Cubs Prospect In Majors Leads AFL Picks

Alexander Canario’s presence on the Major League roster of the Chicago Cubs has not changed his roster status for the Arizona Fall League, which starts action next month.

The Cubs and MLB formally announced all of the rosters on Friday, and the eight Cubs prospects initially reported by the Chicago Tribune a week ago remained on the list.

The list included outfielder Kevin Alcántara, infielder James Triantos, Canario, right-handed pitcher Nick Hull, right-handed pitcher Tyler Santana, left-handed pitcher Adam Laskey, right-handed pitcher Adam Kachmar and right-handed pitcher José Romero.

Canario is the most interesting prospect of the eight, now that he has some MLB experience. The Cubs called him up when rosters expanded on Sept. 1, starting the clock on his career. He hasn’t played much — he has six official at-bats — but he came up with a game-winning hit earlier this week as the Cubs are trying to stay in the playoff race.

Canario spent part of the season with South Bend and part of the season with Triple-A Iowa. The San Francisco Giants signed him as an international free agent in 2016 and traded him to Chicago in 2021 as part of the Kris Bryant trade.

In the minors this season Canario slashed .273/.356/.488/.844 with nine home runs and 47 RBI.

He is also one of three Top 30 Cubs prospects headed to Arizona, per MLB Pipeline rankings — Alcántara (No. 4), Triantos (No. 9) and Canario (No. 14).

Alcántara spent most of the season with High-A South Bend but was promoted to Double-A Tennessee on Sept. 12. He was originally signed as an international free agent by the New York Yankees in 2018 and was traded to the Cubs in 2021 as part of the deal for Anthony Rizzo.

He slashed .284/.345/.465/.810 with 13 home runs and 71 RBI.

Triantos also joined Alcántara at Tennessee after spending most of the season at South Bend. He was a second-round pick of the Cubs in 2021. He slashed .272/.335/.386/.721 with seven home runs and 50 RBI in the minors this year.

The Cubs will get to play at their own facility in Mesa, as the Mesa Solar Sox will feature players from four other Major League teams — the Houston Astros, the Oakland Athletics, the New York Yankees and the Baltimore Orioles.

AFL action opens on Oct. 2, the day after the Major League regular season ends. The season culminates in November with the AFL Home Run Derby on Nov. 4, the Fall Stars game on Nov. 5, the play-in semifinal on Nov. 10 and the championship game on Nov. 11.