Castro eager to see Baez in Majors

LOS ANGELES -- On May 7, 2010, Starlin Castro was promoted from Double-A Tennessee to the Cubs. The team was playing in Cincinnati, and Castro had a game to remember, hitting a home run in his first at-bat and finishing with six RBIs.

Castro is hoping Javier Baez can have the same success when he is eventually promoted to the big leagues. And Castro would like that day to be soon.

"Maybe this year, yeah," Castro said when asked if he'd like to see Baez, the No. 2 prospect on MLB.com's top 20 list of Cubs players. "I don't know when but he has to be here some day."

With the Cubs in last place in the National League Central, there has been a lot of attention on the players in the Minor Leagues and when they'll make their debuts. Baez batted .300 in July, and hit two home runs on Sunday to raise his season total to 23. He now has 80 RBIs with Iowa.

"He has the ability, he has the talent," Castro said of Baez, who has been playing second base to help the transition to the big league team. "I think he can do the same -- come here and keep playing, keep doing his job. I think it'll be good for him."

Castro is hoping Baez is called up to stay. In 2010, Castro remembers being nervous every time there was a transaction, thinking he would go back to the Minor Leagues. But he never did.

"I had a lot of scary moments my first year here," he said. "Thank God, I never went back to the Minor Leagues. Those guys we have in the Minor Leagues, they have the ability and the talent to be here for their whole career."