The Cubs' Kevin Alcantara was ranked among the top 100 prospects by MLB Pipeline. AP
The future could be bright, but it's still in a holding pattern.
The Cubs had six top-100 prospects playing at Triple A Iowa last year (top-70, to be specific), but other than Matt Shaw, the rest of them should go ahead and renew those leases in Des Moines.
One message sent by president of baseball operations Jed Hoyer over the weekend at the Cubs Convention is he'd prefer those players take the field every day in Iowa than serve as reserves at Wrigley Field.
"We could build a really good bench with guys who are top 100 prospects," Hoyer said. "I don't think it makes a lot of sense for us to do that. They're not going to play very much, they're going to get stale, they're not going to get the reps they need."
The superb six, per MLB Pipeline, are Shaw at No. 22, OF Owen Caissie at No. 34, RHP Cade Horton at No. 42, C Moises Ballesteros at No. 44, INF James Triantos at No. 55 and OF Kevin Alcantara at No. 67.
Of the six, only Alcantara has made his major-league debut, late last season with no real highlights. Caissie was the only one to spend all of last season in Triple A. The others began 2024 at Double A Tennessee.
The plan heading into spring training appears to be Shaw starting at third base. At the moment, there's not really a Plan B, but there will be more roster additions in the coming weeks.
Caissie hit .278 with 19 home runs, 75 RBI and an .848 OPS at Iowa last season. He's been promoted to the 40-man roster this winter, which will make it easier to be called up. Basically, though, it will take an injury to create opportunity.
"I just want to play ball," Caissie said at the convention. "So whether that be up in the big leagues or down in the minors, it really doesn't matter to me. Ultimately, it's their decision. I can play good, but it's their decision. I respect it. They're trying to run a business."
At 6-foot-3 with red hair, Caissie, 22, definitely stands out in a crowd. He grew up outside of Hamilton, Ontario and joined the Cubs from San Diego in the Yu Darvish trade.
At the moment, the Cubs' spare outfielder is Seiya Suzuki, who is expected to DH when the outfield is at full strength. There really isn't a backup outfielder or first baseman on the roster, although Alexander Canario, who has a bit more major-league experience, is a candidate for the OF role, now that Mike Tauchman has shifted to the South Side in free-agency.
It could make sense to try Caissie at first base, adding some versatility to his skill set. But so far he's played only the outfield in the minors.
The 6-foot-6 Alcantara played just 35 games in Triple A last year, but did hit .292. He got the call up at the end of the season mostly because he was on the 40-man roster and the other top prospects were not. At the moment, Shaw is not yet on the 40-man.
Ballesteros, 21, did well in the Arizona Fall League (.317, 5 home runs in 19 games) and at the convention, seemed taller than his listed 5-8. It remains to be seen if he'll stay at catcher in the big leagues. The Cubs are planning a rotation of Miguel Amaya and newcomer Carson Kelly behind the plate, and it will likely take an injury to get Ballesteros to Wrigley this year.
Triantos, 21, hit .302 in 26 games at Iowa. He was drafted out of high school in the 2021 second round and one intriguing part of his game is he had 47 stolen bases last season, which would have led the big-league Cubs by a wide margin.
Horton, 23, would likely have been called up last year, but he suffered a scapular strain below his right shoulder in May and ended up sitting out the rest of the season.
"That was tough, because I'm always a guy that's wanting to go until I break," Horton said at the convention. "So having those people around me (was helpful) to be like, 'No, let's do the smart thing. You have a whole career ahead of you.' It's always tough getting hurt, but I think I learned more through this experience than I would have being on the field."
Horton suggested even if most of the top prospects return to Iowa, they can still form a winning foundation.
"I feel like we have a good core group," Horton said. "You look around at other farm systems and this one's really special, because I feel like not (just) on the field, but off the field we're so close, and it's really great people."