On Wednesday, MLB.com senior reporter Jordan Bastian held an “Ask Me Anything” on Reddit with Cubs fans at r/CHICubs. This mailbag features questions and answers from the AMA, the full version of which can be read here.
Questions and responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Owen Caissie has been hot lately. Any chance he gets called up soon? If so, where would he fit?
Hot is an understatement. Try: scorching. Last five games: .545/.600/1.455 with six homers (three multi-homer games), two doubles, three walks and eight RBI.
No, I don't think he'll get called up soon, barring something unexpected. The outfield is locked in with Ian Happ, Pete Crow-Armstrong and Kyle Tucker, plus Seiya Suzuki able to fill in there and serve as the main DH. There just aren't at-bats for Caissie, unless one of those guys winds up dealing with something and Chicago needs a fill-in.
This is Caissie's second year at Triple-A Iowa, but he just turned 23 and is still 4+ years younger than the average Triple-A position player. With the Cubs, next year feels more realistic. I just don't see the point of having him sit on the bench for sporadic pinch-hit opportunities.
That said, he is now Pipeline's top Cubs prospect (after Cade Horton and Matt Shaw graduated) and will probably be a trade chip in Chicago's hunt for starting pitching at the Deadline.
What is going on with Matt Shaw? Normal rookie adjustment process or something deeper at play?
I see this more as a typical learning curve for a young player in the Majors. We saw a long runway for Pete Crow-Armstrong before something finally clicked. I do think Shaw had success for a long time with a pretty unique hitting style, and he's sorting out how to maintain pieces of what have made him a great hitter coming up, while tweaking to adjust to MLB pitching. That takes time.
If the Cubs did not have the rest of the offense lifting up the production, I'm not sure Shaw would be able to work these things out at the big league level right now. But he's playing solid enough defense and doing just enough at the bottom of the order, where the Cubs can live with it at the moment.
That said, it wouldn't surprise me to see the Cubs look for a third-base upgrade at the Deadline, either.
Update on Miguel Amaya?
Latest information we've received is that Amaya is hitting, throwing to bases and catching in workouts in Arizona. Cubs manager Craig Counsell said the hope was that moving into game action could come after the All-Star break.
Who is the most under the radar prospect in the system in your opinion?
I'll be interested in keeping tabs on Ronny Cruz (club's No. 12 prospect) as he climbs the ladder. The Cubs got him in the third round in the 2024 Draft. He's still just 18 and people in the organization see big potential. He just enjoyed a June with a 1.000+ OPS in the Arizona Complex League.
Do you think the Cubs have any real untouchable prospects? There’s guys like Jaxon Wiggins who I would hate to see go, but if it’s for a good (but realistic) starter, I would be fine. Just anyone who hasn’t made their debut.
I would hesitate to put an "untouchable" label on any prospects, to be honest. After the Cubs traded Cam Smith over the winter, I think anything is on the table.
Did you grow up a Cubs fan?
I grew up in South Holland in Chicago's south suburbs. As a kid, I was actually a fan of both teams (gasp!), but I gravitated more toward the Cubs as I got older. Ryne Sandberg was my childhood favorite and then Sammy Sosa when I was a bit older. I was in college during The Bartman Game. Some of my earliest memories are watching the Cubs with my Grandpa Bastian. But my mom was raised on the true South Side and was a White Sox fan. So, you can see how I was pulled in both directions.
As a reporter, our job is to remain unbiased. I enjoyed covering Toronto and Cleveland for my first 14 years at MLB.com. It taught me to learn about other fan bases' culture and to research the history of more than just Chicago. And by the time I got back to Chicago in 2019, I had those tools, plus a built-in knowledge of Cubs history.