The last two months have been a special, rewarding time for Miguel Amaya, who started the year in Tennessee, made his Major League debut and is now playing with Iowa.
Amaya, formerly the Cubs No. 1 ranked prospect from 2018-2020, has dealt with a number of injuries that has set back his progression to Chicago. He signed for $1.3 million out of Panama in 2015 and quickly rose to the top of the Cubs’ prospect rankings.
The catcher played in consecutive SiriusXM All-Star Futures Game in 2018 and 2019, but missed the 2020 season due to the Covid-19 pandemic. He then had a forearm strain, playing in just 23 games in 2021 before having Tommy John surgery.
The 24-year-old came back and played in 40 games in 2022, but suffered a Lisfranc fracture in his left foot in September, ending his season early. He said it has been a long road back, but this year has definitely made it worth it.
“This year has been wonderful. Coming from all those injuries and two years without baseball for me hasn’t been easy,” Amaya said.
Amaya said that last year when he started getting at-bats in Tennessee he started to feel like he was coming back to the player that he was before all of the injuries.
“I lost a year at least, but my rhythm and that tempo was starting to come back,” he said. “I just wanted to control what I could control and have fun every single day.”
Part of controlling what he could was just trying to get his mind right for when he would be back. This year, Amaya started the year with Double-A Tennessee, hitting .273 (12-for-44) in his 13 games.
After those 13 games he got the call he had been waiting for his entire life, the call that he was going to play for the Chicago Cubs. He said he was getting groceries for the week when the Double-A Manager called him to go over the rest of the weeks itinerary.
“He showed me the itinerary and said I wasn’t catching because I was going to be getting on a flight to Washington D.C.,” he said. “That was shocking for me and I just immediately called my parents.”
His parents didn’t answer but his godmother did, who went to his parent’s house so he could tell them the news. He said they all started crying because all of the hard work they had all put in finally made his dream come true.
“I am just so grateful for them and the support that they have given me in every single step that I’ve been in in baseball,” Amaya said.
The catcher go this first Major League hit on May 6 at Wrigley Field against the Miami Marlins. He said he gave the baseball to his parents, who took it back home to Panama.
Entering the series against Columbus, Amaya has 12 hits in Triple-A, hitting .300 with four doubles and a home run for the I-Cubs. The No. 14 ranked prospect made his Triple-A debut on May 12 and has been with Iowa ever since.
His journey to Chicago maybe didn’t go as planned, but Amaya stayed dedicated and just trying to do his part to help the organization.
“I am just having fun playing every single day,” he said. “Just go out there and help my teammates, help my team and do what I can.”