With the Cubs winning six of their last seven games, it may seem difficult to shift focus to how prospects have been doing down in the farm system.
But Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo weren’t the only ones who performed well throughout the month of May.
On Thursday, the Cubs announced prospects Jhonny Pereda and Cory Abbott as the respective minor league player and pitcher of the month for their performances throughout May.
Pereda, a 22-year-old catcher from Venezuela, hit .297 and accumulated an .846 OPS last month with Single-A Myrtle Beach. Showing power and discipline at the plate, Pereda hit three home runs, tallied 16 RBIs and walked 14 times in 23 games during May.
The right-handed catcher has achieved a .297/.370/.413 slash line with 30 RBIs in his 2018 campaign, making the most of his preseason promotion to the High-A level. As an international signing in his sixth year within the Cubs organization Pereda leads Myrtle Beach and ranks top 10 in the Carolina League for highest batting average in 47 games played.
Abbott, who is also 22 years old, ranks as the 28th best prospect in the Cubs’ farm system, according to MLB.com. In six starts with Single-A South Bend, the right-handed Abbott struck out an eye-popping 41 hitters during the month of May, topping all pitchers in the organization. During that span, Abbott notched a 3-1 record and a 2.67 ERA with only 11 walks. His ability to make bats miss helped him earn a promotion to High-A Myrtle Beach, making his first start with the Pelicans Thursday.
After nine total starts this season with South Bend, Abbott has accumulated a 4-1 record with a 2.47 ERA. The 2017 second-round pick has 57 strikeouts this year, but that’s not the only strong statistic. Abbott only walked 16 batters in 14 career minor league starts before he stepped on the mound for the first time with Myrtle Beach Thursday night.
MLB
Even after their success this season, both Pereda and Abbott will have a long road ahead of them to get to the big leagues with the kind of talent the Cubs have had recently.
The Cubs have a franchise catcher in Willson Contreras, who leads qualified MLB catchers in OPS this year. As long as Contreras is in the mix, Pereda will have a hard time winning a starting spot in the major leagues as long as he is in the Cubs organization.
But Abbott could be a different story. His youth and proven performance in the minors have made him someone to monitor in the coming seasons.