Cubs Prospect Focus: Kevin Made |
Over the past decade or so, the Cubs have seen the best of times but also the worst of times. Then you have their current period, which is between the good and the bad. Either way, better baseball is on the way, and it is a matter of when the excellent baseball returns and not if.
There are a few things that this team has done well going back the last 10 years. First and foremost, this team has always drafted well, at least when finding MLB power bats. Second, they have always been very active during the International Free Agency Period, which has helped them discover even more talent. Lastly, the Cubs tend to carry a plethora of shortstops as they feel those guys are the easiest to move around the diamond if a position change is needed. When it comes to their No. 17 prospect Kevin Made, two of those three instances remain true as he is not only an International pickup, but is also one of the many shortstops this system has. Acquired in 2019, Made was part of a loaded International Free agent class and thus signed for 1.5 Million. Still, a raw talent, Made has emerged as the best defensive shortstop in the game to the point where the Cubs former 2020 first-round pick, Ed Howard, from Short to second. Not only has he accomplished these accolades in just two seasons, but he is still just 20 years old, as the sky is his limit. Like many players who were picked up in 2019, Made had to wait nearly two years to make his professional debut, with COVID preventing that from happening in 2020. Once 2021 arrived, the Cubs had a decision to make regarding Made. Do they put him in the DSL and let him develop? Or do they send him stateside to see what he can do? The answer was clear, as Made not only skipped the DSL, but skipped Rookie ball altogether and wound up with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans for the 2021 season. Not knowing what to expect, Made played a decent amount, but was still limited to 58 games. That is a small sample size, but a large enough one where it was almost half a season. During that time, the athletically gifted SS impressed as he hit .272 during the season with one homer and 20 RBIs. One area of concern was his walk-to-strikeout ratio, as Made walked just six times in 2021 while striking out 57. That was the one area of his game he wanted to work on for 2022, and he put the work in. Limited to 94 games due to an early season injury, Made took his bumps along the way, especially once he was promoted to South Bend. He hit just .227 for the season, but saw a dramatic increase in power with 10 homers and 44 RBIs. He also showed more plate discipline as he took 46 walks and struck out 80 times. That is the development everyone in the organization wanted to see, and now that he has shown it, it is time for the next step in the development process. Made is still an extremely raw hitter, but with his quick swing and advanced bat-to-ball skills at such a young age, he has been able to hold his own against more experienced pitchers. Seeing him increase his homer output to 10 last season was great, but he does project to be a 15-20 homer guy once his body fully develops and matures. To reach his offensive ceiling, he'll need to develop some plate discipline and improve his quality of contact after posting a 2 percent walk rate and hitting a lot of grounders in his debut. He started doing that last season even if the results don't show, which is a huge plus as he moves up the Minor League ladder. However, the one aspect of his game that doesn't need improvement is his defense, as he is one of the best defensive SS in the system. To go a bit further, it isn't even close, as he pushed Howard to 2B because of those elite defensive skills. He has the actions and instincts to make all the plays and throws at short with an arm that garners well-above-average grades from scouts and could become a solid 3B if he needed to make a move. Made is one of those prospects on the cusp of breaking out. 2023 could be that year as he continues to turn heads within the Cubs organization and outside as well.
