Cubs prospects make good impressions in spring training originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Brennen Davis extended his arms, connecting on a pitch located on the outer half of the plate Monday against the Reds.
Some 400 feet later, the drive landed beyond the right-center field fence at Goodyear Ballpark in Arizona for a go-ahead two-run home run.
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Sure, it was only a Cactus League game, and spring training stats — while not entirely meaningless — are still only spring training stats.
But it doesn’t hurt to make a good impression, which Davis has done this spring.
“He’s made a really good impression,” Cubs manager David Ross told reporters in Arizona last week.
Davis will start the season in the minor leagues after the Cubs reassigned him to minor league camp last Friday.
But even during an abbreviated spring training, Davis, the No. 15 overall prospect in baseball, according to MLB Pipeline, has shown the tools and skillset that have the Cubs and many across the industry high on his potential.
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He’s gone deep twice this spring — the first home run crushed to the opposite field.
"It's hard to judge guys off just such short spring training, but you can tell he's just starting to fill out that body," Ross said. "He looks the part. He had a great season last year. Continue to build on that, and, hopefully, we see him really soon."
Davis, the consensus top Cubs prospect, could make his big-league debut this summer.
Some of the organization’s other top prospects are a few years away from the majors but have also had impressive moments during Cactus League play.
Ed Howard, the Cubs’ 2020 first-round pick, is 2-for-5 in three games this spring. He hit a double and two-run single Sunday against the Royals.
Pete Crow-Armstrong is regarded as the best outfielder defensively in the Cubs’ farm system. Some scouting reports said he was big-league ready defensively soon after the Mets drafted him three picks behind Howard in 2020.
Crow-Armstrong flashed his skill with the glove with a nice sliding catch on Sunday.
Additionally, Owen Caissie is 3-for-7 with a pair of doubles in three games this spring, and James Triantos (2021 second-round pick) went 2-for-2 with an RBI in his Cactus League debut last week.
MLB Pipeline ranked Triantos (No. 3), Crow-Armstrong (No. 6), Caissie (No. 8) and Howard (No. 14) as some of the Cubs' top prospects for 2022 earlier this month.
Good impressions, indeed.
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