The Chicago Cubs have big plans for young Addison Russell and have taken their first step towards it by promoting him immediately to starting line-up.

Throughout spring training and the two weeks at Triple-A Iowa, Russell was a force unleashed. His performance outshone that of the players in the major league and caused the Cubs to re-evaluate their battle plan moving forward.

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Last Tuesday, the Cubs called up Russell to the big leagues. He was set to play second and bat during the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In an interview on the same day, Russell said it was a good thing that he was pushed by the Cubs and that he was looking forward to it. This was less than 24 hours after he went 2 for 4 for the Iowa Cubs, besting Oklahoma City.

Russell was the centrepiece of a trade that had pitcher Jeff Samardzija to Oakland last summer. He was the 11^th overall pick in the 2012 amateur draft. During his time in the minor leagues, he hit .318 with four doubles and a home run for Triple-A Iowa.

During spring training, he continued in fine form, batting .317 in 13 games before being called for.

Throughout his short career, Russell has been a shortstop. However, he has been learning the ropes of working second base.

Fortunately for him, the Cubs are willing to be patient and wait for Russell to grow.

Of the Russell acquisition, Manager Joe Maddon commented that he was not worried about handling success. Instead, he was more worried about how to handle failure.

He was not worried though, saying that he and the team feel that Russell can handle failures, which is important moving forward.

Addison Russell is the second player to be called up by the Chicago Cubs last week. He follows Third baseman Kris Bryant who is hitting .429 in four games and had a three RBI in a win over the Pirates last Monday.

TagsChicago Cubs, Addison Russell, Pittsburgh Pirates, Triple-A Iowa