Chicago Cubs: Brennen Davis is putting it all together

The Chicago Cubs drafted an extremely raw Brennen Davis in the second round of the 2018 draft and he’s putting it all together in South Bend.

Committed to the University of Miami, the Chicago Cubs drafted Brennen Davis in the second round of the 2018 MLB Draft. He decided to forgo his commitment to the “U” and start his professional baseball career. Davis was considered to be an extremely raw outfielder but was loaded with potential.

After being drafted, he participated in the Arizona Fall League and slashed 0.298/0.431/0.333 with 2 doubles and 3 RBI’s in 18 games. He spent much of the offseason revamping his swing and did not make his 2019 debut until May 25 for South Bend.

"Amateur scouts tracking Davis during his high school career noticed him making swing changes during his senior season, adding more fluidity to the swing and working to get the ball in the air more even when he was limited more to cage work due to the injury. His swing has only gotten better since joining the Cubs organization.“Since moving into pro ball a lot of stuff has been swing path,” Davis said. “Finishing high and (getting) A-to-B contact … It’s going to make my game so much better.”Cubs minor league hitting coach Michael Carter has worked closely with Davis since last summer and has seen continual progress from the young outfielder.“Brennen has been working a lot on his swing path and trying to keep his hands from getting out around the baseball,” Carter said. – Baseball America"

Davis started the season ranked as the seventh-best prospect in the orginization and should see a boost not only in the Cubs’ rankings, but figures to crack MLB’s Top 100 prospects list at some point this year.

He’s been on fire for Single-A South Bend, slashing 0.296/0.370/0.484 with 9 doubles, 5 home runs and 23 RBI’s (wRC+ 145) in 45 games. Davis has shown the ability to hit to all parts of the outfield including an opposite field walkoff home run on Saturday night.

He took a pitch off his fingers in Monday’s game, so we’ll see what comes of that but hopefully he doesn’t miss too much time. Assuming he’s healthy, Davis should be on the fast track to Wrigley Field. MLB has him projected to be ready by 2022, but he will likely remain in Single-A all season and could split time between Double-A and Triple-A in 2020 with the potential of arriving a year early in 2021.

Kyle Schwarber will be a unrestricted free agent in 2022, and if he and the Cubs cannot work out an extension, there will be an opportunity for Davis to become an everyday outfielder.