Cubs to promote top infield prospect for his MLB debut

The Cubs are promoting infield prospect Luis Vazquez to the majors, according to ESPN’s Jorge Castillo (who also happens to be Vazquez’s cousin). The 24-year-old Vazquez will be making his MLB debut whenever he appears in his first game.

Since the Cubs’ next game isn’t until Tuesday, Vazquez’s call-up seems tied to Nico Hoerner’s health status. Hoerner hasn’t played since last Monday due to a balky hamstring, and while the Cubs were hopeful Hoerner would be able to play Tuesday, it could be that the team decided that an official injured list stint was necessary to get Hoerner fully recovered. 

Dansby Swanson is also already on the IL recovering from a knee sprain and was expected to be activated on Tuesday, so it is possible Vazquez could be joining the Cubs if there has been some unknown setback in Swanson’s recovery.

Whatever the case, the door has been opened for Vazquez to get his first shot at the big leagues. A 14th-round pick for the Cubs in the 2017 draft, Vazquez didn’t do much at the plate until last season, when he batted a combined .271/.361/.456 with 20 home runs over 528 plate appearances almost evenly split between Double-A and Triple-A. 

The hot hitting has continued into this season, as Vazquez has slashed .270/.369/.409 with three homers across his 164 PA with Triple-A Iowa.

This breakout year led the Cubs to put Vazquez on their 40-man roster last November in advance of the Rule 5 Draft, and for some extra attention from the pundits — MLB Pipeline has Vazquez ranked as the 13th best prospect in Chicago’s farm system, while Baseball America has him 14th. 

As per Pipeline’s scouting report, Vazquez was able to straighten out his swing and make better contact after learning to lower his hands at the plate, thus unlocking some extra power potential. Between these improvements and Vazquez’s highly-touted defense, both Pipeline and BA think Vazquez now has a path to a Major League role as a versatile bench player.

Vazquez’s glovework and throwing arm each merit 60s on the 20-80 scouting scale, and as Pipeline puts it, “he’s so good at short that Chicago rarely has deployed him at other positions.” 

Vazquez does have some experience at second and third base and shouldn’t have much trouble at either position given his shortstop capability, making him an interesting utility option for the Cubs on at least a temporary basis. 

Miles Mastrobuoni and Nick Madrigal have been filling the middle infield roles with Swanson and Hoerner out, and if both players are indeed back on Tuesday, Mastrobuoni could find himself relegated back to Triple-A to create room for Vazquez’s promotion.