Come To Think of It...Chicago Cubs' Potential September Call-ups

Funny, as the old saying goes, "there's always room for Jell-O." But with the Cubs, there apparently is no room for Pie.

While the Cubs still-young center fielder of the future(?) is likely to get the call sometime in September, the righty-lefty duo of Reed Johnson and Jim Edmonds leaves little to no room for Pie in CF.

In fact, with the starters performing so well, there is no great need for a lot of September help. And with the Brewers and Cardinals applying pressure, there likely is little room to allow rookies to get their feet wet during a pennant drive.

There is generally little that the call-ups can do other than gain major-league experience and fill in here and there to occasionally rest our weary troops as they head down the stretch run into the playoffs.

Another thing impacting the number of call-ups this year is that the Iowa Cubs are headed to the playoffs for the first time in years. So the front office is likely to allow players to stick around to finish what they started in many cases.

Still, other than Pie, there will be some that do get the call that invariably opens some eyes. Micah Hoffpauir continues to rake at Iowa, following up on his strong offensive showing in his earlier call-up with the parent team. At .361/.391/.740 and an OPS of 1.131, he is sure to be added when the rosters expand next month. 

Others who will likely get a look will be veteran catcher Koyie Hill, who is having a strong season at Iowa with 16 home runs. He will give Lou more flexibility by having three catchers on the roster. Also, pitchers Michael Wuertz, Angel Guzman, and Kevin Hart all figure to get a chance.

Call-ups from Tennessee, the club's AA affiliate, may include big right-hander Jose Ceda. The hard throwing 21-year-old pitcher has dominated at three levels this year and overall has struck out 95 hitters in approx. 84 innings of work. 

Also, infielder Jake Fox may get another look. Though he struggled mightily at Iowa, Fox has rebounded with a strong season with the Smokies. 

Come to think of it, having gone through the dog days of August, the team could probably use some reinforcements.