UPDATE: Cubs Call Up Kevin Alcántara
Hey, hey! It happened. The Cubs have called up one of their top prospects as 22-year-old Kevin Alcántara has been added to the active roster ahead of Wednesday night’s series finale against the Phillies.
The right-handed hitting outfielder finished off an impressive season at Triple-A on Sunday with the Iowa Cubs, ending his minor league season with a solid slash line of .292/.378/.469, in 148 plate appearances.
Miles Mastrobuoni has been optioned to make room for Alcántara.
During Tuesday night’s 10-4 win by the Cubs over the Phillies, Michael Busch and Seiya Suzuki exited the game early with separate injuries. Busch was drilled by a pitch in the second inning and Suzuki sprained his right ankle scoring on a triple hit by Cody Bellinger.
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It’s only four games, but hopefully the Cubs do give Alcántara at least a couple starts in front of fans at Wrigley Field this weekend, when the team wraps up the regular season with a three-game series against the Reds.
While there was speculation that Owen Caissie would be the outfield prospect to get the call up in September, Alcántara was the easier decision as he was already on the team’s 40-man roster.
(Previous Update)
Well, the Cubs have the perfect opportunity to call up a couple of their top prospects following a couple of injuries that occurred during Tuesday night’s game against the Phillies. In their 10-4 win, rookie first baseman Michael Busch and DH Seiya Suzuki exited the game early and if the Cubs want to face each issue with extra precaution, then this is the time to promote at least one of their star prospects for the final few games of the season.
Busch, 26, was drilled with a 91mph sinker on his right arm by lefty pitcher Tanner Banks in the second inning. Busch stayed in the game initially, ran the bases and came around to score in the Cubs’ six-run rally. However, the Cubs took Busch out of the game once the bottom of the second inning began.
Michael Busch exits after being hit by a pitch in the 2nd inning pic.twitter.com/vuUwq9hm8X
— Cubs Highlights (@Cubs_Highlights) September 24, 2024
Then, in the sixth inning Suzuki ended up spraining his right ankle after coming around to score from first base on a three-run triple from Cody Bellinger.
You can see Suzuki limping back to the dugout at the end of this clip.
Cody Bellinger's three-run triple pic.twitter.com/ZXvkAbTnLL
— Cubs Highlights (@Cubs_Highlights) September 25, 2024
The Triple-A season ended on Sunday for the Iowa Cubs and the following day The Athletic reported that there were no plans for outfield prospects Owen Caissie or Kevin Alcantara to be called up in the final week of the regular season.
I mean, why not? I’m only saying this if there’s any level of concern over either Busch and Suzuki. If both guys can play and there’s no pain involved for them, then cool, let them finish the season. However, if either of them are still feeling a bit banged up, then why not reward one of your top prospects and give them a few days in the show to end the year?
Do we really need to see Patrick Wisdom or Miles Mastrobuoni start more games this week? Or you know, maybe it would be nice to see Matt Shaw take some swings against MLB pitching for a couple games.
We’ll see how Busch and Suzuki feel before Wednesday’s series finale against the Phillies. Following that game the Cubs have Thursday off before ending the season with a weekend series against the Reds at Wrigley Field.
