Kevin Alcantara battles for a roster spot, but a slow spring and lingering swing adjustments cast doubt on his Opening Day chances. Time is running out.
Chicago Cubs prospect Kevin Alcantara entered the spring with a chance to make the team’s Opening Day roster.
In his way are four other outfielders who are all fighting for that fourth outfield spot out of Spring Training. Alcantara joins Dylan Carlson, Chas McCormick, Dylan Carlson, and Justin Dean as the potential candidates to win that backup outfield job.
While the knee injury to Tyler Austin opens up an additional roster spot, Alcantara might not be one of the favorites to make the Opening Day roster. His slow start to the spring could be a reason for that.
The Cubs' No. 4 prospect was slowly brought along this spring as he worked his way back from offseason sports hernia surgery. That resulted in Alcantara not making his first spring start until February 28, nine days later than the team’s first spring game.
Still, there was enough time for Alcantara to make an impact early in the spring. Opening Day wasn’t for another four weeks, and that’s plenty of time for the young hitter to show his potential at the plate.
However, time is running out for Alcantara to show that offensive potential amid a slow spring start.
After going 0-for-3 with one strikeout in Saturday’s Spring Training game against the Athletics, Alcantara is now hitting .125 (2-for-16) with one double, one walk, and eight strikeouts. He has a 47% strikeout rate, a 37.9% chase rate, and a 34.5% whiff rate in those 17 plate appearances.
The high strikeout rate and whiff rate have been a problem for Alcantara throughout his Minor League career. Both his strikeout rate (29.8%) and whiff rate (30.4%) ranked in the bottom half among all Triple-A hitters last year.
His struggles in those specific areas are why the 6-foot-6 slugger decided to adjust his swing a bit this offseason. Alcantara wanted to find more consistency at the plate and lower his strikeout and whiff rates.
With Opening Day being just 19 days away, Alcantara will have to pick things up offensively over the next two weeks to even have a shot at making the Opening Day roster. Both Carlson and McCormick have outperformed him this spring.
It might make more sense for Alcantara to start the season down in Triple-A. It’s clear that he is still working on getting his timing down with his new approach at the plate, and the 23-year-old could benefit from getting everyday reps.
Alcantara's time to shine in the big leagues will eventually come. But his slow start this spring suggests he might need more time in the Minors.