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After Nico Hoerner was surprisingly called up by the Cubs in September, Miguel Amaya became the big name representing them in this year’s Arizona Fall League. The No. 2 rated prospect in the Cubs’ minor league system finished the season strong at Myrtle Beach and Amaya has now been named to the AFL Fall Stars Game down in Arizona.
In eight games with the Mesa Solar Sox, Amaya is 9-for-28, with six RBIs, three runs scored and two doubles. Although Amaya hasn’t shown the pop in his bat, the young hitter continues to display his excellent plate discipline, drawing five walks, while striking out just seven times.
Here are the full rosters for the Fall Stars Game that will be played Saturday night.
Amaya had another solid year in the minors, posting a .753 OPS in 99 games, increasing his slugging % from .361 to .440 in the second half of the season.
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The 20-year-old is regarded as a good defensive catcher for his age and as his offense develops he’ll become a much more valuable prospect for the Cubs. Amaya might also give Theo Epstein motivation to possibly look to trade Willson Contreras this offseason, if the Cubs front office believes Amaya can become their next starting catcher in a few years. Maybe as soon as 2021?
That part is just me thinking out loud, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility, as Epstein promised change at his end-of-the-season press conference last week.
Out of the core players currently on the roster, Contreras seems to be the one guy who can bring back the most in a trade, while at the same time the Cubs have short-term options to replace him on the major league roster. And of course in the long term with Amaya.
Nevertheless, congrats to Amaya!
