Here's Another Thing That Pisses Me Off About David Ross

The Chicago Cubs actually have a rookie that's come up this year and has produced on offense, which has been great to see for a few different reasons.

For starters, the Cubs offense has been inconsistent all year long and there are a few spots in the lineup that have been absolutely dreadful. Miguel Amaya has been able to step in at DH and provide quality at-bats, while also going behind the plate and showing he belongs as an MLB catcher. It would be nice if David Ross actually used Amaya more often.

On Saturday, Amaya went 2-for-3, with a double, he scored twice, drove in a run and reached base a third time via HBP. The 24-year-old now has a slash line of .276/.403/.448, posting a 138 wRC+ through his first 73 plate appearances in the majors.

Amaya made his MLB debut against the Washington Nationals on May 4, but he was only up in the majors for a week after veteran catcher Yan Gomes returned from his stint on the concussion injured list. The Cubs called up Amaya again on June 3, but since then the right-handed hitter has only gotten 56 plate appearances.

Amaya has made the most of his playing time, recording a slash line of .289/.429/.511.

I tweeted how Amaya succeeding at the major league level this year has been an especially heart-warming story because he's been through so many injuries during the past few years. Don't forget, back in 2019, Amaya was a top-100 prospect, but his stock dropped because of injuries that cost him huge chunks of time on the field.

Well, most of the replies to that were pretty much, "too bad Ross won't play him Sunday." It's funny because it's true. It's infuriating because it's true.

Amaya is not starting on Sunday. Instead Ross is giving Trey Mancini the DH spot.

And yeah, Miles Mastrobuomi starting two out of three games at third base is ridiculous, too, but that's more an indictment on the front office that put this roster together. It's either Mastrobuoni or Patrick Wisdom, who yes did homer yesterday, but has been terrible since April.

Regardless, Miguel Amaya has been great and that's been wonderful. It just pisses me off that the manager refuses to play him more when it's obvious the offense needs as many solid hitters as it can get.

The Cubs don't really have the benefit of waiting it out anymore with some of these veteran players either. Entering Sunday, the Cubs trail the Milwaukee Brewers by 7 games in the NL Central.