Prospects Soler, Baez to play in intrasquad game

MESA, Ariz. -- On Thursday, Cubs manager Dale Sveum will get his first in-game look at top prospects Jorge Soler and Javier Baez. The pair will take part in an intrasquad game at HoHoKam Stadium and will hit back to back in the lineup for the Blue team with Soler in left, Baez at shortstop.

The Cubs have 39 Spring Training games, and Soler and Baez will get plenty of at-bats. How eager is Sveum to see them?

"I'm very anxious," Sveum said Wednesday. "Those are the guys you talk about who are on your radar in your Minor League system who have all those God-given tools -- the speed, the arm, the power, hopefully, the hitting ability, meaning OPS and those things, although a lot of that stuff comes a little later in their careers.

"This is pretty special talent and bat speed that those guys have that you want to see in person and at game speed."

Soler, the Cuban outfielder who signed a nine-year, $30 million deal last June, turns 21 on Feb. 25; Baez, who was the Cubs' No. 1 Draft pick in 2011, just turned 20 on Dec. 1. Both will likely begin the season at the Class A level.

The intrasquad game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. MT at HoHoKam Stadium and is open to the public.