NEWSLETTER
Over the last eight weeks, the Cubs have had a first-time player at Double-A find complete comfort hitting at the level, including 11 multi-hit games in the month of July.
And believe it or not, his name is not Brennen Davis!
One of my favorite pure hitters to watch in the Cubs system is Nelson Maldonado, a 21st round pick out of the University of Florida in the 2019 draft, who has hit .321 since joining the Cubs organization. Following the pandemic and a minor injury at the end of Spring Training, Maldonado came out of the gate with his aggressive Double-A assignment and struggled, going just 5-for-33 in his first two weeks.
“My mental game was the big factor those 10 games. I wasn’t really feeling my swing or feeling confident at the plate,” Maldonado told me recently on the phone. “The coaches here did a really good job of working with me and keeping my head up.”
Well you can bet he’s feeling confident now. In his last 43 games, Maldonado has been simply incredible, hitting .342/.411/.528 (159 wRC+). He’s done so with keeping his strikeout rate under 20%, which puts him well above-league average in that category. And he’s walking at the best rate (9.7%) he has since his junior season at Florida in 2017.
“Pitch selection this year has been huge for me,” Maldonado said. “It helps me stay in a good mental state. For me in the box it’s about not doing too much and taking whatever the pitcher gives you.”
There’s a simplicity in Maldonado’s approach that jumps off the screen when you watch him. He told me that his roommates in Double-A, Brennen Davis and Levi Jordan, recently got a kick over watching Maldonado’s old college tape, as his swing has stayed remarkably consistent throughout his career. He swings hard, but phenomenal hands and a good ability to get on plane gives an above-average hit tool. And while his build – 5-foot-10 and 195 pounds – isn’t one to suggest power, he’s finding enough of it to have an above-average ISO at the level.
Nelson Maldonado STAY HOT pic.twitter.com/F3FnUBtTEO
— Greg Huss (@OutOfTheVines) July 18, 2021
One thing that’s helped in that department: staying true to an all-fields approach. Maldonado is pulling the ball less than he has at any other minor league stop, and does a great job peppering the right-center gap.
“That’s the part of the field my swing will allow me to do the most damage in,” Maldonado said. “It helps keep the bat through the zone a little longer.”
Nelson Maldonado goes deep for a 3 run homerun in the 2nd! #CubTogether pic.twitter.com/BuhLtBmCsN
— Caleb Webb (@calebgwebb) July 10, 2021
The question that remains for the Cubs organization is how to find a home defensively for Maldonado that will allow his bat to play at the highest levels. The 24-year-old has played DH more than any other position in the minors, with first base the only other spot he’s getting a look at. At Florida he played both outfield corners, and even tried third base during one summer in the Northwoods League. Trials at other positions are likely in the cards for the Cubs next season, as Maldonado has been working to regain arm strength that he lost during a surgery in college. I’d probably even give him a look at second base, where the lateral athleticism would be really tested. But aren’t experiments what the minor leagues are designed for?
The good news is the Cubs have another bat that’s proven worthy of graduation from Double-A, whether that comes down the stretch of this season or in 2022. Maldonado spent the first seven years of his life in Chicago’s Humboldt Park neighborhood before moving to Florida, I sure hope the Cubs can solve the riddle of how he could get back to living in the city. Cubs fans will like his brand of old-school hitting.
Other notes from recent minor league play, while I’ve been distracted by all-the-tradez…
— Kohl Franklin (@kohlrf) August 1, 2021
This ends with Canario working a 3-1 count and getting his first High-A hit. An RBI single. https://t.co/2bg3WsU6kW pic.twitter.com/ti351oKFyx
— Trevor Hooth (@HoothTrevor) August 1, 2021
Nwogu, now and then, right before swing begins. So different! pic.twitter.com/7ILmBGENJd
— Cubs Prospects – Bryan Smith (@cubprospects) July 29, 2021
