The Chicago Cubs released the statement on Monday: “The Cuban Jorge Soler will move up to the first team this week.” That night in Tacoma, Washington, the man said goodbye to the Iowa Cubs with a long homer, his 15th in the minors.
Two days later, the 22 years old boy showed his face for the first time on camera in Major League Baseball. Home plate at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati, second innings, Mat Latos climbed the box, number 68 on the back, two strikes and a ball, Soler blasted a homer 423 feet away. A dreamed debut. The prospect No. 5 of the Chicago Cubs and 41 of Baseball America in 2014, did not disappoint his sheet.
But beyond the fury of the directors of the Cubs for the superb premiere of the Cuban, beyond the pleasure of Soler to debut with such confidence, the performance itself is not surprising at all (4-2, two RBI and two runs scored). His promotion to the main team was an open secret; passing through the branch would be a mere formality of rigor, an obligatory internship. The Minors were being increasingly tinier for him.
He was offensively averaging 340, plus 15 home runs and 57 RBIs in hios stint through the subsidiaries. His call to the MLB is not casual: the regular season of the American Association ends next week and the Iowa Cubs do not have adequate tools to reach the postseason. So management decided that Soler should continue to accumulate experience, since he lost most of the months of April and May with injuries to his hamstrings in both legs.
Logan Watkins, utility of the Cubs and who has shared a dressing room with Jorge said: “Obviously there are things he has to work on, but he is a monstrous athlete, he can do everything.” Theo Epstein, president of operations for the Chicago Cubs after the presentation of the Cuban stated, “Soler was born with a very advanced approach at the plate and has greatly improved his hitting mechanics. He hits the ball hard, has his area well-defined, he is a really dangerous hitter. ”
After stealing all the covers in his debut, Jorge Soler in a press conference said: “I feel very proud; my whole family was watching the game. I feel very happy and proud. I’ve waited two years for this moment, and I will do everything possible to succeed. “
