Jared Young is making a strong case to get called back up to the major leagues.
The 27-year-old from Prince George is having himself a remarkable season playing for the triple-A Iowa Cubs and that’s led to speculation he could soon be back playing with the Chicago Cubs.
Young was especially hot with his bat last weekend at the tail end of a six-game series against the Memphis Redbirds. On Friday he was just one double short of hitting for the cycle, ending up with a home run, triple and single in a 7-5 win.
Then on Saturday, he ended the game with a two-run walk-off homer– his 13th home run of the season – to cap off another 7-5 victory.
Young improved his batting average to .326, ninth-best in the International League.
His .426 on-base percentage combined with a .605 slugging percentage (total number bases per hit) through 52 games this season gives Young an OPS of 1.031, fifth in the league.
Through 172 at-bats Young has totalled 56 hits, scored 40 runs and has 45 runs batted in, with four stolen bases.
In 20 games in June he posted 30 hits, including eight home runs, four doubles and a triple, drove in 25 runs and walked 13 times.
One of his home runs, a 495-foot shot against the St. Paul Saints on June 9, is the longest home run ball of any player in the Chicago farm system this season.
Young also pitched for Iowa, coming in to close out a 15-2 blowout loss to Columbus on June 2. He allowed just one hit, walked two and struck out two
Young, the first professional baseball player from Prince George, made his major league debut last year on Sept. 16 at Wrigley Field in Chicago, where he got his first hit, an eighth-inning double, against the Colorado Rockies.
In six games with Chicago he had five hits and posted a .263 batting average.
The I-Cubs are 8-2 in their last 10 games. Heading into a series that starts Wednesday in Omaha, they currently lead the International League West with a 43-30 record.
