Cubs fans question early-season roster choices as prospect Kevin Alcantara dominates Triple-A with impressive power and improved plate discipline.
The Chicago Cubs are not off to a great start.
They are 4-5 in their first nine games and have lost series to the Washington Nationals and the Cleveland Guardians in the early going. There’s no way around it, the Cubs have not played good baseball across the first few weeks.
While there’s no reason to panic yet, the Cubs might have made a mistake carrying both Michael Conforto and Dylan Carlson on their 26-man roster to begin the year. With Seiya Suzuki landing on the 10-day IL, the Cubs picked two non-roster invitees to make the team.
That resulted in outfield prospect Kevin Alcantara starting the year down in Triple-A. However, the Cubs should have given Alcantara those early-season opportunities with Suzuki out.
Conforto has looked lost at the plate so far, and Carlson hasn’t done much to start his Cubs career. Conforto is hitting .125 (1-for-8) with two walks and five strikeouts, while Carlson is 0-for-3 with two strikeouts.
Meanwhile, Alcantara is having a strong start to the season with the Triple-A Cubs. He is slashing .233/.324/.700 with four home runs, two doubles, eight RBI, four walks, nine strikeouts, and two stolen bases across eight games.
Alcantara has definitely shown some nice power at the plate in the early going. He has homered in back-to-back games, which included a 440-foot towering home run that was crushed off the bat on Saturday afternoon.
The Cubs’ No. 4 prospect adjusted his swing a bit this offseason to be more consistent at the plate. The biggest knock on Alcantara over the past few years has been his extremely high whiff rate and strikeout rate. The 23-year-old finished with a 30.4% whiff rate and a 29.8% strikeout rate at Triple-A in 2025.
While the whiff rate has remained high in the first eight games, his strikeout rate is noticeably down. Alcantara is pulling the ball more in the air, and his swing rate is up across his 34 plate appearances.
The Cubs are notorious for relying on veterans rather than prospects. However, Alcantara should have been on the team to start the year. He would offer more at the plate than both Conforto and Carlson.
Unfortunately, Cubs fans shouldn’t expect Alcantara to be called up anytime soon. Considering Suzuki is expected to rejoin the team on Friday, there is simply nowhere for the 23-year-old to play. It might take an injury before he gets another shot in the big leagues.
Still, Alcantara's strong start offensively is encouraging for his future outlook. He has a 93.7 mph average exit velocity, a .601 expected slugging, a 21.1% barrel rate, and a 52.6% hard-hit rate to begin the 2026 season.