Extra bases

• Welington Castillo is tied for 15th among Major League catchers with a .987 fielding percentage, but Sveum has seen his backstop grow in his first full year on the job.

"Welington, to me, is right there with [Yadier] Molina as the top defensive catcher in baseball," Sveum said. "Nobody blocks better, and it's hard to say anybody throws better. He's doing a good job swinging lately, but it's nice to have a catcher who can do a lot of things and he's learned a lot in the last year and a half. He's the whole package.

"He goes into camp next year as a more seasoned veteran where he can concentrate on his offense. There's a lot more in that tank offensively than what we've seen."

Castillo is batting .271 with six home runs and 28 RBIs in 108 games, sharing time with Dioner Navarro.

"Welly has been on another level all year," Rizzo said.

• Top prospect Javier Baez led the Cubs' Minor Leagues in home runs and RBIs and right-hander Kyle Hendricks posted the lowest ERA and most wins in the 2013 season.

Baez, the Cubs' first-round pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, hit 37 home runs combined at Class A Advanced Daytona and Double-A Tennessee and finished with 111 RBIs. Class A Boise's Kevin Encarnacion posted the best batting average, hitting .355 for the short-season team. Tennessee's John Andreoli had 40 stolen bases between Daytona and Tennessee.

Hendricks gave up 37 earned runs in 166 1/3 innings for a 2.00 ERA between Tennessee and Iowa, and he finished with 13 wins.

Right-hander Brian Schlitter totaled the most saves in the Cubs' Minor League organization with 22, and Tennessee's Eric Jokisch had the most strikeouts with 137.