Chicago Cubs Ace Believes Struggling Player Will Become 'Special'

Things have not been pretty for the Chicago Cubs the last couple weeks, but one of their stars thinks that a struggling player will turn things around.

Chicago Cubs catcher Miguel Amaya (9) / Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

It's gotten ugly for the Chicago Cubs.

Everyone knows the horrendous stretch they had to close out the month of May that pushed them out of the third Wild Card spot and multiple games away from first place in their division

When the calendar flipped to June, everyone was hoping they could put all the struggles behind them and start playing the exciting baseball they had showcased earlier in the season.

That's not been the case, though.

With their 4-3 loss on Saturday against the Cincinnati Reds, they have now lost seven consecutive series when taking out their two wins against the lowly Chicago White Sox. The Cubs are now three games under .500 and sit tied for last in the NL Central, 7.5 back from the Milwaukee Brewers.

The only positive Chicago can have right now is they are just one game out of a Wild Card spot.

Things need to change, though, and one of the players who is taking the most heat is catcher Miguel Amaya.

Craig Counsell's scathing comments on the state of their catcher play right now brought everything into the spotlight, sparking some pleas for the Cubs' front office to make a trade that brings in someone who can perform behind the plate and on offense.

The 25-year-old is slashing .195/.255/.281 with only two homers, six extra-base hits, 14 RBI and a putrid OPS+ of 53 in 44 games. His defensive bWAR is a 0.2, but is overall bWAR sits at -0.1.

Still, this rough stretch isn't making Chicago's ace Justin Steele lose faith in Amaya.

"He's such a good kid, such a good player behind the plate. This team needs him. He's going to be so special for us, not just in the near future, but in the long haul," he said according to Jordan Bastian of MLB.com.

Amaya took over as their No. 1 catcher with the veteran Yan Gomes moving into the backup role at 36 years old.

This situation hasn't worked out the way the Cubs might have hoped for entering the season, but Steele isn't the only one who thinks things will get figured out.

"Yan had so many big hits for us last year and he hasn't gotten going offensively. And I think Miguel will. He's been cold," Jed Hoyer added.

They better hope that comes soon or else Chicago's front office will be forced to make a change.