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Cubs top prospect Davis still rolling in Triple A

Cubs prospect Brennen Davis quickly answered the question of whether he'd be ready for the jump to Triple A.

Davis homered in his first 2 at-bats with the Iowa Cubs. Now a week into new assignment, Davis hasn't slowed down. Through seven games with Iowa, he's hitting .444 (12 for 27) with 4 home runs and 9 RBI.

The Iowa Cubs were scheduled to play at St. Paul on Thursday night and had nine games left on the schedule. The Triple A season is running longer than usual this season because it started late due to pandemic concerns.

When Davis makes his Cubs debut is anyone's guess, though it seems likely to happen sometime in 2022. Team have traditionally waited to promote rookies to get an extra year of service before they hit free-agency - see Kris Bryant, 2015 - but MLB's collective bargaining agreement also expires on Dec. 1. So the rules might change, or there could be a work stoppage next year.

When Davis does occupy a locker at Wrigley Field, he'll be following in some family footsteps. Davis' father is former Bulls guard Reggie Theus, though he says Theus has never been part of his life, according to The Des Moines Register.

Theus, who played for the Bulls from 1978-84, was named athletic director and head basketball coach at Bethune-Cookman in July.

The 6-foot-4 Davis grew up on a farm outside of Phoenix. Sometimes, he'd practice batting by tossing oranges into the air and seeing how far he could hit them. He was an accomplished basketball player growing up, but decided to focus on baseball shortly before being drafted in the second round by the Cubs in 2018.

Davis missed the start of the season due to getting hit in the face with a pitch during spring training. He started with a few games in Single A South Bend before moving up to Double A Tennessee.

Two other interesting Cubs prospects made the jump from Tennessee to Iowa this week.

One is left-handed pitcher Scott Kobos. He never pitched in high school, but moved from the outfield to the mound at junior college. He was never all that successful during three seasons at Coastal Carolina, posting a 5.59 ERA as a senior. The Cubs signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2020.

Sometimes the Cubs sign guys from Coastal Carolina just to fill out the roster at Class A Myrtle Beach. But Kobos pitched in a relief role at Myrtle Beach, South Bend and Tennessee this season and allowed just 1 run in 31 innings, with 49 strikeouts.

Kobos, whose fastball usually measures in the mid-90s, made his Triple A debut Wednesday and gave up a hit and walk, but no runs against St. Paul.

Another player who made his Iowa debut in that game was third baseman Christopher Morel, a Dominican Republic native who hit .220 with 17 home runs at Tennessee. He went 0-for-3 with a walk.

Twitter: @McGrawDHSports

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