Cubs: 2 prospects to call up and replace Joc Pederson

The Chicago Cubs should call up one of the following players to replace Joc Pederson and help their offensive woes in the outfield.

After taking a free fall from first place in the NL Central, all signs are pointing towards a selloff for the Cubs at the July 30 trade deadline. Chicago has already parted ways with Joc Pederson in a deal with the Braves on Thursday, leaving room for a replacement on the big-league roster.

As of now, the current outfielders on the roster consists of Jason Heyward, Ian Happ, Jake Marisnick, and Rafael Ortega. Kris Bryant has played a majority of his games (52) across all three outfield spots this season, but whether or not he’s on the team in the upcoming weeks remains to be seen.

Regardless, the Cubs have gotten little to no production from both Happ and Heyward. They’ve consistently clogged the lineup and killed rallies all year, as neither has a batting average above their weight. It’s worse when they’re in clutch opportunities, as Heyward is posts a .182 BA and Happ owns a .205 BA with runners in scoring position this season.

At some point, Chicago needs to consider moving on from one or both of these two if others can produce. It won’t be easy getting rid of Heyward and his remaining two-years, $44 million beyond this season, but exercising one of Happ’s remaining minor-league options would be more convenient.

Rather than focus solely on moving the remaining core players they don’t want to pay, it’s time the Cubs look towards the future in their outfield.

2. Brennen Davis is a bright spot for the Cubs’ future

If there is some hope towards offensive production for Cubs outfielders, it comes in the form of the team’s No.2 prospect, Brennen Davis.

Davis, 21, was selected out of high school in the second round of the 2018 MLB Amateur Draft. Currently listed at No.45 in MLB’s Top-100 prospect rankings, he made headlines when he launched two home runs and took home MVP honors at the All-Stars Future game on Sunday.

According to MLB Pipeline, Davis has the ability to play all three outfield positions and his plus-speed and power gives him “30-homer, 30-steal upside”.

In 33 games at Double-A Tennessee this season, Davis is slashing .274/.388/.478 with four home runs and 14 RBIs in 134 plate appearances.

Given his limited experience in the minors (0 games at Triple-A), it’s unlikely the Cubs will rush Davis to the majors if he doesn’t appear ready. Taking advantage of service time manipulation will also be a factor.

Still, if he continues to play well there’s no risk of at least a September call-up this season to see how Davis fares against big-league competition. This would give a better idea of which outfielders should be kept going forward.