Former general manager Al Campanis once described a 20-year-old Candy Maldonado as “another Roberto Clemente” and declared “the first of 3,000” after the uber-hyped Dodgers prospect collected his first major league hit in 1981.

Similar lofty expectations were cast upon Kris Bryant and Javier Baez nearly a decade ago when the Cubs started to generate publicity toward their wave of talent that included the likes of Junior Lake and Albert Almora Jr.

The Cubs are careful not to place lofty expectations on Matt Mervis, but the timing of the left-handed slugger’s first promotion to the majors and the ensuing hoopla was curious, to say the least.

After going hitless in three at-bats with two strikeouts Friday, Mervis smacked an RBI single with two out in the eighth inning for his first major league hit off left-hander Tanner Scott that provided insurance in a 4-1 victory over the Marlins.

Mervis slapped his hands with great satisfaction, moments after Trey Mancini was intentionally walked to pitch to him. The hit prompted a large majority of the 31,181 fans at Wrigley Field to award him with the second of three standing ovations.

“I think I got chills, and teammates were going crazy,” said Mervis, who was proud he could share his debut with his parents in attendance.

Former first-round pick Ian Happ, who robbed Jazz Chisholm Jr. of a two-run hit with a running catch in the fourth and hit a two-run homer in the fifth, was delighted that Mervis came through in his debut.

“You have a bunch of veteran guys who have been around who have seen that,” Happ said. “Everyone is super excited for him to get the opportunity, and then for him to come through in that at-bat is a very cool moment.”

Mervis, who went from an undrafted free agent after the five-round 2020 draft to a 36-home run slugger at three minor league levels in 2022, 

Manager David Ross said Mervis will get consistent playing time as the Cubs try to work out of an offensive rut that saw them average 3.5 runs, a .235 batting average and a .703 OPS in 12 games prior to Friday’s victory that snapped a three-game losing streak.

“Right now we can use an offensive jolt at the bottom (of the order),” Ross said.

This marks the first time in Ross’ four years as manager that a highly-touted hitting prospect has been promoted from the minors this early in a season.

It also comes at a time where the National League Central, with the favored Cardinals off to a horrific start, is actually winnable. 

For the left-handed hitting Mervis, his promotion fulfills a lifelong dream but also increases the scrutiny.

“I have high expectations for myself,” Mervis said before the game. “I expect to come in and help us win right away. Whatever Twitter or the media is saying about me, I’m sure I’m thinking the same thing about my own performance.”

Ross liked Mervis’ composure, special since he struck out on a 94 mph changeup from Marlins starter Edward Cabrera in his first at-bat but smacked an 88 mph slider from Scott that produced an exit velocity of 111.2 mph, according to Baseball Savant.

“I like the way he handled the moments,” Ross said. “He didn’t get outside of (the strike zone). He took good swings and saw some nasty pitches. I thought he was aggressive and calm, and not jumpy.”

After learning of his promotion, Mervis placed his first call to his mother Ellen. But his father Jeff, who wore his son’s Arizona Fall League jersey at Friday’s game will receive the ball from his first hit.

“He presents that stuff proudly in his office,” Mervis said.