Chicago Cubs 2024 Offseason Top 20 Prospects: No. 7, James Triantos

We continue today looking at the Cubs' top 20 prospects (as ranked by our readers here at NSBB), with Triantos, who comes in at No. 7 on that countdown. Before you read about him, though, don't miss our previous posts on the current state of the Cubs' farm system, with my looks at some honorable mentions, the Cubs' Top Prospects #20-16 and the Top Prospects #15-11. 
#20 - Pedro Ramirez, INF
#19 - Luis Vazquez, INF
#18 - Michael Arias, RP
#17 - Alfonsin Rosario - OF
#16 - Drew Gray, SP
#15 - Jonathon Long, 1B
#14 - Fernando Cruz, SS
#13 - Derniche Valdez, SS
#12 - Alexander Canario, OF
#11 - Cristian Hernandez, SS
#10 - Brandon Birdsell, SP
#9 - Jaxon Wiggins, SP
#8 - Jefferson Rojas

2024 Season Recap: James Triantos, INF
James Triantos has been a fun follow. He's been consistently better than average offensively at every level; provided seemingly excellent value on the bases; and made a ton of contact. If there was a blemish on his offensive game, it's been that he's been unable to turn his exceptional feel for contact into an approach with any sort of projectable game power. Partially due to his hit-everything approach, partially due to his swing profile, Triantos has run isolated power numbers around the .100 level. 

Despite these concerns, the infielder started the 2024 campaign with a relative bang in Tennessee, finishing with a .130 ISO and showing much-improved power. He really took off around June, finishing with a 150 wRC+, a .150 ISO, and a .478 SLG over his last 180 plate appearances, hitting four home runs, nine doubles, and three triples in that span. This was the biggest power output for the former second-round pick and helped earn Triantos a mid-season promotion to Iowa. 

Forgive me for being a broken record, but getting to Triple-A is always fun from a player-evaluation standpoint, as we get a lot of new data points. For James Triantos, we're talking fewer than 100 plate appearances, but we can start to get a better idea of what he's doing at the plate and his approach. The good news is that he maintained a contact rate well over 80% upon making his way to the highest minor-league level. His in-zone-whiff rate remained very low, and while he's an aggressive swinger, he didn't chase at terrible rates. 

There are a few causes for concerns, however. First, Triantos hit almost 58% of all his balls on the ground, with an average launch angle of just 2 degrees. He did not post extremely high exit velocities, either, with an average EV of around 86 miles per hour. On one hand, this could be the second baseman learning a new level and being much younger than his competition. On the other, this is not a new issue with Triantos in general (high ground balls, low home run output), so the underwhelming contact quality is something to note. 

Defensively, there have always been big questions about Triantos: where would he settle in and play? The Cubs have tried him at second, third and in the outfield, and to date, none have been a consistent home for him. Reports are that the defense, while a work in progress, is moving in the right direction. Take Baseball America with a grain of salt, though. They mentioned he was one of the best defensive players in the system, and while there have been strides, that feels unwarranted.

2025 Season Outlook and Scouting Report: ETA - 2025
Triantos does enough things well that projecting him to make his major-league debut in 2025 feels about right. He makes a lot of contact, has plenty of baserunning ability and has enough positional versatility that he's probably going to find himself at the MLB level sooner rather than later. Determining how good he will be is a bit harder to figure out. 

On one hand, we've seen players like Steven Kwan use a contact-first approach to great success. This season, Kwan looked to lift and drive a bit more, but even the old Kwan was a useful player. There's a version of Triantos that is Kwan-adjacent: capable of using BABIP and speed to be an above-average offensive player. For the Cubs farmhand to succeed that way, we'd likely have to see much better launch angles, as Kwan has been consistently above 10. He'd have to reduce the ground balls. And Kwan has always added elite defense in left field, which I guess isn't that crazy to imagine the athletic and strong-armed Triantos doing down the road if need be. 

On the other, an Adam Frazier/David Fletcher outcome offensively feels like it's on the table, as well—players who could occasionally BABIP their way into being an average-plus guy, but most of the time didn't provide enough with the bat to be starting types. On paper, Triantos is more athletic than those two, so he should add some added value on the margins, but it's probably worth pointing out those players as "lower-end-outcomes" here as well. 

The Cubs will also probably have to make a few decisions regarding their farm system in the near future, and I think one of them will eventually be "Matt Shaw or James Triantos?" They overlap considerably on the infield, with the latter providing some defensive ability in the outfield, but I don't think both survive the trade deadline. The Cubs will probably pull a few trades this offseason, either for a starting pitcher (especially after signing Matt Boyd to a two-year deal), for a reliever or a catcher, and some prospects will have to go. If a team sees more Kwan than Frazier, then Triantos probably offers interesting value. With how much the Cubs reportedly love Shaw, I think they'll be alright giving up the former 2021 second-rounder in the right trade, but if the deal is really a blockbuster, he could be the one who survives in the organization, as well.

Interested in learning more about the Chicago Cubs' top prospects? Check out our comprehensive top prospects list that includes up-to-date stats, articles and videos about every prospect, scouting reports, and more!