The Chicago Cubs had little choice in promoting first base prospect Matt Mervis to the Major Leagues. Mervis was putting up huge numbers at Triple-A Iowa, and it forced the hand of Jed Hoyer and the other executives in the front office.
Matt Mervis has had an interesting path to MLB as he wasn’t even drafted out of college. It was only a few years ago that he even started hitting as he began his collegiate career as a starting pitcher.
The Cubs are hoping that Mervis will be able to display the same power at the big league level that he was showing down in the Minor Leagues. Fans quickly gave him the nickname of “Mash” as he just continued to hit home runs at every stop throughout the system.
Mervis made his MLB debut at Wrigley Field in a series with the Miami Marlins, and he had a pair of RBI singles during that first series. He has started every game at first base since getting the promotion, but is still looking for his first home run through four games.
The Cubs are hoping that Matt Mervis will be a cornerstone of the next great Cubs team, and there is definitely plenty of hype surrounding him. Hoyer and manager David Ross are hoping that Mervis will hit with the Cubs as being forced to send him back down to Triple-A would be a huge problem.
A lack of production from veteran Eric Hosmer really forced the hand of the Cubs, and the fact that this team is in the heart of a divisional title race. Matt Mervis will definitely have some growing pains to work through at times, but he has all of the tools to become a dominant player at this level.
Amaya Debuts First
Most believed that Matt Mervis would be the first major prospect to get promoted this year, but it was actually Miguel Amaya that took home that honor. Amaya wasn’t even at Triple-A when he was called up as he was catching down at Double-A Tennessee.
This is a name that Cubs fans are familiar with as he was once one of the top-ranked prospects in the organization. Amaya has dealt with a ton of setbacks and injuries over the past few years, but he has always had the talent to be a solid everyday player in MLB.
Amaya got called up after Yan Gomes went on the IL with concussion-like symptoms, and he is not expected to be with the team for a long stretch of time.
Morel Back With Cubs
On Monday afternoon, fans started to notice that Christopher Morel was back in Chicago and hanging around Wrigley Field. The Cubs soon made the move official by announcing that Morel had been recalled from Triple-A Iowa.
Sending Morel to Triple-A out of Spring Training was a tough decision for manager David Ross as he was a great everyday player during the 2022 season. Morel could have been upset about the demotion to begin the year, but he went down to Triple-A and dominated the competition.
At the time that Morel was recalled by the Cubs he had the best offensive stats in all of baseball. He wasn’t in the lineup to begin the series with the ST. Louis Cardinals, but he is expected to get plenty of action in the weeks ahead.
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