Another Great Day for Cubs Prospects
The Chicago Cubs recorded their fifth shutout of the season Tuesday night, beating the San Diego Padres 6-0 at Wrigley Field and it was also another great day for their prospects down in their minor league system.
Kevin Alcántara Walk-Off
Kevin Alcántara’s bandwagon grew immensely this offseason and now that he’s a bonafide top-100 prospect, all eyes are on the outfielder in 2023, with many observers believing the outfielder can turn into a star. The right-handed hitter has gotten off to a slow start at advanced A-Ball with the South Bend Cubs, but he was the main driving force Tuesday night in what ended up being a walk-off victory over the Peoria Chiefs.
Down 1-0 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Alcántara hit his second home run of the season to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Then, in the 10th inning, South Bend was trailing 2-1, and Alcántara delivered a walk-off, two-run single to win the game 3-2.
That home run was 109mph off his bat. Hopefully this gets Alcántara going in the right direction following the slow start.
Andy Garriola Blast Off
Right-handed slugger Andy Garriola was drafted in the 17th round by the Cubs last year and so far this season he’s showing off his power in what’s considered a tough hitter’s league at Single-A with the Myrtle Beach Pelicans.
Garriola hit his third home run of the season on Thursday night, blasting a solo shot to dead center field.
The right-handed power hitter is now slugging .545 through the first 11 games with Myrtle Beach.
Jefferson Encarnacion also homered for the Pelicans Tuesday night, his first of the year.
PCA and Palencia Return
Pete Crow-Armstrong had not played in a week and Cubs fans started to get worried. The only bit of information that had been made public was that he was dealing with an illness. Well, PCA returned to the Tennessee Smokies lineup and he looked like he was over whatever he had.
The Cubs top prospect went 2-for-5, leading the game off with a double. He also stole a base and scored a run in Tennessee’s 6-1 win over Birmingham. PCA is now slashing .350/.395/.575, with 10 runs scored and 7 stolen bases in 10 games to begin the season at Double-A.
It was also great to see right-handed starting pitcher Daniel Palencia not miss a start after he left early in his previous outing last week. Cubs fans were waiting to hear the worst, but Palencia returned and he was lighting up the radar gun.
The righty only lasted 3.1 innings, as his pitch count got up there with three walks, but Palencia did not give up a run or a hit and he struck out three hitters. He was consistently throwing in the upper 90s, topping out at 102mph.
Oh and Palencia also throws a filthy, 90mph slider.
Brennen Davis is Heating Up
Expectations have been tempered for Brennen Davis after he had a few more injuries in 2022. The outfielder also got off to a bad start at Triple-A this year, but Davis is heating up.
Davis went 1-for-3, with a walk on Tuesday, driving in his fifth run in three games.
Here are his number from April 14-25.
8 Games
11-for-34, 1 HR, 1 2B, 6 RBI, 3 R, 3 SB
.355/.382/.484, .866 OPS, 121 wRC+
And maybe the best stat from this stretch is that Davis only has an 11.8 percent strikeout rate in 34 plate appearances.