Late in spring training, Chicago Cubs outfielder Brennen Davis was optioned to Triple-A Iowa, with his sights still set on making his Major League debut sometime during the 2023 season. Davis is the Cubs’ No. 3 prospect and No. 92 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline. He saw a huge drop in his overall MLB Pipeline ranking after being ranked in the top 50 all of last season, and he almost dropped out of the top 100 as a whole.
Davis, who’s been highlighted as a top Cubs prospect for the better part of the last four seasons, has been dubbed a top outfielder who has what scouts call ‘unlimited potential’. But he’ll have to prove he’s ready for the big leagues by showing out at Iowa.
Prior to being optioned, Davis told reporters this about his intentions to work hard to be a part of the Cubs 26-man roster this season.
“I’m out here to compete and give them a tough choice to make at the end of the spring. That’s all I can do. And I know when my time is called, I’m going to be ready — whether that’s now or in a month or two months or whatever. I’m going to do whatever I can to be the best version of myself.”
While that will have to wait for a bit, Davis has all the talent to make it happen this season, and just needs to find that consistency that’s evaded him for so long.
Why Did Davis Drop Out of the Top 50?
An injury-riddled 2022 season played a huge role in Davis’s drop from top-50 prospect to barely staying in the rankings at 92. Unfortunately, injuries and not staying healthy have been the main reasons for Davis still being in the minors. A back injury last season cost Davis one of the most important of his career. Even his mother understood the importance of completely recovering and told him to not touch a bat.
“She was like, ‘You better not swing that bat,” Davis told reporters in September 2022.
That’s how serious his injury was – his mom had to step in and make sure he didn’t break his recovery regimen to put himself in position to be back by 2023 spring training.
Davis began 2022 hitting a paltry .195 with 31 strikeouts in his first 22 games, but no one knew he was dealing with a bad back. The cold weather in Iowa also made Davis believe that was why his back was giving him so much trouble. Never one to complain or not play through pain, Davis tried to tough it out until it became too much.
“I always thought there was a difference between being injured and hurt,” Davis said. “I wasn’t going to let a little thing [like pain] derail my plans for the year…”
“When my time is called, I’m going to be ready.”
The pain in Brennen’s back was anything but minor as it caused numbness in his hamstring and calf, and even caused a burning sensation behind his ankle, Davis mentioned. That is why Davis dropped so far on MLB Pipeline, he wasn’t available to play and when he did, he wasn’t very good.
Why The High Hopes For Davis?
The 22-year-old outfielder was a second-round pick in 2018. During his breakthrough 2021 season, Davis went yard twice in the All-Star Futures Game, putting his unlimited talent on full display. For his efforts he was named MVP of the game, bringing even more credibility as to why the Cubs were so high on him. That got him promoted to Triple-A Iowa for the 2022 season, and that’s where the back injury stunted his development, and MLB arrival, which was primed to happen this past Opening Day.
The former Cubs Minor League Player of the Year is poised to make his presence felt at Wrigley Stadium, and when he does, he won’t be going back. A September call-up seems like the ideal situation for Davis this season.
In 2018, the Chicago Cubs drafted five-tool outfielder Brennen Davis with the 62nd overall pick of the MLB Draft. At the time of the pick the expectancy for Davis’ arrival to the majors was said to happen between the 2021-22 seasons.
And while Davis showed flashes during his minor league tenure, injuries hindered his timeline to reach The Show.
The Cubs have moved on from the core of their 2016 World Series championship team, and Davis is the key offensive piece of what will be a slow rebuild going forward. While he was expected to make his major league arrival late in the 2022 season, that didn’t come to fruition as he suffered a really strange injury.
In early May, after playing 22 games with the club’s Triple-A affiliate in Iowa, Davis was shutdown because of a back injury.
No Herniated Disk: Cluster Of Blood Vessels Require Surgery
As Davis dealt with what has been described by team doctors as “awful, awful sciatic pain,” which caused his foot to go numb as times, the belief was he had a herniated disc. Upon evaluation team doctors found no herniation or spinal issue. Instead, they discovered blood vessels clustered together.
In an August interview with Marquee Sports, here’s what the talented Davis said about his medical prognosis.
“They found a cluster of blood vessels during surgery. It’s kind of weird. It was strange to me. It’s called a vascular malformity. It’s just a genetic thing that popped up.
“By cauterizing some blood vessels getting into my back, it actually cleared up my pain. They didn’t really do anything. All they did was open me up.”
Davis says pain was almost unbearable at times, but he’s grateful for how things have turned out.
“It was awful. I was in so much pain,” Davis said. ” I wanted to be in the right situation to get back out on the field and have the right people in my operating room it was the kind of thing that I was gonna do.
“I got really lucky with the Cubs and my agency — they put me in the right hands to have a very successful surgery.”
Davis Is The Cubs Top Prospect: Also A Top-40 Prospect Overall
Prior to his injury, Davis was the No.16 ranked prospect on MLB Pipeline. He’s since slipped to No. 40 on the prospect rankings, but that doesn’t take anything away from his Top-20 talent. In 2021, Davis’ slashline (.260/.375/.494 with a .869 OPS. proved just how dynamic he can be when healthy and locked-in.
He hasn’t disappointed in his return to the diamond either, and he’s shown out to begin the Arizona Fall League season.
In four games and 20 plate appearances, the 6-foot-4 sweet swinging outfielder is slashing,
.294/.400/.796 with two very long homers.
