2023 Chicago Cubs Top 30 Prospect Wraps: James Triantos
InsidetheCubs.com will review each of the Chicago Cubs’ Top 30 prospects, as ranked by MLB.com at the end of the 2023 season.
No. 9: 3B/2B James Triantos, Tennessee Smokies, (Double-A), South Bend Cubs (High Class-A)
Statistics for 2023: (83 games): .287/.364/.391/.755 with 45 runs, 15 doubles, three triples, four home runs, 48 RBI, 35 walks, 39 strikeouts, 16 stolen bases.
Season Transactions: Triantos started the season at South Bend. On April 6 he was placed on South Bend’s 7-day injured list. South Bend activated him on May 9. The Cubs promoted him to Tennessee on Sept. 12. The Cubs assigned him to the Mesa Solar Sox in the Arizona Fall League on Sept. 22.
Season Summary: In his second full season in minor league baseball he had a bounce-back season at the plate at both South Bend and at Tennessee, where he played a handful of games before he headed for the AFL. Even with the injury, he nearly matched his career high in RBI and posted an enviable strikeout-to-walk rate (39 strikeouts to 36 walks). That’s a big improvement over 2022 (81 to 39).
Path Through the Organization: By any measure Triantos is ahead of schedule. He actually reclassified to play college baseball at North Carolina, but the Cubs got a look at him and took him in the second round and paid him a $2.1 million bonus. So, goodbye college, hello rookie ball. His contact at the plate reminds MLB.com scouts of Houston’s Alex Bregman and he’s quickly showing that he can improve in selecting pitches at the plate and projects as a hitter that could show more power than he has to this point.
What’s next: Triantos made good on his invitation to the AFL and posted impressive numbers, which should allow the Cubs to return him to Tennessee to start 2024. The Cubs are still trying to figure out if he’s a second baseman or a third baseman and that could be the biggest thing standing between him and the Majors. The bat is there, and with another year in the minors his eye at the plate and his power should only get better. An invite to Major League Spring Training should be in the offing in February.
2023 Chicago Cubs Top 30 Prospect Wraps:
No. 30: Christian Franklin | No. 29: Brody McCullough | No. 28: Kohl Franklin | No. 27: Pablo Aliendo | No. 26: Porter Hodge | No. 25: Luke Little | No. 24: Jaxon Wiggins | No. 23: Caleb Kilian | No. 22: Josh Rivera | No. 21: Luis Vazquez | No. 20: Cristian Hernandez | No. 19: Brennen Davis | No. 18: B.J. Murray Jr. | No. 17: Haydn McGeary | No. 16: Derniche Valdez | No. 15: Drew Gray | No. 14: Alexander Canario | No. 13: Matt Mervis | No. 12: Michael Arias | No. 11: Jefferson Rojas | No. 10: Jordan Wicks |
