Chicago Cubs turn to youngsters to elevate the club – MLB News
The Chicago Cubs lost the game to the Cincinnati Reds on Sunday, August 12, but they are pinning enormous hopes on the young players recently promoted to the Major League. Josh Vitters is one of the youngsters whom the Cubs see as a potential winner in the future.
Although the Cubs decided to take him out from Sunday’s line-up, he may appear in two of the three-game series against the Houston Astros, starting from Monday.
Vitters has so far had .125 record in the six games that he has appeared in, being first-round Draft pick of the Cubs in 2007. There is a lot that he needs to do and the Cubs’ manager knows the player can survive at this level given him being a fastball hitter.
"His swing should definitely play in the big leagues," Sveum said. "His hands are very live. He's a great fastball hitter, and great fastball hitters usually survive and do well at this level."
Even though the performance in the Major Leagues might not have been up to the mark, six games – nonetheless, cannot be the criterion of judging a player’s strength and capability. In Minor Leagues, for example, Vitters had an impressive .304 record – hitting 17 homers and 68 RBIs, at the Triple-A Iowa when the team promoted him to the Majors.
Dale Sveum is for giving him more exposure so that he can mature into a consistent and reliable player in the offence.
"That's going to be the evaluation in the next 50 games, however many he plays, the exposure," Sveum said. "This is a lot of evaluation, and we'll see where we're at as soon as he's getting more exposed with game-time ground balls and everything."
Vitters will have an opportunity in this series to increase his chances of playing, and improve his record, in the Majors. The Cubs, on the other hand, will have a chance to put an end to the game-losing streak, which stands at 11 in last 12 games.
Whether Vitters succeeds that, and the Cubs manage to successfully outdo the Astros, will be seen in the series starting Monday.
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