Christian Olivo – Pic by Rich Biesterfeld
No one ever said that development was easy.
For prospect Christian Olivo, he could tell you that development is, in fact, quite hard. The Cubs drafted Olivo in the 17th round of the 2021 MLB Draft. At the time, he was listed as a shortstop. But he was not going to stay shortstop, considering the depth the Cubs have at the position. He would either have to move to another infield spot or the outfield.
Olivo was born and raised in Puerto Rico. The Cubs seem to take a player a year out of Puerto Rico and it takes a while for them to adjust to the level of competition here in the United States.
After signing in 2021, Olivo got in six games in the Arizona complex league and went 1–for-14 in his professional debut. That’s definitely not something you can write home about.
In 2022, Olivo came back and began playing all over the diamond. Most of the time he spent out in the grass learning to play the outfield. Atthe plate he hit just .193, but had an on-base percentage of .324. Hs walk rate of 11.2% implied that he actually had a decent approach, he just wasn’t getting the hits he needed to succeed for a second season in Arizona.
When 2023 arrived, I was not surprised at all to see Olivo back in Arizona. After all, he was just 19 years old and would be for all of 2023. That’s still pretty young. Things did not get off to a great start at all in June last year. He went 3-for-34 which turns out to be a .088 batting average. Luckily for aOlivo, that’s where the troubles ended.
Over the next two months, Olivo turned into one of the best young hitting prospects in the system.
In June, he hit .366 with a .458 on base percentage and a 1.043 OPS. And that was just beginning. In July, he had well again with a slash line of..375/.524/.962. For the year, he posted a 14.4% walk rate!
He did get a short bump to Myrtle Beach at the end of the year, but only played in one game where he went 0-for-2. I would not put any stock into that performance.
From people I talked to in the organization, Olivo seems to be maturing physically. He’s a lot stronger than he was back in 2021. But the thing that has carried him is that he has a pretty good idea of the strike zone. He also knows what to do with a baseball in certain parts of the zone, he can do something with them now.
One thing that has not come around yet is his power. When he was signed, he was just 5-foot-9 and 168 pounds. He’s a bit bigger than that now, but not much. To date, he has just one career home run.
Heading into 2024, there are a lot of things that could happen with Olivo. He is probably going to play a lot of outfield at Myrtle Beach. He may occasionally play the infield a little bit every once in a while, but he’s going to stay mainly in the grass. You never know what’s gonna happen with a guy moving up to Myrtle Beach especially when they are coming off a good season in Arizona. Low-A is a huge adjustment for young players anymore. They still need that extra step that short season provided. It’s almost like being thrown to the wolves now or tossed into the river and expected to learn how to swim.
Considering the depth, the Cubs have at the position, he’s also likely to start the year in extended spring training and arrive to Myrtle Beach in early June. If he tears it up in spring training, then the door is wide open for him to make the opening day roster. It’s not going to be easy though!
What is going to be key for him is to stick to his approach that he’s developed over the past two summers. I’m hoping that he can be a breakout player. I’m not expecting him to move up to South Bend at any point, though, he might just be a guy that’s at Myrtle Beach all year.
