Getting to Know Cubs Draft Pick: Ariel Armas |
When you look at the entire Cubs organization from the top down, there is no question that this team has a ton of depth across the board. That depth should help build a better roster for the future, whether it is done by trading away some of these guys or having them come up and play close to the hype they have had the past few seasons.
However, the one position within the organization that lacks depth is the Catcher position, and the Cubs need to figure out how to fix that. Moises Ballesteros appears to be the real deal offensively, but there are still a ton of questions surrounding his defensive ability, so at this point, he is nothing more than a DH. You also have Pablo Aliendo as another catcher to watch in the system, but with him sitting in AA and being very raw, he is still a few years away. In an effort to continue stockpiling depth, the Cubs went with a catcher for their round five selection, Ariel Armas. Much like their round three pick, which seemed like a reach, this is the definition of a reach as Armas isn't a top 250 prospect. In fact, he wasn't even listed among the top 500 prospects when the final rankings came out, and the Cubs chose to take him at No. 153. There has to be something behind this pick, more so than him just being a catcher. They have to be looking at this as a potential type of pick; otherwise, this could go down as one of the worst draft picks in round five. A former University of San Diego star, Armas put up decent numbers across the board, but none of them are going to jump off the page at you. As nice as it would be for the Cubs to have an offensive-minded catcher in the system to join Ballesteros, Armas is known for his defensive metrics, which is why the Cubs took him when they did. Looking at the Cubs' current catcher position with Miguel Amaya and Tomas Nido, they are not only one of the worst duos offensively, but their defensive metrics aren't much better. That makes them both a liability at the plate and on defense, as they are becoming borderline automatic outs at this point. If anything, Armas should help with the defensive metrics. He was named the top defensive catcher in the nation this season and earned a Rawlings Gold GLove. He was also named the West Coast Conference defensive player of the year and was one of 16 finalists for the Buster Posey award, which is given to the best collegiate catcher in the nation. This past season, Armas played in 55 of his team's 56 games and posted a .998 fielding percentage while also throwing out 15 runners. You would like to see him throw out a few more runners, but given his fielding percentage, it does seem likely that not many teams tried to run off of him. Across his three seasons with San Diego, he played in 116 games and did that while playing elite-level defense right from the start. Offensively, things weren't always at the level he expected, but he did manage to put up decent enough numbers to be a threat in the lineup. For his career, Armas batted .266 with nine home runs and 52 RBIs. It was the 2023 season that will go down as his best season when he hit .292 and connected for three homers and 31 RBIs. Again, these are not great numbers, but serviceable numbers for a catcher. With the Cubs in desperate need of a long-term solution at catcher, Armas could be that guy in a few years, depending on how things go with Aliendo and Ballesteros. With a whiff rate of just 10%, a chase rate of just 19%, and an exit velocity in the 90th percentile, any offense you can get out of Armas will be a plus. As long as his defensive ability holds up at the level it has so far, there is no question that he has the tools to become a serviceable big-league catcher in the near future. His next steps are to get familiar with as many pitchers as possible, as he is known for being one of the best game callers around. Put that in with how the Cubs have developed their pitchers, and this could be a match made in heaven. Cubs 5th rounder, C Ariel Armas
IZ-whiff% 10%
Chase% 19%
90th% EV 105 mph
Early comments suggest he’s a good catcher behind the plate
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