Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports
Before the trade deadline in July, the Chicago Cubs sent starting pitcher Matt Garza to the Texas Rangers to help bolster their rotation for a playoff run.
In exchange for Garza, the Cubs received an array of prospects in third baseman Mike Olt, pitchers C.J. Edwards and Justin Grimm, along with a player to be named later. On Friday, it was announced that the PTBNL is 24-year-old right-handed pitcher Neil Ramirez.
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Ramirez is a far better prospect than what you normally see as a player to be named later. He has bounced back and forth between double-A and triple-A for the past few seasons, and his numbers are decent but not super impressive.
This season at double-A, Ramirez is 9-3 with a 3.84 ERA. In 21 starts, Ramirez has 11.1 strikeouts per nine innings. He has the stuff to be a mid-rotation starter at the major league level with a mid 90s fastball and good curveball.
Overall, I would say the Cubs did very well in the Garza trade. Olt and Edwards are probably top-10 prospects in the Cubs system, and both Grimm and Ramirez probably rank somewhere in the top 25 or so, giving the Cubs some much needed pitching depth at the upper levels of the minor leagues.
The Cubs have one of the best minor league systems in baseball and if they continue to stockpile prospects with deals like this, summers may start becoming much more interesting in the North Side of Chicago sooner rather than later.
Daniel is a Chicago Cubs writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @D_Schmelzer, “Like” him on Facebook and add him to your network on Google.
