The Cubs are set to promote another top-five prospect when shortstop second baseman Addison Russell gets the call Tuesday. One outlet (Baseball Prospectus) actually ranked Russell ahead of Kris Bryant this spring and the others had him right at Bryant's heels. Basically, he's a stud.
And at just 21 years and 88 days of age, Russell now becomes the youngest player in the National League. What's funny is who he is overtaking: Fourth-year veteran Bryce Harper.
That's right. Harper is younger than Bryant, Joc Pederson, Gregory Polanco and every other youngster in the NL we might fondly call "kid." And yet there are stll some misguided folks who think he's some sort of a bust. Laughable.
Anyway, this is about Russell and the Cubs, so let's not digress. The Cubs now have three of the six youngest NL players. To the list!
1. Addison Russell, born Jan. 23, 1994
2. Bryce Harper, born Oct. 16, 1992
3. Archie Bradley, born Aug. 10, 1992
4. Joc Pederson, born April 21, 1992 (oh, hey, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Joc!)
5. Jorge Soler, born Feb. 25, 1992
6. Kris Bryant, born Jan. 4, 1992
That's a big gap. Let's keep that in mind if Russell struggles early and, for once on the Internet, maintain a little perspective.
Russell hit .318/.326/.477 with four doubles, a homer and nine RBI in 11 games for Triple-A Iowa. In 13 games with the Cubs in spring training, Russell hit .317/.349/.488 with four doubles, a homer and six RBI. He's advanced with the glove -- well, he was at shortstop and that should translate to second -- and can steal bases on occasion, too.
Here's a spring training RBI double from Russell:
Obviously given the age and lack of experience, Russell could struggle initially. Look at Bryant going 0-for-4 with three strikeouts in his first game. As with Bryant though, who is now hitting .429 and coming off a game where he came through with three lasers, it may not be long before he gets things figured out.
And the entire, talented Cubs infield is now age-25 or younger and under team control through at least 2019.
