Bright future ahead for Jorge Soler

— -- It's been a rough decade for Chicago Cubs fans, but they've seen the Cubs make a vast improvement in 2014, and there's hope thanks in large part to what is currently baseball's best farm system. That system has seen young hitters Arismendy Alcantara and Javier Baez promoted this summer, and they have held their own in the tough National League Central.

The next member of the Cubs' impressive group of young talent will make his big league debut on Wednesday, as the Cubs will call up outfielder Jorge Soler.

Here's why Soler has a chance to be one of the best young outfielders in baseball in the next few years, and why he has a chance to help your fantasy team down the stretch of 2014.

What he can do: Soler's hands are his biggest strength at the plate. The right-handed-hitting outfielder accelerates through the zone as quickly as any prospect in baseball. He has improved the functionality in the lower half of his swing, and he has the raw strength plus bat speed to give him plus-plus power.

"The ball just explodes off his bat," an AL Central scout said. "The swing isn't flawless, but he has cut down on the draft and no longer just relies on his upper body to make hard contact. He's the type of guy that I could see hitting 30, maybe even 40, homers in his best years."

While power is his best tool, Soler also has an above-average hit tool, with an underrated -- if a bit inconsistent -- approach at the plate as well as the willingness and ability to hit the ball hard to all parts of the field. He'll never be among the league leaders in walks, but he rarely beats himself by swinging at pitches outside the strike zone, and he'll take his share of bases on balls if pitchers refuse to give in to him.

Reason for concern: There have been flashes of brilliance for both Alcantara and Baez since they were brought up to the Cubs, but they also have had their share of struggles since they became big leaguers (neither player has an on-base percentage above .290 as of Monday). Soler isn't as talented as Baez and doesn't have the same skill set as Alcantara, but multiple scouts have told me that Soler is more ready for the big leagues than those two because of his developed body and feel for hitting at the plate. Expecting him to put up numbers close to what he did at Double-A Tennessee or Triple-A Iowa is a fool's errand, though.

"It will be an adjustment period [for Soler]," the scout said. "Baseball is a hard game when you're in your prime, but when you're a young kid like he is, you have to multiply the difficulty by a considerable amount.

"My biggest concern with him will be, can he control his emotions when he goes through the rough patches? He's matured quite a bit, but I want to see how exactly he handles the lack of success. If he makes the adjustments he's capable of, it won't be a problem."

It also should be noted that although Soler has solid-average speed, he's not a big base-stealing threat, and at his best is a low double-digit player, with six to eight a more likely expectation.

2015 and beyond: How well Soler performs against big league pitching will depend on which version we see of the outfielder. If we see the guy who puts himself into hitting counts and will go the other way with pitches, he has the ability to give you a handful of homers over these final 30 games with a respectable batting average and on-base percentage. If he has a "grip and rip" approach that so many of the top prospects who have received promotions this year have had, you'll still get the homers, but the average and OBP will be in the same range of Baez and Alcantara. Because those I trust have been so high on Soler's approach this year, I'll guess we get the top version, and a .250/.320/.450 line isn't out of the question.

The future for Soler -- like the future of the Cubs -- is far brighter. He is a .280, 30-homer, 100-RBI player who should hit in the middle of one of the best young lineups in baseball, and he should be among the best corner outfielders in fantasy baseball in the coming years.