Chicago Cubs 2026 Top 20 Prospects, No. 10: James Triantos

[Jason Ross]

Image courtesy of © Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images

We've already explored the 11th- through 20th-ranked prospects in the Cubs system, as voted on by our North Side Baseball writers, in two installments (Nos. 11-15, and Nos. 16-20). Today, we continue our look at our top-20 by diving deep on our 10th-ranked prospect: infielder James Triantos. 

#10 - James Triantos (Iowa Cubs, Triple-A)
Triantos, 23, saw a full season of Triple-A action in 2025 after a strong 2024. While at Double-A Tennessee, the former second-round pick showed improved power, posting a career-high .137 ISO. Power has been one of the knocks on the infielder's game, so seeing him begin to flash some pop while in Tennessee provided hope that he could marry his contact-oriented approach with just enough pop to create the ultimate version of himself. Sadly, his first extended look at Iowa was not what he or the Cubs had hoped, putting his place in the organization a bit in limbo as we enter the 2026 season.

What To Like
One thing Triantos has never struggled with is making contact, and a lot of it. Even during his time in Iowa last year in which the player struggled, Triantos only struck out 15% of the time. On top of the low punchout rate, Triantos showcased a 90th-percentile whiff rate and 82nd-percentile zone contact rate. He makes a lot of contact, regardless of whether it's in the zone or out of it. 

One of the things the diminutive hitter has struggled with has been selectivity. This isn't unique to Triantos; it's something many high-contact hitters need to learn—that not everything you can hit is something you should hit. While the overall numbers didn't really get much better, his swing decisions did ,and that is a positive sign for the future. From the beginning of the season to the end of the year, he lowered his chase rate and his overall swing rate, which is a good thing; he needs to be a little bit choosier at the plate. His bat control is good enough that he's able to get deeper into a count and still make contact. 

Another thing he does well: he hits the fastball. Triantos's best outcomes were on fastballs last year. His overall wOBA of .312 was disappointing, but a .337 wOBA when making contact with fastballs was better. By being more picky at the plate, he can also hunt these pitches a little more successfully. While you'd love to see his numbers against other types of pitches be better than where they are, getting to the fastball is a good first-step as he continues to grow as a hitter.

What To Work On:
While Triantos clearly can hit the ball often, his quality of contact is just not where it needs to be right now. While some of these things can be explained away as the cost of a contact-oriented approach, he's never going to survive at the next level if he doesn't hit the ball with a bit more authority. 

On the 2025 season, James had just a 76 wRC+ against Triple-A pitching. For any organization to think he's ready, he's going to need to show (at least) the ability to dominate at the highest level of the minors. Sadly, because he will offer limited defensive ability (despite his versatility), his bat is going to have to be a bit stronger. 

One reason why his batted-ball data is so poor could be a leg injury suffered early in the season. Triantos has a pretty quiet swing and doesn't generate a lot of power to begin with, but if you cut a leg out from under him, it's going to be even worse. We shouldn't attribute everything to this, but it could be a mitigating factor, and something to keep in the back of our minds. 

What's Next:
Another full year of hitting in Iowa is on tap, barring his turning a corner. While Triantos once looked like a virtual lock to make an MLB roster one day due to his versatility and bat-to-ball skills, his 2025 season threw that into question. The good news is that he's still quite young, still has versatility, and if he can show an offensive game 10% or so better than league average, he'll quickly put his name back onto broader prospect radars.

One thing to keep an eye on: there's video out there of what looks like an overhauled swing entering this spring. We'll have to see what he looks like in games and what this means, but he appears to be a little less upright, and his hands seem to have been raised. It's a setup and swing geared toward a little extra loft, as well. Compare the video below with the video above, from August 2025. 

I don't think Triantos profiles as a big-league regular. He's probably best at second base (despite a plus arm), but he's not particularly great at any position. His arm is strong enough for third, but he isn't a particularly adroit fielder. His legs are good enough for center field, but he hasn't found a home there, and against the best pitching in the world, his bat probably doesn't have enough oomph to be a starter on a good team.

With that said, he's got a great chance of being "just good enough" to play second,. third and anywhere in the outfield, while flashing enough contact ability and speed that if you squint hard and believe even harder, he can offer sneaky value. There's still upside in Triantos, even if 2025 didn't really go to plan.

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What do you think of James Triantos? Do you like his new mechanics? What are your projections? Let us know in the comment section below!

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[Bertz]

One thing I wonder about is if the insane run environment in the International League makes a high contact / low power guy like Triantos look a little artificially worse.  A hitters park/league is going to juice the value of well hit fly balls.  If you have a guy who hits the ball on the ground a lot he's not getting as much benefit.  But on the flipside when leaving Iowa and going to Chicago you'd expect the groundball guy to lose less of his production?  That's not to say Triantos was secretly good last year, but more to say that like you said if in 2026 he's rocking a modest 110 wRC+ that's probably enough for me to feel like he can survive in the big leagues?

Overall there's still plenty to like in Triantos' profile.  He's going to play this full year at 23, so despite being around for what seems like forever he's still a positive age relative to league guy.  The contact numbers also create a pretty reasonable floor, I'm seeing only three hitters last year with a K rate under 15% and a wRC+ under 80.  He's also a modest plus with the glove and major plus on the bases.

