Gage Workman is Looking Too Good to Let Go for Cubs

Twice in three trips to the plate Monday, Gage Workman took one of the hardest swings anyone managed all day against a good big-league pitcher—and connected fairly cleanly. In the first inning, he worked a full count against Corbin Burnes of the Diamondbacks. Then, he cracked a one-hop grounder through the infield for an RBI single. It wasn't walloped, but nor was it a seeing-eye bit of good luck; Workman met the ball solidly. 

In his second trip, Workman hit another ball reasonably well, but lined out. It wasn't an exceptional swing, but he still did well, handing in and hitting the ball well against tough left-handed reliever A.J. Puk. It was in his final trip, though, that he made the biggest mark. On a 1-0 pitch from hard-throwing Diamondbacks reliever Justin Martinez—a fastball at 99 mph—Workman laced a 111.4-mph double to right-center field. It wasn't his fastest swing of the day—that came on the single against Burnes—but it demonstrated his power potential.

Of current Cubs, only Ian Happ and Seiya Suzuki have ever hit the ball harder than Workman did against Martinez Monday afternoon. (Yes, that includes Kyle Tucker.) The tools Workman has demonstrated this spring continue to dazzle. His glovework at third base has been very impressive, too. At 6-foot-4, it's only natural that he'd handle the move from shortstop to the hot corner easiest, given his athleticism. Still, he's opened some eyes with the smoothness of his mechanics there. 

We know the drawbacks and the risks. Workman needed a second tour of Double A to hit well there, and even then, his strikeout rate was quite high. He's 25 years old, and he's never taken a plate appearance above that level. His speed is good, but he's never been an efficient basestealer. Maybe Matt Talarico and Jose Javier can help Workman get the big leads and great jumps that have characterized the Yankees' minor-league affiliates the last few years, but it hasn't looked like he has the instincts for the running game thus far this spring.

Can he hit enough to get to his power? It's probably a proposition on roughly the same footing as the same question posed about Patrick Wisdom the last few years. The good news is that Wisdom actually did clear that threshold, until last season. He struck out a ton and it often limited his on-base percentage, but he hit enough home runs to outrun those problems. Even better, Workman appears to be a very good defender, at the very position where the Cubs needed Wisdom most, but at which he was always slightly below average.

The bad news, of course, is that Workman doesn't quite have Wisdom-caliber power. He's big, and he's a terrific athlete, and he's flashed some very impressive things this spring, but he might strike out 32% of the time and only get to power similar to that of Michael Busch, rather than that of Wisdom or Happ. He could end up being a very limited offensive contributor.

On balance, though, the Cubs have to hold onto him. Third base remains the thinnest spot on their roster, and he's a plus defender there, if nothing else. His glimpses of power potential this spring are too much to ignore. Matt Shaw and Nico Hoerner continue to deal with their injury issues, leaving more time for the Cubs to make a fundamentally sound decision. They don't even have to confront the possibility of sending Workman back to Detroit for another few weeks. When they do, though, they should make the choice to keep him, even if it does come with real downside.