Chicago Cubs Weekly Prospect Update: James Triantos finds his offensive rhythm; Carico and Bowser begin promotions

[Robbie McGrath]

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

Let's take a look at some of the rising prospects across the minor league affiliates of the Chicago Cubs organization and see how their respective seasons are going.

Pitchers

• Adam Stone (South Bend Cubs) - In 29.1 innings on the mound this season, Stone has done a good job at limiting runs and heavy amounts of base runners, only giving up nine (five earned) along with 26 strikeouts, 21 hits and only one home run given up in 2026. In 14 games this year, he has a 1.53 ERA and a 1.36 WHIP.
• Jace Beck (Knoxville Smokies) - With 20 games pitched (18 Double-A, two Triple-A) and four started (all Double-A) this season, Beck has 89 strikeouts and 26 walks in 55.2 innings pitched. With 18 earned runs allowed, he has done a great job at limiting runs. He currently has a 2.91 ERA (3.02 Double-A, 1.80 Triple-A) and a 1.28 WHIP (1.30 Double-A, 0.43 Triple-A).
• Mason McGwire (South Bend Cubs) - The Futures Game participant is another minor-league pitcher in this organization who has done a fantastic job preventing runs, only given up 16 earned runs (eight Low-A, eight High-A). The son of Mark McGwire has pitched 15 games this season (10 Low-A, five High-A) and nine of them were starts (five Low-A, four High-A). He has also only given up three home runs (all Low-A), 19 walks (10 Low-A, nine High-A), and 38 hits (22 Low-A, 16 High-A) in 48 innings (30 Low-A, 18 High-A) this season. McGwire has a 3.00 ERA (2.40 Low-A, 4.00 High-A) and a 1.19 WHIP (1.07 Low-A, 1.39 High-A).

Catchers

• Ivan Cespedes (Myrtle Beach Pelicans) - The new Pelican had a good season with the ACL Cubs until his promotion on June 30. In the rookie level, he had 31 hits in 102 at-bats with seven of them being doubles and five being home runs. He has brought in 19 runs and touched home plate 12 times in 28 games. In one game with Myrtle Beach, he has no hits in three at-bats along with two strikeouts and one walk. Cespedes has started ten games (all ACL) and 19 games (18 ACL, one Low-A) as a designated hitter. With 15 walks (14 ACL, one Low-A) and a wOBA of .410 (.410 ACL, .000 Low-A), that shows his ability to get on base. If he can keep getting on base, Cespedes will have a bright future in the game of baseball.
• Miguel Useche (South Bend Cubs) - In 37 games this season, Useche has played 99 innings as a catcher while also playing at first base for eight innings, left field for 89.2 innings, and right field for 54 innings. As an infielder this season, he only has one error (first base) on 28 total chances (10 in first, 14 in left, 2 in right). At the plate, 33 hits (32 High-A, one Double-A), five doubles (all High-A), and eight home runs (all High-A) in 125 at-bats (123 High-A, 2 Double-A). He has scored 27 runs (26 High-A, one Double-A) and brought in 27 (26 High-A, one Double-A). With only 34 strikeouts (33 High-A, one Double-A), 16 walks (15 High-A, one Double-A), and a .375 wOBA, he is solid at getting on base.
• Michael Carico (South Bend Cubs) - Before Carico was promoted to South Bend on Tuesday, he had a solid season with Myrtle Beach. He had 39 hits in 158 at-bats with seven of them being doubles and seven others being home runs. He brought in 25 runs and scored 34 times during his time with the Pelicans. Although he is officially listed as a catcher, he has played nearly all of his season at first base (345.2 innings) and only spent 5.1 innings behind the plate and was a designated hitter for seven games. At first base, he had nine errors on 298 total chances. In his first game with South Bend, he played eight innings at first with no errors on three total chances. On offense, he had no hits and two strikeouts in three at-bats. Carico was walked 60 times, had 62 strikeouts, and had a wOBA of .429 as a Pelican, showing he has done a fantastic job at getting on base this year.

