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The Chicago Cubs’ outfield has become a very confusing place.
For most of the season, this has been one of the best and deepest outfields in Major League Baseball. But the entire group went into a collective slump in August, and a calf injury to Kyle Tucker has created an opening.
Fortunately, the Cubs have two top outfield prospects to choose from to help fill the void while Tucker is recovering. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be able to choose between the two.
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On Saturday, the Cubs announced a roster move before the second game of their three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays. Outfielder Owen Caissie was recalled from Triple-A Iowa, while fellow outfielder Kevin Alcántara was optioned to Triple-A.
The confusing thing about the move? On Sept. 1, Caissie was optioned to Triple-A, and Alcántara was the one selected to make his major league debut in his fellow top prospect’s place.
In his 12 days in the majors this season, Alcántara got all of seven plate appearances, going 1-for-6 with a walk and three strikeouts. Caissie played a little more, going 5-for-24 with a home run in 11 games in August.
The general consensus is that Caissie is the better prospect of the two. MLB Pipeline ranks him first in the Cubs system, while Alcántara is down at No. 5. Caissie has put up better offensive stats throughout the two players’ minor-league careers and his offensive approach is more highly regarded.
But neither prospect seems to be anything more than a bench bat for the Cubs at this point, even with Tucker gone. And if that’s the case, it’s reasonable to ask why it makes sense to have either of them up, let alone to flip-flop them with each other.
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