‘We won’t rush anybody’
Team plans to take it slow with top prospects, including Marquez
Cubs fans’ hopes heightened in late September when left-hander Brailyn Marquez made his majorleague debut despite not pitching above Class A.
Marquez isn’t the only prospect getting interest from Cubs fans. Outfielder Brennen Davis, catcher Miguel Amaya and pitchers Kohl Franklin and Ryan Jensen are a few players fans anxiously are waiting for as the next nucleus of homegrown players — especially with the possibility the core largely responsible for the 2016 World Series title and five playoff appearances in six seasons will be broken up soon.
The Cubs have holes, particularly in their starting rotation. But they will be filled internally only when prospects are deemed ready and not necessarily promoted based on need.
“You have to temper everybody’s expectations a little bit,” said Matt Dorey, the Cubs’ senior director of player personnel. “We have a really objective and datadriven approach. It’s a measured performance outside of the traditional metrics we’re accustomed to looking at.
“We have very individual plans and objective data driven goals on every one of these players. We’ll just stay true to those.”
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Marquez presents a unique case. Marquez, 21, has struck out 287 in 257 minor-league innings and had limited access to workouts during the shutdown because of strict lockdowns in his native Dominican Republic.
He was on a conservative schedule when he reported to the South Bend, Ind., alternate site in July, Dorey said.
But Marquez impressed quickly, developing a sinker and slider to complement his 100-mph fastball. His improvement convinced the Cubs to find a way to add him to the major-league roster and give him his debut against the White Sox.
“One thing that wasn’t talked a ton was that Brailyn hasn’t pitched a ton out of the bullpen,” Dorey said.
That meant changing his routine, including learning to throw on shorter rest and out of the stretch with more frequency.
“He made a lot of strides there,” Dorey said.
Marquez walked three, threw two wild pitches and was charged with five earned runs in twothirds of an inning against the Sox in his debut. But he threw 100 mph with little effort thanks to a smooth delivery.
As of now, Marquez is projected as a front-line starter. But as Craig Kimbrel enters the final season of a three-year contract, Marquez could at least entice team officials to look at him more closely as a closer if there’s a need while 2020 draft pick Burl Carraway works to harness his control.
“We won’t rush anybody,” Dorey said. “We’ll make sure they understand exactly what they need to accomplish. And we’ll build a plan that will put them in the best position to accomplish those things. They’ll earn that promotion when the time comes.”
The postponed minor-league season cost Amaya, projected as a possible replacement if Willson Contreras departs, to work on his swing with Double-A Tennessee.
Amaya, 21, a native of Panama, landed a spot on the Criollos de Caguas roster in the Puerto Rican League.
Dorey said the Cubs were fortunate Amaya found a place to play because of the shortened winter schedule and limits on nonnative players, adding that Angels coach and former Cubs minor-league coach Jesus Feliciano created a spot for him to play in a competitive setting.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound Davis, who ranks second among Cubs prospects by Baseball America, and Franklin (6-4, 190) each signed out of high school in 2018 and don’t have the experience that Jensen, who pitched three seasons at Fresno State, has.
That provides another reason to develop Davis and Franklin at a deliberate pace.
“There’s way more data on college players,” Dorey said. “Guys like Jensen have gone through their strength and conditioning, and you understand more what they’re going to be.
“Davis and Franklin aren’t done growing yet, either. You have to take that into consideration and give them more time on what they’re going to be.”