The Cubs’ system continues to receive accolades and several of the players have been ranked among the best prospects at their position. Arismendy Alcantara was ranked as the fourth best second base prospect by MLB.com and Kris Bryant made MLB.com’s list as the second best third base prospect in baseball.
Arismendy Alcantara will reportedly begin the year as Iowa’s second baseman while Kris Bryant is slated for Double-A Tennessee.
Jason Parks thinks his recent ranking of Javier Baez as the fourth best prospect in all of baseball is going to make him look foolish. Due to recent conversations with industry sources, Parks said a case could be made for Javier Baez to be ranked as the No. 1 prospect in baseball. Parks pointed out on Twitter, “Baez still comes with risk but the bat speed is elite, the power potential is elite and he can play on the left side of the infield.”
Javier Baez will begin the season at shortstop in Iowa but if he lights up the PCL he could be at Wrigley very soon. The Cubs will likely expose Baez to second base and third base in the spring in the event he needs to make a position change at some point during the season.
With players such as Javier Baez, Kris Bryant, Albert Almora, Jorge Soler, Mike Olt, Neil Ramirez, Christian Villanueva, Arismendy Alcantara, Brett Jackson, Josh Vitters and Matt Szczur in big league camp this spring, the early part of the Cubs’ Cactus League schedule should be fun to watch.
Arismendy Alcantara
One possible option for the big league team at second base is Arismendy Alcantara. And after years of flying under just about everyone’s radar, Alcantara is finally receiving some well- deserved attention.
MLB.com is releasing its list of the top prospects at each position throughout the game and Arismendy Alcantara checked in at No. 4 among second basemen.
Arismendy Alcantara began last season as the Smokies’ shortstop before moving to the other side of the bag to accommodate Javier Baez. Alcantara played in the SiriusXM Futures Game, smacked a home run and has drawn comps to Jimmy Rollins. Alcantara was added to the 40-man roster this winter and is slated to begin the season as Iowa’s second baseman.
Arismendy Alcantara took his game to another level last year. And many feel the switch-hitting middle infielder has a very good big league career ahead of him.
Kris Bryant
The Cubs have Kris Bryant ticketed for Double-A Tennessee to begin the season as the Smokies’ third baseman. Bryant has a lot of work to do defensively to stay at third base and could end up in the outfield. But for now Bryant is a third baseman and MLB.com ranked Bryant as the second best third sacker in the minor league baseball.
Kris Bryant was impressive in a short amount of time (.336/.390/.688/1.078 with 14 doubles, two triples and nine home runs in 36 games) after he signed with the Cubs. Bryant finished his first stint in pro ball at the High-A level before taking home MVP honors for his play in the Arizona Fall League.
Along with Javier Baez and Dan Vogelbach, four Cubs’ infield prospects were ranked in the top four at their position … Baez (2), Vogelbach (4), Alcantara (4) and Bryant (2). And all four are 22 years old or younger.
MLB.com will unveil its ranking of the Top 100 Prospects in the game Thursday night (9:00pm CST) on MLB Network. Albert Almora will be live tweeting the event.
Minor League News and Notes
Jason Parks listed Mark Malave, Paul Blackburn and Rob Zastryzny as three “On the Rise” prospects in the Cubs system.
Arodys Vizcaino is not 100 percent healthy yet but he is on track to be ready for the start of Spring Training.
Brett Jackson and Josh Vitters will be in camp and will compete for jobs on the Cubs’ Opening Day roster.
Mike Olt says he is healthy and looked good during batting practice at Northwestern last week. The Cubs are hoping he can compete for the third base job this spring.
For those that missed the minor league reports from the convention … Scouting and Player Development and Down on the Farm were filled with information on the Cubs’ system.