Bryce Windham has been one of the hottest players in the Cubs’ system in the month of August. He’s almost helped lead the Mesa 2 squad into the playoffs all while learning to play catcher full time.
Basic info
Height – 6‘1“
Weight – 190 pounds
Bats – Left
Throws – Right
Age – 22
32nd round – Old Dominion
When the Cubs originally selected Windham in the 2019 draft, I thought the Cubs had picked up a decent utility player, someone who could play all over the field. In addition, I thought he could be a guy who could hit for average and get on base, even without a lot of power.
At Old Dominion, Windham had a four year career playing a variety of positions. At one point, he was called the “Swiss Army Knife” by his coach as he played six different positions his sophomore year. He played mostly centerfield that year and as a junior he played mostly shortstop.
As for the offensive side of the ball, Windham improved from year to year at ODU. As a freshman, he only got five at bats but as a sophomore he hit .235 with a .393 OBP. As a junior in 52 games, he hit .293 with a .405 OBP. And as a senior, he hit three home runs while hitting .343 with a .460 OBP. If you’re wondering why he was a late round pick, he only had 8 extra base hits all year. Still, the Cubs saw something and continued the ODU pipeline that began with PJ Higgins in 2015.
In converting to catcher, Windham only got into 4 games in June but began to see more action in July. He caught 12 games but he also hit .317 with a .462 on base percentage. In those 12 games, he also drove in seven runs and hit three doubles.
In August, he began to see more action. At the time I wrote this, he had been in 17 games and was hitting .293 with a .417 on base percentage. And from August 10 through the 24th, he played in 10 games and hit .389 in that span and had an on base percentage of near .500. And this stretch came just in time for a playoff push for the Cubs 2 team.
While he has converted to catcher this year, his days of being a utility/Swiss Army knife guy should not be over. He looks to be an outstanding athlete with good speed and some decent size. Here’s a look at a ball that he ran down as a sophomore in center.
And then, here is an amazing play at second from his junior year.
Somebody with that skill set is not going to be stuck behind the plate when full season ball begins in 2020. Bryce should probably head to South Bend next year and if his bat continues to hit, he should be in the lineup most every day. The Cubs may have gotten a steal here.
Cubs Central 
[…] guy who could really be a sleeper next year is Bryce Windham, who transitioned to catcher in Mesa. Windham has a solid approach at the plate and can play a […]
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[…] the Cubs have drafted several Monarchs including Jared Young, PJ Higgins, Connor Myers, and Bryce Windham. The Cubs also signed non-drafted free agents Matt Burch as well as former Old Dominion commit […]
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