Closing Time: And now we make room for Addison Russell

Ah, Chicago. Come for the culture, the bars and the pizza, stay for the prospects.  

Addison Russell, come on down.

The news leaked out late Monday – the Cubs are going to promote Russell, another touted prospect, in advance of Tuesday’s game at Pittsburgh. It looks like Russell will settle in as the team’s new second baseman.

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Kris Bryant, Carlos Rodon, now Russell - it’s been a fun five days. 

The speedy promotion speaks to how highly the organization regards Russell. The 21-year-old infielder has been a shortstop for most of his pro career, but the Cubs still made the call after watching him play a week of second base at Triple-A Iowa. Russell also saw some keystone time in the Arizona Fall League, but it’s still a new position for him.

Fantasy owners want to talk about the offensive profile, of course, and there’s a lot to like. Russell posted a .301/.377/.520 slash line through his 244 Bush League games, with a mix of power (38 homers) and speed (44 bags in 53 attempts). He was off to a .318/.326/.477 start with Iowa this spring, through 11 games (five at second base, six at shortstop). 

Unlike Bryant, the Cubs are unlikely to give Russell a premium lineup spot right away. The 2-3-4 combination of Jorge Soler, Anthony Rizzo and Bryant seems chiseled in granite, and my guess is the club doesn’t want to take Dexter Fowler out of the leadoff spot, slow start to the side. Russell could easily wind up batting sixth, seventh or ninth – remember, the Cubs are one of those new-agy teams that use their pitchers in the eighth spot, even the ones who can’t hit. 

The normal rules apply with buzzy promotions – add first, ask questions (and seek possible trades) later. Russell is still available in two-thirds of Yahoo leagues as we go to press. He’s a Top 5 prospect on everyone’s clipboard. He’s capable of filling all five roto categories down the road. Maybe he’ll produce right away, maybe he won’t, but when we see theoretical upside on the table, we have to take a stab. 

There’s your opener for Tuesday – more bullets will follow shortly. 

• Given the current state of offense in the majors, we have to adjust our view of batting average. A hitter around .240-.250 might still be rostering if he can do other things, like knock a ball over the fence for a while. It’s one reason why Evan Gattis still has plenty of believers (along with Gattis’s catcher tag). And it’s also a frame that supports the case for Luis Valbuena. 

You remember Valbuena from his days with the Cubs. He snuck into some fantasy value last year, giving us a .249/.341/.435 slash with 16 homers over 149 games. Not bad pop for a middle infielder, and while the average was less than ideal, he became more playable in OBP formats. 

Valbuena was the star of Houston’s 7-5 victory over the Mariners on Tuesday, going deep twice. He’s still hitting a scant .244, but he’s found the seats five times and carries a couple of positions of eligibility (second, third). The Astros like to jump him around in the lineup, using him second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth over the opening couple of weeks. I’m not trying to sell Valbuena as a possible star, but at eight-percent owned, I think he’s underrated in Yahoo leagues. 

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