Cubs Prospect Perspective: B.J. Murray

Not all articles are necessarily written with everyone in mind. This article, for instance, isn’t prioritized for people who regularly do Twitter. For all its drawbacks and attributes, Twitter is an online tool, like Facebook or YouTube. Twitter can be evil or quite useful, depending on your goals and follows. To the extent that some of you are still hesitant on joining Twitter because of its (sometimes deserved) cesspool reputation, you decide who you follow. With that curious backdrop, here is my prospect look at switch-hitting third baseman B.J. Murray.

One of the people I Follow on Twitter is Duke women’s basketball coach Kara Lawson. I’m not a Duke fan, and don’t listen to audio of Duke hoops games (men or women), but one tweet by Lawson broke some mental ice for me. If you haven’t watched this before, it takes about three-and-a-half minutes, and might change your language.

B.J. Murray, third baseman

Born January 5, 2000, Nassau, Bahamas
Cubs’ 15th Round pick in 2021 from Florida Atlantic University

I’m not going to represent an encyclopedic knowledge of Murray. I didn’t know until I wrote this that he was from The Bahamas. Walks seem to be a thing he was good at, and he seemed to heat up as the conference slate rolled around. He was capable from both batter’s boxes. The reality, though, isn’t whether his 1.007 OPS in a (better than perceived by outsiders) Conference USA season justified a 15th Round selection. It’s: “Can he compete?”

I checked out a few FAU games on YouTube, and it doesn’t look like Murray misses leg day in the workout room very often. No word in the notes on how he competes, though. Murray flashed an OPS of .826 in Mesa (five walks versus 14 strikeouts), and what would benefit him in 2022 is a league tailored to his ability where he can get four or five starts a week, to show what he brings. I doubt it would be Myrtle Beach, so an advanced-level squad in Mesa would seem about ideal for him. Here’s to the Cubs having a squad at that level for Murray, and the others like him, in the same boat.

Back to those of you who have contemplated Twitter, but haven’t jumped. A small follow list is very tolerable. It’s not necessary, or even advisable, to follow “all” the Cubs’ credentialed writers. Pick two or three of your favorites, and they should cover the roster moves, et cetera. My list would be wasted without Russell Dorsey and Meghan Montemurro. Parse in a few others of your preference, and you’ll have most of the bases covered. If a national writer touches on something Cubs, do you really need 26 people chiming in on the same unsubstantiated rumor?

With Murray, it’s legit to start forming opinions on players you aren’t familiar with, based on those you are familiar with. It won’t be 100 percent spot-on, but baseball isn’t a 100 percent accurate sport. Is Owen Caissie better or worse, in your opinion, than when he arrived? Is Reggie Preciado meeting or exceeding? And run the list however long you want. It’s possible to criticize results, but the competing thing is the discussion of the day. If players are, generally, competing, a player-driven competition scenario seems better than the coaches begging and cajoling players into competing every day.

Lastly, the hidden theme returns. In mid-February, you may be craving baseball. Especially if the lockout hasn’t been solved. Feel free to decide who your college team will be if the “worst-case scenario” happens. Whichever squad you select, you’ll have players scouts might be interested in. If they compete. And, if you’re following games online (as a fill in for Cubs games), you might be surprised at how quickly you take to the unknowns in the lineup on your team. Particularly, if it’s a quality squad. The opposing players that seem to compete? Mind them, as well. Stat lines are nice, but scouts also mind who works a good at-bat down 11-3 in the eighth inning.