Piniella says Soto could be Cubs' top catcher next year

For catcher Geovany Soto's first six years in the Cubs' organization, he was considered a decent prospect.

Now the Cubs are looking at the 24-year-old Soto as possibly being something special.

Soto was the Pacific Coast League's player of the year after batting .353 for Class AAA Iowa with 26 homers, 31 doubles and 109 RBI in 110 games. He went 2-for-3 in Wednesday night's 8-2 win over the Dodgers and handled starter Ted Lilly well, catching the eye of manager Lou Piniella much the way he did in spring training.

"You look at his numbers in Triple-A and they're pretty darn good. We liked him this spring," Piniella said.

"I see a kid here that could be your No. 1 catcher next spring."

Soto was a .262 career hitter in the minors before this season. He credits losing weight with contributing to his bust-out season. Soto is 218 pounds now, down from a high of 245, thanks to the diet recommended to him by Kerry Wood.

"This spring I really, really, really focused on my weight. I lost like 20 pounds," Soto said. "Then it was just a matter of being more aggressive at the plate and hitting the ball where it's pitched."

It wasn't easy for Soto to stay away from the junk food he liked, especially playing in the minors with the long bus rides.

"Woody told me about a really good diet and I just followed it," Soto said. "Especially during baseball season it's been really tough to follow any type of diet because of late-night eating and road trips and stuff, but as long as you keep straight and eat healthy, it was a good thing for me and I'm glad I did it."

Soto, a converted third baseman, felt it was time to get serious with his career if he ever hoped to play regularly in the big leagues. He was pleased to hear what Piniella said about next season.

"I've been in this organization for seven years and I think I'm progressing every year, doing better and better every year, so I think I'm ready for more responsibility and to play up here in the big leagues," Soto said. "Hopefully they'll give me a chance."

Piniella said he planned to give the rookie more chances down the stretch.

"He did a nice job (Wednesday) night with the pitcher," Piniella said. "He did a nice job swinging the bat, scored from first on a double, heads up, went to second on a throw to home plate.

"He's a good looking player and we're going to give him some playing time here in September. How much, we'll see. He didn't come here just to sit. You've got to like the young man. We've had other kids come up here from Triple-A with high averages, but this kid has a high average, a lot of RBIs and a lot of home runs. And he's good defensively."

Jason Kendall is in the final year of a four-year, $60 million deal he signed with the Pirates, although Oakland and Pittsburgh are paying the lion's share of what's left on the deal this year.

Veteran backup catcher Henry Blanco is signed through 2008 with a mutual option for both parties in 2009.