This is the Perfect Time for Cubs to Call Up Kevin Alcántara

[Matthew Trueblood]

Image courtesy of © Cody Scanlan/The Register / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Among Triple-A hitters with at least 60 plate appearances this season, Kevin Alcántara boasts the second-highest 90th-percentile exit velocity, at 110 miles per hour. The ball is jumping off his bat, as much as ever, and while he continues to strike out roughly 30 percent of the time, he's still hitting a solid .269/.346/.409 for the Iowa Cubs. He's cracked nine extra-base hits (including two home runs) and stolen five bases in six tries thus far. He's looked good in center field, drawn 11 walks in 107 trips to the dish, and even shown some facility as a bunter: he has two sacrifices.

Why am I telling you this, though? Unlike Cade Horton, who now has a very clear path to some big-league playing time, there's no obvious need (or even an apparent opening) for Alcántara right now. Quite the contrary: the Cubs have the best outfield in the league. Yes, he's using the opposite field a bit better, and yes, he's lifting it a bit more often, but there's plenty of polishing left to do, for a 22-year-old who only has about 250 plate appearances at the Triple-A level and certainly hasn't mastered it.

Here's the thing: Alcántara is a capable center fielder, and he's already on the 40-man roster. Earlier this spring, I wrote about the fact that the Cubs would need to use him as a de facto fourth outfielder, despite not carrying him on the active roster for long stretches. That's just the reality of the roster they've built. Now is the time to put that plan into action, and to leverage their fluid roster status and a soft spot in their schedule by giving starting center fielder (and budding star) Pete Crow-Armstrong a little bit of a blow.

Thirty-five games into Chicago's season, Crow-Armstrong has played every defensive inning in center field. Even going that long between days off is rare, in this day and age, but admittedly, the schedule is airier than it used to be, and the Cubs' season-opening series in Japan in mid-March has left them with even more blank spaces on the calendar than most teams in the weeks since. It's not an emergency in need of remedy, and Crow-Armstrong has played so well for the second half of this stretch that Craig Counsell has felt little temptation to take him off the field, at any point.

Still, we're seeing some cracks form, based on the heavy usage. One of the surest ways position players respond to the grind of the long season is by seeing their plate discipline erode, and sure enough, Crow-Armstrong is moving into one of those cycles right now: his swing rate is rising, which (as ever) means his production is tailing off.

By no means does this yet constitute a true problem. That blue line is the one that matters, and while it's sagged sharply over the last week or so, it's not at all hurting the team. Not yet. Proactivity matters, though. You want to get him off his feet and out of the box for a day or three, over the next fortnight or so, to avoid having him fall into bad habits. It's also good to give players a break when they're playing well, rather than wait to do so until they hit a slump. That way, they can't misconstrue their sojourn to the bench as a punitive measure, or a sign of flagging confidence from leadership.

Crow-Armstrong has to rest, because rest is not optional for the modern center fielder. He's on pace for somewhere around 1,450 innings in center this year, but in reality, only two players (Omar Moreno, in 1979, and Adam Jones, in 2012) have ever played that much in that demanding position in one season. In fact, there have only been 38 player-seasons of at least 1,400 innings in center. Some fast facts about them:

• They were amassed by just 29 total players. Moreno, Andruw Jones, Juan Pierre, Vada Pinson, Curt Flood and Dale Murphy all did it multiple times.
• Twenty-one of the 38 came before 1990, including 10 before 1980. This has really only been possible since the season lengthened to 162 games in the early 1960s, so that's telling.
• Only 13 have come since 1998, and the only player to get over 1,400 since 2008 was Adam Jones in that 2012 campaign.

Many of the players who pepper this list (to name a few non-controversial ones, Tim Raines, Steve Finley, and Lenny Dykstra) were known users of amphetamines, performance-enhancing drugs, and/or cocaine when they achieved this feat of durability. Some of those substances were effectively legal at the time, so it's not necessary to comb through the list on a witch hunt, but the fact that only one player has gotten that far in the nearly two decades since amphetamines were banned (and begun to be tested for) speaks volumes.

The modern game is exceptionally demanding, physically and mentally. A center fielder can't take that position every day without suffering some heavy effects from the workload, and Crow-Armstrong is no exception. The Cubs have to find a window to get him off his feet a few times. Alcántara will be the one to do that, and he's ready for the first of what is likely to be two or three stints in that role.

Shota Imanaga is likely to be shelved by his hamstring strain, which paves the way for a move. The Cubs have the next four Thursdays off, plus Monday, Jun. 2, which could allow them to occasionally get by with just 12 pitchers and lengthen their bench. They probably wouldn't have a hard time finding a part of Justin Turner's body that isn't working right, if they wanted to shelve him for a while. Best of all, after a tough week against the Giants and Mets (in the middle of which comes a game that will be started by Giants lefty Robbie Ray), the team's schedule goes jelly-soft for a while: they play the Marlins (twice), the White Sox, the Reds (twice) and the Rockies in the final three weeks of May.

Alcántara can and should come up to give Crow-Armstrong multiple days off during this stretch. It will take some careful roster management, but that was always going to be the case. The hour of the jaguar is here. The Cubs ought to pounce.

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[Transmogrified Tiger]

Setting aside the Tokyo games for obvious reasons, PCA has played 33 games in 39 days, and will continue to have 1 day a week off through the end of May.  Combined with Alcantara sporting a 95 wRC+ at Iowa, I don't think there's urgency to bring up a PCA hedge *now*.  If PCA starts scuffling or gets a little banged up you can throw Brujan out there as needed, or even Happ/Tucker if you want to be aggressive with bats.  

 

I think this becomes a concern worth making a move when you hit June and the team plays 26 games in 27 days.  Hopefully by then Shaw is back and you could use Berti for a similar purpose as you used Brujan, or maybe Alcantara warms those long levers up with the weather like he has in seasons past.

[Jason Ross]

It should also be noted: Alcantara is having massive fits with breaking balls, whiffing nearly 40% of the time against a bunch of them. 

[G.Krisch]

Brujan would spell PCA, unless he needs to sit for more than a couple games. Having Alcantara rot on the bench makes no sense. 

[gocubs218]

This is the perfect time to trade him to the Twins for Pablo Lopez.

[Development DL]

I love the proactive creativity .  Use your asset's ,  and develop and utilize as many , in context as possible . 
 

If Alcantara is as strong a base runner and fielder as the data we have been presented indicate . His floor , would allow selective match ups .  The catching situation so far is benefiting both players , in a loose version of what you seem to be saying . 

An added benefit being continued development of A young player . 
 

Your pieces are a level up , in thought provocation.  Keep banging those keyboard letters .