It's probably a bench profile, but I wouldn't write that in stone.  The raw power is actually decent, so if he can add some lift and pull to his profile without sacrificing contact there's ceiling with the bat.  And even if he can't an Adam Frazier or Amed Rosario type bat that can actually play defense is probably a viable everyday starter, at least at peak.

[Jason Ross]

2 hours ago, Bertz said:

One thing I wonder about is if the insane run environment in the International League makes a high contact / low power guy like Triantos look a little artificially worse.  A hitters park/league is going to juice the value of well hit fly balls.  If you have a guy who hits the ball on the ground a lot he's not getting as much benefit.  But on the flipside when leaving Iowa and going to Chicago you'd expect the groundball guy to lose less of his production?  That's not to say Triantos was secretly good last year, but more to say that like you said if in 2026 he's rocking a modest 110 wRC+ that's probably enough for me to feel like he can survive in the big leagues?

Overall there's still plenty to like in Triantos' profile.  He's going to play this full year at 23, so despite being around for what seems like forever he's still a positive age relative to league guy.  The contact numbers also create a pretty reasonable floor, I'm seeing only three hitters last year with a K rate under 15% and a wRC+ under 80.  He's also a modest plus with the glove and major plus on the bases.

It's probably a bench profile, but I wouldn't write that in stone.  The raw power is actually decent, so if he can add some lift and pull to his profile without sacrificing contact there's ceiling with the bat.  And even if he can't an Adam Frazier or Amed Rosario type bat that can actually play defense is probably a viable everyday starter, at least at peak.

I'll admit that Triantos just isn't my favorite prospect and probably hasn't been for a bit. He's alright, but I have a bunch of concerns about his batted ball profile. It's probably not entirely logical either, because I know high contact, high swing guys do this. But the year last year was pretty rough, and it kind of confirmed some of my issues I already had, even if it's not entirely fair. I tried to find a way to punt him out of my personal top-10, though ultimately couldn't find an adequate replacement. 

That said, not giving up on him, either. Still think there's an MLB guy in there, and I like that swing change. I hadn't even really noticed it until looking into him for this; took some time looking through X/Twitter and so I am probably more hopeful than I've been. That's a clean swing and I like a little added loft into his game. 

[Outshined_One]

Triantos always struck me as being one of those "change of scenery" types of prospects who might be better off in another system at this stage of his career.  It's not to say that he can't figure it out with the Cubs or that other teams' coaching staffs are better suited to his skill set, but he's a tweener MIF in a system with MIFs who not only are blocking positions ahead of him, but who are also applying pressure from lower levels.  I can see him getting lost in the shuffle, especially if Shaw shows out in his new role and Rojas' exit velocities are not just spring mirages.

Then again, Injuries Happen and Baseball is Weird.  The tools are there for him to be more than a mediocre utilityman, and I'm hopeful he can return to form in short order this season.

[JBears79]

He's always reminded me of a Chris Taylor type with significantly less power. Maybe that power will grow as he continues to enter his prime years but I do love the contact rates. I feel like the Cubs still see him as a cheap super utility type in the future. I dont see a starter but a valuable bench piece long term if he hits that outcome. Like you said I love the swing change too. Maybe that will unlock some in game power this year.

[Jason Ross]

3 hours ago, JBears79 said:

He's always reminded me of a Chris Taylor type with significantly less power. Maybe that power will grow as he continues to enter his prime years but I do love the contact rates. I feel like the Cubs still see him as a cheap super utility type in the future. I dont see a starter but a valuable bench piece long term if he hits that outcome. Like you said I love the swing change too. Maybe that will unlock some in game power this year.

Yeah I'm really hoping that a good bench bat with utility is his home. But not one of these "gets 100-150 pity PA's" type, but maybe more like the 250-300 PA type where they're really a "first off the bench" type

[craig]

No question that last year was a huge disappointment for Triantos.  His numbers were terrible, .684 OPS for Iowa stinks.  Slugging .369 for Iowa, really bad.  

The question is whether future will mirror how bad he was last year.  If he's always soft contact; who rarely pulls or drives for much power; who just isn't strong enough or have bat speed or handle breaking pitches enough to hit, he's bust.  Pretty plausible that he's just never going to hit enough to make it work.  And while he's still young, it's not like he's going to grow a bunch physically.  Probably is what he's going to be physically.  

I'm still guardedly hopeful, myself.  1st, he started off hurt, and got into a big slump.  Bad health often leads to bad results and bad habits.  May not reflects what he can be if healthy.  2nd, guys are always trying to figure things out and adapting.  When he seemed to be hitting OK and had a good 2024, he may not have felt need to adjust.  But failure prompts adjustments, and he may have made some?  Think he may be healthier, a little stronger, adjusted some, maybe more pull-appreciative, maybe more chase-avoidant?  Hoping last year was an injury-triggered anomoly, and he'll look good this year? 

I don't think he's played that much CF yet.  Optimistic that his outfielding will improve?  I hope Shaw ends hitting, and Nico has a good year and extends.  With Nico back and Shaw as good Zobrist, it's hard to see role for Triantos.  But fair chance that either Nice walks or else Shaw gets traded or busts.  That could open up role for Triantos to be 3B/2B/CF utility.  If he's a bad hitter, who wants him.  But if he can emerge as a pretty good hitter, and a decent fielder, there is value in utility antiawful.  We've had Brujan, I don't want that again.  Think there's still a chance that Triantos might break out as a hitter, and become good enough to be a valuable long-term utility player for the Cubs. 

Edited March 5 by craig