Chicago Cubs Prospect Matt Mervis Hits 25th Home Run of the Year

Chicago Cubs first base prospect Matt Mervis has been one of this season's biggest minor league successes for the team and he kept his season rolling Wednesday.

The Matt Mervis show that has made its way across three different Chicago Cubs affiliates continued Wednesday when the first baseman went 3-3 with a walk, double, and his 25th home run of the season, raising his Triple-A OPS to .865.

Though it's been a season full of breakouts throughout the Cubs system, Mervis in particular has stood out. The 2020 undrafted free agent has breezed through the minor leagues, playing 27 games at Single-A and 53 at Double-A before being promoted to Iowa in late July. 

The 24-year-old has simply raked at every turn, rocking a 145 wRC+ and a .940 OPS over his first 106 games in 2022. As a result, Mervis has shot up prospect leaderboards, going from unranked to 21 in Pipeline's recent prospect leaderboard update. The lefty also ranks as the ninth-best first base prospect in baseball according to Pipeline.

Mervis' emergence has been a very welcome development as the Cubs entered the season rather thin at first base prospects. Alfonso Rivas and Frank Schwindel didn't give any appearances of being a long-term solution, and Patrick Wisdom and PJ Higgins have primarily split time at first, and neither are natural first basemen. 

Mervis could very well emerge as the primary first base option in 2023 should he finish the season hot. The Cubs may look in free agency for a stopgap option at first, but the Duke product may make them consider otherwise. 

Elsewhere on the farm:

Triple-A: Iowa Cubs (54-65) vs St. Paul Saints (57-60): W 4-2

• Wyatt Short started and pitched five scoreless innings while punching out five batters and allowing five hits and a walk. The 27-year-old has a 4.09 ERA with Iowa. 
• John Hicks went 1-3 with a walk and a home run. The catcher has 14 long balls this season. 
• Jeremiah Estrada pitched a 1-2-3 inning with 2 strikeouts. The righty has yet to allow a run in Triple-A. 
• Manuel Rodriguez pitched a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts to pick up his first save of the season.

Double-A: Tennessee Smokies (61-55) vs Rocket City Trash Pandas (68-48): L 5-4

• Riley Thompson struck out six batters over four innings. The starter also allowed two runs.
• Bryce Ball finished 2-3  with a walk. The first baseman has a .769 OPS on the season.
• Andy Weber went 3-4, raising the shortstop's batting average to .296.

High-A: South Bend Cubs (65-51) at West Michigan Whitecaps (61-55): L 2-1

• Pete Crow-Armstrong went 1-4. The Cubs top prospect has an OPS of .828 in South Bend.
• Brennen Davis went 1-4 with no strikeouts as he continues his rehab. 
• Luis Verdugo had one base hit, extending his on-base streak to seven games after losing his 21-game on-base streak on Aug. 16.
• Porter Hodge surrendered two runs over six innings while striking out six. The righty now has a 2.08 ERA in South Bend.

Single-A: Myrtle Beach Pelicans (71-45) vs Augusta GreenJackets (59-56): W 13-6

• Every Pelicans starter reached base at least twice. 
• Parker Chavers was sensational, going 4-5 with two doubles and a stolen base from the leadoff spot. He was one of six Pelicans with multiple hits, including the first four batters of the lineup.
• There were six doubles, two from Chavers, two from Ezequiel Pagan, one from Moises Ballesteros, and one from Ethan Hearn. Hearn, who entered the game with a .727 OPS in August, had three hits, three RBI, and Myrtle Beach's lone home run. 
• Johzan Oquendo pitched the final 3 1/3 innings of the game for the Pelicans, striking out nine batters and allowing one run. The righty entered the game striking out 31.6% of the batters he faced.

Transactions:

• The Cubs officially selected the contract of right-handed pitcher Luke Farrell and also recalled right-hander Kervin Castro. The Cubs also optioned right-handed pitchers Anderson Espinoza and Nicholas Padilla to Triple-A Iowa. 

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