a Midseason All-Star in conjunction with his organizational and futures game nods. At every level of the minor leagues, Amaya was praised for his maturity and advanced skill set for a young player. He has shown the ability to survive the daily wear and tear that is standard among catchers at all levels, consistently starting and putting up solid numbers behind the plate. He is still improving and steadily becoming more polished in all facets of the game, but Amaya has shown that he has all the tools to become a solid catcher at the major league level one day.
Continued on page 32... Facebook.com/SouthBendCubs