Infielders

• James Triantos (Iowa Cubs) - In 74 games played this season, Triantos has played 39 at third base, 23 at second base, six in left field, five in center field, and two as a designated hitter. He has ten errors (five at second, five at third) on 264 total chances (187 at third, 56 at second, seven in left, 14 in center). On offense, he has 88 hits with 20 of them being doubles, one being a triple, and six being home runs in 294 at-bats. He has scored 50 times and also has 45 RBIs. With 45 walks, 43 strikeouts, and a .334 wOBA, he has struggled getting on base at times.
• Edgar Alvarez (Knoxville Smokies) - In 197 at-bats in 2026, Trice has 36 hits, 11 doubles, one triples, and eight home runs as a Smokie. With 28 RBIs, and 33 runs, scoring has been a bit of a struggle for him. He has struggled at getting on base as he has 64 strikeouts and a wOBA of .329. On the dirt, he has spent 391.2 innings at first base, 69.1 innings at third base, eleven innings in left field, and nine innings in right field. With 349 total chances this season (321 at first, 22 at third, 2 in left, four in right), he has no errors which is very impressive. If Alvarez can improve getting on base and keep his defense up, he will be a key part of the future of the Chicago Cubs.
• Drew Bowser (Knoxville Smokies) - Bowser was another player who received a promotion on Tuesday from South Bend to Knoxville. While with the Cubs, he played 33 games at second base (32 started), 16 games at first base (15 started), and he also spent five games as a designated hitter. He spent 285 innings at second and 129 at first where he had three errors (two at second, one at first) on 250 total chances (130 at second, 120 at second). In the batter's box, 39 hits in 184 at-bats, and had eleven doubles and five home runs. With 35 RBIs and 29 runs scored himself in 54 games, he has been a contributor to the scoring most of the games as a Cub. With 72 strikeouts and .330 wOBA, it shows that becoming a base runner is a bit of an issue at times. In his first game as a Smokie, he had three at-bats and collected one hit and had two strikeouts. On the field, he played second base for the whole game where he had no errors on one total chance.

Outfielders

• Carter Trice (Knoxville Smokies) - With 269 at-bats this season for Trice, he has collected hits in 69 of them (16 doubles, two triples, ten home runs). He also has 36 runs batted in and scored 39 himself in 73 games this season. With 69 strikeouts and a wOBA of .350, he is decent with getting on base, but he needs to improve on that throughout his career. On defense, he is listed as an infielder but has spent the whole season with the Smokies in the outfield with 620 innings in the grass (341 in left, 209 in center, 70 in right). On 133 total chances (73 in left, 45 in center, 15 in right), he has two errors (one in left, one in center).
• Joan Delgado (ACL Cubs) - In his fifth season in the rookie levels (third in ACL), Delgado's bat has been on fire, having ten out of his 37 hits being home runs. He also has six doubles and two triples. With 28 RBIs and 26 runs scored by himself in 33 games, he has been a key contributor to the rookie Cubs scoring. With a wOBA at .445 and being walked 14 times, he has done an excellent job with getting on base this season. On defense, he has spent 133 innings in right field, 16 innings in left field, and 73 innings as a center fielder. On 45 total chances this season (18 in center, 27 in right), he has two errors (both in center). 
• Alex Ramírez (Knoxville Smokies) - With 542.1 innings played (470.1 in right field, 72 in center field), Trice has three errors (two in right, one in center) on 116 total chances (95 in center, 21 in right). He has also played 55 games in right (53 started), nine games in center, and eight as a designated hitter. In 287 at-bats in 2026, he has 82 hits (18 doubles, one triple, nine home runs). Ramírez has 52 RBIs and 48 runs scored, displaying his ability to bring runs in. The 60 strikeouts and .343 wOBA show he is another minor leaguer struggling to get on base.

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