Christian Franklin – Picture by Todd Johnson

Trying to predict stats for the Cubs minor league system is a bit futile and at the same time it can be a lot of fun. This year, I am tackling my predictions with the belief that PCA and Owen Caissie will be major leaguers along with Matt Shaw by mid summer, and by quickly, I mean June or early July. As a result, they are not going to figure into my predictions too much.

What I like about hitting statistics is that the ones I like to showcase are mostly counting stats. There’s hits, home runs, RBI and stolen bases. I am forgoing batting average this year and focusing on wRC+.

Home Runs

Last year’s winner – Felix Stevens, 27

I don’t think anybody saw Felix Stevens winning last year at the beginning of the year. The main reason for that was he was going to start out the year in Myrtle Beach, a pitcher’s paradise.

This year, I’m going back with Stevens to repeat even though he started the on the Development List. The main reason for my choice is he’s going to be most likely in South Bend and Tennessee this season. His numbers could really jump at Tennessee. I predict he will hit 25.

Others in consideration – Anyone at Triple-A is probably not going to be a good pick. And it’s probably not a good sign if a Triple-A guy leads the system in home runs and doesn’t make it to the majors. But Haydn McGeary, Matt Mervis, Jake slaughter, or Chase Strumpf could. There’s plenty of power there.

If you want a long shot, Christian Franklin, Brian Kalmer, and Jonny Long might figure into this equation.

Runs Batted In

I was surprised when I looked this up as Haydn McGeary led the system with 88 RBI last year. He drove in 13 in April at South Bend and drove in 75 at Tennessee. Twice, in June and August, he drove in over 20 in a month.

As for this year, I’m going to go with Christian Franklin. If he hits behind Kevin Alcantara and Matt Shaw at Tennessee, he’s going to have a lot of opportunities to bring in some base runners. I’m going to roll with 85 RBI for Franklin.

Stolen Bases

Since I initially envisioned PCA in Chicago at some point, I thought he would be out of this discussion. However he might rack up enough swipes while he’s in Iowa to still outpace everyone. So I’m going to take the tricky route and pick PCA to lead the system in stolen bases even if he’s only there for half a year. Let’s go with 25.

Hits

Last year, Yonathan Perlaza led the Cubs in hits with 131, followed closely by Owen Caissie with 127. This year, I am taking James Triantos to out class the field. Known for his judicious eye and sweet swing, Triantos could crank out 130 plus hits. BJ Murray is in this discussion and possible Haydn McGeary and Moises Ballesteros.

My sleepers – Brett Bateman could do some damage beginning at South Bend.

wRC+

Owen Caissie won this going away last year with a 144. This year, I’m going with Christian Franklin to take it this year. We saw Franklin have a great second half last year and, based on how he did in spring training with the big league club. It looks like things did not change over the winter. I will go with 135 for Franklin.

Other names in my thought process should look familiar. Brian Kalmer, Moises Ballesteros, Felix Stevens, BJ Murray, and Haydn McGeary should all be leaders at some point in the season.