Chicago Cubs AFL Star Named Breakout Prospect

The Chicago Cubs have a plethora of great prospects but one site believes that James Triantos will be the big breakout.

The Chicago Cubs have a stacked minor league system. It’s considered one of the best in Major League Baseball.

Some of those prospects have already reached the Majors, including pitcher Jordan Wicks and outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. Some are at the doorstep, including pitchers Cade Horton and Ben Brown.

But which Cubs prospect is going to enjoy a breakout season in 2024? Well, MLB.com picked a breakout candidate for each team and its selection for the Cubs was second baseman James Triantos.

To be fair, he’s been building toward a full breakout for a year.

Taken in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft, he needed surgery for a torn meniscus that delayed his 2023 season. Mostly with High-A South Bend (he played three games at Double-A Tennessee), he slashed .287/.364/.391/.755 with four home runs and 48 RBI.

The Cubs decided to send him to the Arizona Fall League and he became one of the most talked-about prospects in the AFL.

He was named the AFL’s Offensive Player of the Year after he played for the Mesa Solar Sox and led the AFL in triples (five). He also ranked second or third in slugging (.679), OPS (1.144), hits (35), total bases (57) and on-base percentage (.495).

Triantos projects as a contact-hitting infielder with good range as a fielder. He’s a .284 hitter for his entire minor-league career and limits his strikeouts. The Cubs would like to see him draw more walks because he’s stolen 36 combined bases the last two seasons.

Triantos likely isn’t a call-up for 2024. But there’s a good chance he could start the season at Tennessee and earn a call-up to Triple-A Iowa, positioning him for a potential call to Wrigley Field in 2025.