Alc¨¢ntara, Triantos lead homer barrage on blustery night at Double-A
Joe Trezza
Madison, Alabama, is a long way from the Windy City. But the wind was blowing out on Tuesday night, and several players expected to play big parts in Chicago¡¯s future took full advantage.
Powered by a whopping seven homers, Double-A Tennessee bashed its way to a 10-4 win over Rocket City. Kevin Alc¨¢ntara (No. 58) and James Triantos (No. 66) and the club's No. 20 prospect, Pablo Aliendo, led the way with two-homer nights at Toyota Field.
Haydn McGeary (CHC No. 18) joined the party with a two-run dinger on the banner evening for Tennessee¡¯s high-ceiling lineup.
All told, it was evidence of the kind of upside the Cubs have long seen from many of their young players. But it was particularly nice to see from Alc¨¢ntara and McGeary after both endured slow starts to the season.
Alc¨¢ntara, the club¡¯s No. 5 prospect, opened the year in a 0-for-26 funk, going hitless in his first seven games. But he¡¯s been on an absolute tear of late, now 13-for-26 with four homers in the six games since. The 21-year-old outfielder socked solo homers in the first and seventh innings to bookend his three-hit night.
Fifth-ranked Triantos began his first full season at Double-A after he reached the level briefly down the stretch last season. So far, so good. The Cubs¡¯ second round pick in the 2021 Draft cranked a two-run shot in the third and added a solo homer in the sixth as part of a three-hit, three-run night. The 21-year-old infielder is hitting .296/.350/.519 on the young season.
The hulking McGeary had been hitless in his last 33 at-bats before clubbing his first-inning homer. The former 15th-round pick connected for 19 homers in his first full pro season in 2023, including 16 for the Smokies.
Aliendo broke out with a career-high 16 homers last year with Tennessee. He¡¯s raked to a .314/.405/.519 slash line to begin 2024.
The Cubs¡¯ system has been deep and talented since the middle of last decade. Chicago ranked No. 2 in MLB Pipeline¡¯s preseason farm system rankings on the strength of its MLB-best seven Top 100 prospects, a group that includes Alc¨¢ntara and Triantos. If they continue to develop at this pace, it might not be long until they find themselves on the shores of Lake Michigan.
They probably know the wind tends to blow out at Wrigley Field too.