The Chicago Cubs are reportedly calling up former top-100 prospect James Triantos from Triple-A. The right-handed-hitting player will join the club on Friday, when the Cubs begin a weekend series against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Baseball America’s Geoff Pontes first reported the promotion on Thursday, and Cubs prospect expert Greg Zumach later confirmed the roster move.
Triantos, 23, was selected in the second round of the 2021 MLB Draft out of James Madison High School in Virginia. His peak as a prospect came during the 2024 season, when Triantos played in the Futures All-Star Game, leading to his highest ranking early in 2025 at No. 67 on MLB Pipeline’s list.
Unfortunately, a few injuries slowed his development, and Triantos has lost the hype, but he’s rebounded nicely in 2026. Triantos can play all over the diamond and even has experience in the outfield, primarily in center field, where he’s started 53 games in the minor leagues, including 39 at Triple-A since 2025.
🔥 Subscribe to the Untold Chicago YouTube channel to hear Chicago legends tell stories you’ve never seen in headlines — real moments, real experiences, straight from the athletes themselves.
So far in 2026, Triantos has posted a .784 OPS with a slash line of .306/.344/.440. He’s not going to hit for much power; he has seven home runs in 378 plate appearances this year, and 38 total home runs in 534 minor league games since 2021.
You’re pretty much looking at a Nico Hoerner-type hitter in Triantos. He has an 11.6 K% with the Iowa Cubs this year, while carrying a 5.3 BB%. Triantos will make a ton of contact, but as we’ve learned with high-contact guys, quantity doesn’t always mean quality contact. So, Triantos does have the tendency to chase pitches, which results in weak contact.
Triantos is a reverse-splits hitter, faring much better against right-handed pitching than lefties. This year, Triantos is hitting .317/.360/.454 vs. right-handed pitching and .266/.291/.392 vs. left-handed pitching. He’s also a great base runner, stealing 18 bases in 23 attempts this season, and is an 80% base-stealer in his career in the minor leagues.
The Cubs added Triantos to their 40-man roster last offseason, so it was only a matter of time before the versatile player was given a shot in the majors. Speaking of, six of the organization’s seven prospects who were ranked in the top-100 heading into the 2025 season have now been called up to MLB.
We’ll see how much playing time Triantos actually gets. Unless a primary starter suffered an injury in the last few days, Triantos will serve as a late-inning pinch-runner or defensive sub and maybe get a start once a week.