The Cubs expect him to be ready come opening day 2023 or soon after. He is an MLBbro who will make his presence felt at the highest level of the sport in the near future. Cubs fans are already excited and have several bros coming through the farm system and ready to get Wrigley Field rocking again.
Last year the Chicago Cubs closed the chapter on the core of their 2016 World Series-winning roster. By parting ways with Anthony Rizzo, Javier Baez, and Kris Bryant, the Cubs signaled an immediate shift towards the future of the franchise.Thus far in 2022 Chicago fans have already seen promising developments from new outfielder Seiya Suzuki, but the team’s next true building block is MLBbro Brennen Davis.
The Chicago Cubs selected Brennen Davis in the second round of the 2018MLB Draft. Throughout his minor league career, he has risen through the ranks and currently sits as the 15th ranked prospect in the MLB top 100 Prospect List.He has batted .272 and shown flashes of Gold Glove capability in Center Field. Davis’s pre-Covid hitting statistics in 2018 and 2019, .298 and .305 respectively, were more indicative of what the Cubs and their fans expected when drafting him.
Forced to sit out in 2020, due to the Minor League cancellation resulting from thepandemic, Davis has yet to post similar statistics last year and during the early part of this season. Still, Davis has shown flashes of brilliance and has an element of star caliber that simply cannot be ignored. In the 2021 MLB Futures game, Davis was awarded the MVP award for his two moonshot home runs. With raw natural power and blazing speed, he can instantly bring 30/30 capability to the Cubs lineup.
The 2022 season has gotten off to a rocky start for the Chicago Cubs. This season was always intended to provide an outlook into their immediate future. The sooner MLBbro Brennen Davis gets the call-up, the sooner his ascension can begin. MLBbro Jayson Heyward, who has been a stalwart in the organization since joining the team before the 2015 season, has been playing well in his 13th season.That being said, it would be more beneficial to the Cubs to remove him from the lineup for the young upstart Davis. This move should come sooner rather than later.
The Cubs would be providing the young star valuable experience, which he could use to overcome any growing pains alongside potential long term outfield teammate Suzuki. Although a quick glance at Davis’s slash line (.208/.307/.359) with the Cubs Triple-A affiliate, the Iowa Cubs, leaves much to be desired, the organization has enough evidence to give him a call-up in a transitional year.
Long Term Goals
Brennen Davis has expressed his desire to be in the Majors, and the Cubs understand they cannot keep his talent in the minors forever. A realistic expectation for Davis’s arrival seems like a September call up at the latest. But there is room for this to change.
A team with a need for a defensive upgrade in the outfield, or a veteran left-handed batter could be interested in Jayson Heyward, which could free up playing time for the Cubs top rate prospect. In the meantime, Davis should continue honing his skills in Iowa, and decrease his strikeout ratio, one of his biggest concerns in the early season. If all things fall into play Brennen Davis could be getting his call to the show before you know it.
Charles Nyonga gives his Two Cents on Cubs blue chip prospect Brennen Davis, who won the MLB All-Star Futures Game in July after slamming two homers.
Davis tore through Double AA this season. He is currently the No.14 prospect in all of baseball (as of August 24th) and the King Fish in the entire Cubs organization.
Brennen Davis, Xavier Edwards and some of the best young MLBbros in baseball will take the field for The 2021 SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game on Sunday at Coors Field in Denver — on the same day that the first round of the MLB Draft will be held in the same city.
Every year, the Futures Game is a showcase of the brightest young stars in baseball, the guys we really expect to carry the league going forward.
Our MLBbro and 2017 World Series MVP George Springer is one of the many notable alumni of this game.
Being selected to the game is truly considered an honor for young ballplayers, and gives our six young MLBbros (one won’t play due to injury) an opportunity to show the world the latest generation of Black ballplayers.
MLBbros Kyle Lewis, Ke’Bryan Hayes, Jo Addell, Touki Toussaint, Hunter Greene and Future Games MVP Taylor Trammell all played in the same Future Games in 2018, so the game definitely features the future stars of MLB.
Andre Jackson* – RHP – Los Angeles Dodgers (No. 27 prospect in Dodgers organization)
Catcher
Bo Naylor – Cleveland Indians (No.3 prospect in Cleveland organization)
First Base
This was the toughest position to find an MLBBro to fill. Washington Nationals first baseman Josh Bell is the most notable Black first basemen of late, but as I searched through each team’s roster list there were no current first base prospects to be found.
I mentioned the need for defensive versatility before, and it seems like most black prospects are being placed where their athletic ability can be best used; shortstop or the outfield.
But with names like Frank Thomas, Willie McCovey, Eddie Murray, Dick Allen, Prince Fielder, Ryan Howard … I mean I could really do this for a while…There are countless Black power hitters who’ve manned first base in the Bigs, so there’s surely another in the pipeline. If I’ve overlooked anyone, let me know in the comments.
Second Base
Xavier Edwards* – Tampa Bay Rays (No. 3 2B prospect in MLB)
Third Base
Jordan Walker – St. Louis Cardinals (No. 7 3B prospect in MLB)
Shortstop
C.J. Abrams (replaced due to injury)- San Diego Padres (No. 3 SS prospect in MLB)
Outfielders
Brennen Davis* – Chicago Cubs (No. 2 prospect in Cubs organization)
Michael Harris II* – Atlanta Braves (No. 9 prospect in Braves organization)
Jordyn Adams – Los Angeles Angels (No 3 prospect in Angels organization)
These Future stars will be going hard to prove that they are the elite prospects in the game, with hopes of one day playing on Tuesday night.
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