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2023 AFL

CaliforniaRaisin

By CaliforniaRaisin,
in Cubs Minor League Talk

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CubinNY MVP

CubinNY

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Posted
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59 minutes ago, Rex Buckingham said:

He and Alcantara both seem like good trade pieces

I'd hang on to Alcantara if I could unless he's included for a difference-maker. But it might be a big reason why they are in the AFL this year.

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Rex Buckingham ACL Cubs

Rex Buckingham

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4 minutes ago, CubinNY said:

I'd hang on to Alcantara if I could unless he's included for a difference-maker. But it might be a big reason why they are in the AFL this year.

Absolutely. I'm just looking at Alcantara in terms of his option years left and our current OF situation. With Happ and Seiya taking the corners for the next 2 years and PCA hopefully locking down CF, there doesn't seem to be a lot of space for him. Add in Caissie being on a similar track and Canario already at the big league level, our OF seems crowded and he's a potential big piece in a deal for a 3B/1B/SP

Tim MVP

Tim

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Posted
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21 minutes ago, Rex Buckingham said:

Absolutely. I'm just looking at Alcantara in terms of his option years left and our current OF situation. With Happ and Seiya taking the corners for the next 2 years and PCA hopefully locking down CF, there doesn't seem to be a lot of space for him. Add in Caissie being on a similar track and Canario already at the big league level, our OF seems crowded and he's a potential big piece in a deal for a 3B/1B/SP

There are a whole bunch of other guys I'd rather trade first. He's got two option years remaining - I don't think that's going to be a huge factor for him.

At the risk of getting into this debate with Tom again, Alcantara is the toolsiest, highest upside position player in the system. While he's not likely to hit his 90th percentile outcome, there's nobody else in the system that can provide that superstar kind of outcome. 

To be clear, he's not untouchable in my mind. But I'm not trading him for a 3 WAR player like Alonso.

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Rex Buckingham ACL Cubs

Rex Buckingham

Old-Timey Member
Posted
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2 hours ago, Tim said:

There are a whole bunch of other guys I'd rather trade first. He's got two option years remaining - I don't think that's going to be a huge factor for him.

At the risk of getting into this debate with Tom again, Alcantara is the toolsiest, highest upside position player in the system. While he's not likely to hit his 90th percentile outcome, there's nobody else in the system that can provide that superstar kind of outcome. 

To be clear, he's not untouchable in my mind. But I'm not trading him for a 3 WAR player like Alonso.

Yeah, and I was thinking more Jose Ramirez than Pete Alonso if we move Alcantara

CaliforniaRaisin GOAT

CaliforniaRaisin

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4 hours ago, Tim said:

There are a whole bunch of other guys I'd rather trade first. He's got two option years remaining - I don't think that's going to be a huge factor for him.

At the risk of getting into this debate with Tom again, Alcantara is the toolsiest, highest upside position player in the system. While he's not likely to hit his 90th percentile outcome, there's nobody else in the system that can provide that superstar kind of outcome. 

To be clear, he's not untouchable in my mind. But I'm not trading him for a 3 WAR player like Alonso.

I know we talked about this elsewhere but I don't think people realize how much of a unicorn Alcántara is and how much rawer and longer he'll take to develop than your normal top prospect, given his size. I'm not saying he's going to have an Aaron Judge-like career but his 90th+ percentile outcome is Judge-ian and look at how slowly Judge developed (and he was drafted after his junior year of college).

CaliforniaRaisin GOAT

CaliforniaRaisin

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Chicago Cubs prospects: Kevin Alcántara, OF; James Triantos, IF; Christian Franklin, OF

The Cubs sent a trio of interesting position player prospects, highlighted by outfielder Kevin Alcántara, who’s among the youngest players in the league as he just turned 21 in July. He showed ridiculous bat speed and raw power, homering to the opposite field on a 91-mph fastball away from a lefty and doubling down the left field line on 98 down and in from a righty, and some swing and miss as well, losing his bat on a 95-mph fastball away. He made adjustments even within some at bats, which is going to be the biggest factor that determines whether he reaches his very high ceiling, because he’s going to end up with 70 power and is a plus runner with a strong arm as well.

Alcántara is actually six months older than teammate James Triantos, who is hitting everything he sees in the desert, with a .407/.556/.815 line boosted by three triples even though he’s not exactly a burner on the basepaths. I saw Triantos expand the zone with two strikes a couple of times, which is very unusual for him, but when he stays in the zone it’s consistent medium to hard contact. He’s going to have to find a position, which I assume is why the Cubs have him playing a little centerfield, since he’s not that strong at second or third and their infield is about to get very crowded. The Mesa Solar Sox team can even field an all-Cubs outfield with Christian Franklin on the roster; he’s probably the best defender of the trio, but offers the least with the bat right now, and he’s still very much a dead fastball hitter as he was in college.

 

CaliforniaRaisin GOAT

CaliforniaRaisin

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Quote

4. James Triantos, 2B, Cubs
Team: Mesa
Age: 20

Why He’s Here: .333/.474/1.000 (5-for-15), 4 R, 1 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 5 RBIs, 3 BB, 3 SO, 1-for-1 SB

The Scoop: In 2022, two players in the Arizona Fall League finished the year with three triples—Cal Conley (Braves) and Victor Mesa Jr. (Marlins). Triantos reached that total in four games last week. That’s also the same number of triples Triantos had over the course of 83 regular-season games. The pure-hitting middle infielder’s trio of triples were part of a week with five extra-base hits, which puts him just three behind Peoria’s Jakob Marsee for the league lead in that category. 

 

CaliforniaRaisin GOAT

CaliforniaRaisin

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10/16 box score:

DH J. Triantos 4/6, R, 3 RBI, 2 K, SB (3) - game-tying single, bottom of the 9th
CF K. Alcántara 2/4, 2 R, 4 RBI, BB, K, 2B (2), HR (3) - walk-off HR bottom of the 10th
RP A. Laskey 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 0-2 GO-FO

 

Tim MVP

Tim

Site Manager
Posted
Posted
27 minutes ago, Tryptamine said:

God Triantos would be crazy valuable if he could even kind of fake playing defense. 

He's athletic enough to play it well, too. I'm not sure what the hang up is there. 

Someone call Tom Emanski

CaliforniaRaisin GOAT

CaliforniaRaisin

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5 hours ago, Tryptamine said:

God Triantos would be crazy valuable if he could even kind of fake playing defense. 

Ehh, it was his first game in left.

Wish they'd just play him more in the infield and get him the reps he needs there because I don't think he can cut it in the outfield.

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