Ah, Chicago. Come for the pizza and the bars, stay for the prospects.
Addison Russell, come on down.
The news leaked out late Monday – the Cubs are going to promote Russell, another touted prospect, in advance of Tuesday’s game at Pittsburgh. It looks like Russell will settle in as the team’s new second baseman.
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Kris Bryant, Carlos Rodon, now Russell - it’s been a fun five days.
The speedy promotion speaks to how highly the organization thinks of Russell. The 21-year-old infielder has been a shortstop for most of his pro career, but the Cubs still made the call after watching him play a week of second base at Triple-A Iowa. Russell also saw some keystone time in the Arizona Fall League, but it’s still a new position for him.
Fantasy owners want to talk about the offensive profile, of course, and there’s a lot to like. Russell posted a .301/.377/.520 slash line through his 244 Bush League games, with a mix of power (38 homers) and speed (44 bags in 53 attempts). He was off to a .318/.326/.477 start with Iowa, through 11 games (five at second base, six at shortstop).
Unlike Bryant, the Cubs are unlikely to give Russell a premium lineup spot right away. The 2-3-4 combination of Jorge Soler, Anthony Rizzo and Bryant seems chiseled in granite, and my guess is the club doesn’t want to take Dexter Fowler out of the leadoff spot, slow start to the side. Russell could easily wind up batting sixth, seventh or ninth – remember, the Cubs are one of those new-agy teams that use their pitchers in the eighth spot, even the ones who can’t hit.
The normal rules apply with buzzy promotions - add first, ask questions (and seek possible trades) later. Russell is still available in two-thirds of Yahoo leagues as we go to press. He’s a Top 5 prospect on everyone’s clipboard. He’s capable of filling all five roto categories down the road. Maybe he’ll produce right away, maybe he won’t, but when we see theoretical upside on the table, we have to take a stab.
There’s your opener for Tuesday – more bullets will follow shortly.
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