The Chicago Cubs begin a three-game series against the Philadelphia Phillies on Tuesday night and they’re going to do it with a new hitter on their bench. The team has officially called up 27-year-old first baseman and sometimes corner outfielder Jared Young from Triple-A.
Young, who got his first taste in the majors late in the 2022 season, has been on fire with the Iowa Cubs for the past month and he’s done more than enough to earn another shot in the big leagues with the team that drafted him in the 15th round back in 2017. You always like to see these kind of stories from minor leaguers, who spend several years chasing their dream, get their first call up, are momentarily passed up, but they never quit on trying to make it back.
Young only had 27 at-bats in Triple-A during the month of April, as the Iowa Cubs had a loaded roster with a handful of players that eventually made it up to the majors. It wasn’t until May, when Young once again started to have regular playing time and since then, he’s more than taken advantage of it to get back on the radar.
During the month of June, Young has been red-hot, posting a ridiculous slash line of .395/.489/.789, with 8 home runs in 90 plate appearances, leading to a 213 wRC+.
To make room on the Cubs’ active 26-man roster, left-handed hitting utility man Miles Mastrobuoni has been sent back down to Triple-A. Meanwhile, left-handed relief pitcher Brandon Hughes was moved to the 60-day injured list to open up a spot for Young on the team’s 40-man roster.
But it just hasn’t been a hot three weeks at the plate for Young. Dating back to May 9, he’s played in 38 games and has slashed .361/.456/.647, with 10 home runs. He’s done a good job of limiting his strikeouts, posting a 20.8 K% while drawing a good amount of walks with a 13.8 BB% in his last 159 plate appearances.
It will be interesting to see where David Ross finds playing time for Young, but he should be in the mix for some DH at-bats and can obviously fill in at first base because Trey Mancini should not play another defensive inning at first ever again for the Cubs unless there is literally no one else available during a game.
Young got his first MLB call up in September of last year and he played in six games. He wen 5-for-19, with a pair of doubles, three walks and seven strikeouts.
As for Mastrobuoni, man what a disappointing season it’s been for him. You know the Cubs expected much more from the 27-year-old, but he simply has not done much at all with the chances he’s gotten this season. Mastrobuoni has played in 29 games this year and has slashed .145/.254/.177, with 19 strikeouts and 9 walks in 72 plate appearances.
At the very least, Young will actually provide a hopefully useful lefty bat off the bench.
nice