Alcantara's Triple-A Tear Pressures Cubs Outfield

0:00It's April 17th. Welcome in. This is MLB News Today, where the game meets AI. I'm Cori with the story. The Chicago Cubs are grinding through a bumpy start to the season, dealing with pitching injuries and a quiet offense while trying to build momentum. After beating the Phillies on Tuesday night, their outfield has been shaky, especially with say a Suzuki sideline early, pushing Matt Shaw into action before Suzuki came back. But neither has lit up the scoreboard yet. Down in AAA with the IL Cubs, Prospect Kevin Alcantara is on fire, smashing seven home runs in just 14 games. He's slashing 255, over 345, slash 745, turning AAA pitching into child's play. Fans have been clamoring for Alcantara for years, even though he's posted solid minor league numbers without cracking the big club lineup. His big knock was struggling against right handed pitchers, but now he's crushing them too, which has everyone buzzing. The Cubs aren't ditching Suzuki or Shaw's versatility anytime soon. And since Alcantara is out of options, he might need an injury to open a spot. Still, his tear is putting heat on the current outfielders to step up.

1:10If Alcantara keeps mashing like this over the next few weeks, the calls for his promotion could get too loud to ignore, shaking up Chicago's lineup. Before we know it.