Reports: Cubs bringing up Contreras

The future has already come to the Cubs, many times over it seems, and it looks like another piece of that promosing puzzle is headed to Wrigleyville. 

The Cubs are promoting No. 2 prospect Willson Contreras to the big club Friday for his impending Major League debut, according to a report by FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal. MLB Network's Jon Heyman added that catcher Tim Federowicz will be designated for assignment to make room on the roster.

Contreras was signed by the Cubs for $850,000 out of his native Venezuela as a 16-year-old in 2009. After struggling offensively in his first six Minor League seasons, the right-handed-hitting catcher broke out with Double-A Tennessee in 2015 by hitting .333/.413/.478 with nine homers, four triples, 34 doubles and 75 RBIs in 126 games in the Southern League. As a result, he was named the game's top catching prospect by MLB.com this offseason and comes in at No. 45 overall at the time of his promotion. 

The 24-year-old backstop has exceeded even the loftiest expectations this season during his first trip to Triple-A Iowa. He ranks among the top five in the Pacific Coast League in all three slash-line categories with a .353/.442/.593 line over 240 plate appearances and trails only Ryan Schimpf (1.160) and Alex Dickerson (1.114) with a 1.035 OPS. With nine homers, Contreras had already surpassed his 2015 output in 251 fewer at-bats.

He's currently in the midst of a 20-game hitting streak for Iowa, during which he's hitting .383 with six homers and 24 RBIs. That's the second-longest streak in the PCL this season, trailing only Dickerson's 29-gamer for El Paso.

With Contreras' offense looking Major League-ready, the biggest area for growth remains his work behind the plate. Contreras talked to the Minor League Baseball podcast last offseason about his framing and ability to work with a staff, and he's controlled the running game with a 30.6 percent caught-stealing rate this season.

Rosenthal added in a subsequent tweet that the Cubs plan to make Contreras their "third catcher for now" behind veterans Miguel Montero and David Ross. That could help the 24-year-old grow under the tutelage of both backstops, but Chicago will need to find the youngster playing time to maintain his upward development. If Contreras can fulfill his promising prospect profile, he'll join Anthony Rizzo (26), Kris Bryant (24), Addison Russell (22), Jason Heyward (26) and Javier Baez (23) in the Cubs' impressive youth movement.