The future for the Chicago Cubs has arrived and it is looking brighter than Clark W. Griswold’s house on Christmas.
The Cubs called up 22-year-old Jorge Soler from Triple-A and gave the Cuban outfielder his first career start on Wednesday. Oh yeah, and Soler just so happened to homer in his first career at-bat.
Batting fifth in the order, Soler took a 2-1 90-mph fastball from Mat Latos deep to center field to lead off the top of the second inning for the Cubs in Cincinnati. Though teams often give youngsters the silent treatment after their first home run, the Cubs were all thrilled in the dugout and couldn’t resist congratulating Soler with tons of high-fives.
Soler’s home run was just a continuation of what he had been doing at Triple-A. The 22-year-old was hitting .340/.432/.700 with 15 home runs in 62 games in the minors this season.
In addition to Soler, the Cubs have 22-year-old prospect Arismendy Alcantara up with the club, as well as 21-year-old Javier Baez, who has 7 home runs in 21 games but also 44 strikeouts. Perhaps the best prospect of the bunch is infielder Kris Bryant, who has destroyed minor league pitching but is unlikely to be promoted to postpone his eventual free agency.
