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Cubs catching prospect Willson Contreras was called up to the big leagues on Friday. On Sunday he took his first pitch in a major league at bat and hit it into the center field bleachers.

The last Cub to hit a home run in his first major league at bat was Jorge Soler in 2014. Lately it seems like all of the young Cubs promoted from AAA make a splash almost immediately. Just last week it was 22-year-old left-fielder Albert Almora Jr. making his debut in the big leagues. He’s had an impact, with several hits at crucial points late in ballgames.

Cubs manager Joe Maddon said that Contreras will be making his first start Monday night, catching veteran pitcher John Lackey in a matchup againt the Cardinals.

In 2015, many said that it was abnormal for a team with so many young players to win so many games, but the Cubs have continued the trend into 2016.

Current Cubs players age 27 or younger

Name Birthdate Age
Albert Almora Jr. April 16, 1994 22
Addison Russell Jan. 23, 1994 22
Kyle Schwarber March 5, 1993 23
Javier Baez Dec. 1, 1992 23
Willson Contreras May 13, 1992 24
Jorge Soler Feb. 25, 1992 24
Kris Bryant Jan. 4, 1992 24
Kyle Hendricks Dec. 7, 1989 26
Jason Heyward Aug. 9, 1989 26
Anthony Rizzo Aug. 8, 1989 26
Matt Szczur July 20, 1989 26

How they got here

Anthony Rizzo was the first of the Cubs’ current group of young players to get his call-up to the team, way back in 2012 (Rizzo had spent some time with the Padres’ big-league club in 2011). Rizzo did play with a large group of youngsters in his first two seasons with the team, but many of them didn’t stick — a few of the exceptions being former Cubs shortstop Starlin Castro and catcher Wellington Castillo.

When Cubs young players joined the team

By game of the season, with date of their call-up


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Anthony Rizzo

June 26, 2012

Date of

first call-up

That all began to change in 2014. Kyle Hendricks, Javier Baez and Jorge Soler all made their MLB debuts that summer.

All three were impressive from the start: Baez and Soler both hit three home runs in their first three games, and Hendricks pitched 13 starts and finished the year with a 2.46 ERA.

2015 heralded the arrival of another trio of talented rookies. Eventual NL Rookie of the Year winner Kris Bryant, the smooth-fielding Addison Russell and the hard-hitting Kyle Schwarber all made large contributions to the Cubs' 97-win season.

2013

season

KEY

Games on the Cubs

major league roster

Trips to the

disabled list

2014

season

Kyle

Hendricks

July 10,

2014

Javier

Baez

Matt

Szczur

Aug. 5,

2014

Jorge

Soler

Aug. 17,

2014

Aug. 27,

2014

Kris

Bryant

2015

season

April 17,

2015

Addison

Russell

April 21,

2015

Kyle

Schwarber

June 16,

2015

July 17,

2015

Aug. 26,

2015

Sept. 1,

2015

Jason

Heyward

Signed

free agent

contract in

Winter 2015

2016

season

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Albert

Almora

Jr.

June 7,

2016

Willson Contreras

June 18, 2016

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Anthony

Rizzo

That all began to change in 2014. Kyle Hendricks, Javier Baez and Jorge Soler all made their MLB debuts that summer.

All three were impressive from the start: Baez and Soler both hit three home runs in their first three games, and Hendricks pitched 13 starts and finished the year with a 2.46 ERA.

June 26,

2012

Date

of

first

call-up

2013

KEY

Games on the Cubs

major league roster

Trips to the

disabled list

2015 heralded the arrival of another trio of talented rookies. Eventual NL Rookie of the Year winner Kris Bryant, the smooth-fielding Addison Russell and the hard-hitting Kyle Schwarber all made large contributions to the Cubs' 97-win season.

2014

Kyle Hendricks

July 10, 2014

Javier Baez

Aug. 5, 2014

Matt Szczur

Aug. 17, 2014

Jorge Soler

Aug. 27, 2014

Kris Bryant

April 17, 2015

2015

Addison Russell

April 21, 2015

Kyle Schwarber

June 16, 2015

Jason

Heyward

Signed

free agent

contract in

Winter 2015

2016

Albert

Almora

Jr.

June 7,

2016

Willson Contreras

June 18, 2016

Before the 2016 season, the Cubs added free agent Jason Heyward, 26. Despite being in his seventh season, Heyward doesn’t turn 27 until August. Schwarber’s early-season injury has sidelined the 23-year-old for the rest of the season. But the Cubs haven’t been shy about promoting prospects to fill the holes created by injury, first with Almora Jr. and now Contreras.

Pretty young, and pretty good

With the addition of Contreras, the Cubs are one of only eight MLB teams with 11 or more players under the age of 27. Most of the teams with so many young players have losing records or are stuggling to remain above .500, while the Cubs have the best record in baseball.

Number of young players versus winning percentage

Includes players currently on the disabled list


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WINNING PERCENTAGE (As of June 16)

.100

.200

.300

.400

.500

.600

.700

15

14

Losing records

Winning records

13

Marlins

12

CUBS

10

Red Sox

9

8

Rangers

7

Nationals

6

5

4

3

2

1

.100

.200

.300

.400

.500

.600

.700

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WINNING PERCENTAGE

(As of June 16)

.300

.400

.500

.600

.700

15

14

Losing records

Winning records

13

Marlins

12

CUBS

11

10

Red Sox

9

8

Rangers

7

Nationals

6

5

4

3

2

1

.300

.400

.500

.600

.700

Sources: MLB, Baseball-Reference.com

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