Cubs Amaya is Tearing the Crap Outta the Ball in Winter League: Team in Championship
Whenever there is a Willson Contreras trade rumor, it is because the organization has a ton of depth at the catcher position. Back in 2017, I spoke with Matt Dorey, Cubs vice president of player development about the catcher’s position and how they’ve created so much depth here.
“From a pure scouting perspective we pride ourselves on looking at catching through a wider lens, taking in consideration with specific body types, athletic attributes, baseball IQ, leadership qualities, and as always with any position player their ability to manage their at bats in addition ability to drive the baseball.” Matt continued, “We have had some success with converting some college infielders behind the plate as well and I give our area scouts a lot of credit with having the ability to scout outside the box.”
“They [area scouts] get to know the player on a personal level and really determine if they have passion for the position as this often time becomes the separator for long term success behind the plate,” Matt explained. “The catching position is not for the faint of heart and you have to be completely bought in, unselfish, and committed to the grind both physically and mentally to be able to progress through the minor leagues and impact a big league roster.”
Over the past several years, the Cubs have produced Willson Contreras, Victor Caratini, Miguel Amaya, Ethan Hearn, and Ronnier Quintero. Not many teams are as deep at the position as the Cubs are, and it is due to the focus the team has made and their willingness to look outside the box at times.
The noise right now is on Amaya and his incredible performance in Winter League ball. He has a .261/.533/.609 slash line as he has led Criollos de Caguas to the Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League finals in Puerto Rico. He went 2-for-3 in game four of the semifinals, with two doubles and three RBI. He added two homers and had a total of 11 RBI in the 10 games.
Amaya’s .533 OBP was tops in the league, his 1.161 OPS was second, and his 11 RBI was good for fifth. This performance, while a small sample, reinforced what many from the Cubs mentioned they have been impressed with his work and maturity over the past 12 months. He’s already known for his solid defensive ability and leadership qualities, now he’s beginning to fill out his frame and becoming the dangerous hitter that many in the organization believed he would be.
Bases loaded? Not anymore.
Miguel Amaya came through with a bases-clearing double tonight in the @LBPRC. More on the Cubs' No. 3 prospect: https://t.co/3oDiuMUnsz
pic.twitter.com/2981fJKM4x— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) January 8, 2021
Now, there has been an idea, and I have even floated it, that the team could move Contreras for Amaya. He likely isn’t ready for the starting job in 2021. I doubt he’s able to see some time in the big leagues in 2021, but I don’t believe the organization would be willing to call him up this early, knowing that it will be a could more years before any other real prospects are ready to contribute. Now, a player will always prove when he is ready (similar to Ian Happ, as he was not on the Cubs radar in 2017, but he showed the team he was ready for that jump through his play. There was a different feel between the two, Happ was to be a complimentary player to the current roster (he might be one of the pillars of the next group) and Amaya is a sign of the next wave and next window.
While the Cubs *could* trade Contreras because of Amaya, that isn’t going to be why the team may trade him. While there are still rumors abound about Contreras (i.e. Craig Mish’s news today) I wouldn’t anticipate Amaya playing in Wrigley in 2021.
The Cubs would then likely turn to free agency for a catcher, however, my thought would be any team trading for Contreras would return a catcher to the Cubs.
