Oh baby! It was speculated earlier this week and although it’s not Pete Crow-Armstrong, the Cubs are calling up one of their stud outfield prospects in 23-year-old slugger Alexander Canario.
Canario was playing in the Dominican Winter League after breaking out in the Cubs minor league system during the 2022 season and in a blink of an eye the 22-year-old outfielder was on the ground after a freak injury that eventually led to two separate surgeries to repair his shoulder and ankle.
Now, less than a year after those awful injuries and after only being back on the field for a few months, Canario is headed to the big leagues.
Last Thursday, Canario went 4-for-5, with 2 home runs and 2 doubles. The 23-year-old has now homered in three straight games and he’s crushed 6 home runs in his last 9 games. Oh yeah, Alexander Canario is all the way back and it is so awesome to see after the devastating injuries he suffered last October.
In 2022, Canario started the season with the South Bend Cubs at Advanced A-Ball. He was promoted to Double-A in May and then made it up to the Iowa Cubs at Triple-A in late August. The right-handed slugger hit 37 home runs in 125 games across his three minor league stops, while slashing .252/.343/.556, adding 23 stolen bases to his stat sheet.
Following a long rehab from his shoulder and ankle surgeries in the offseason, Canario returned to action in the Arizona Complex League in the middle of June and then he played for South Bend for a couple of weeks before making his return to Triple-A following the All-Star break.
It took Canario a couple of weeks to settle in, as he only posted a slash line of .220/.316/.320, with just one home run in his first 13 games back with Iowa. However, ever since the calendar flipped to August, Canario has locked back in and looks like the monster hitter he was in 2022.
During the month of August, Canario recorded a slash line of .305/.356/.632, a .987 OPS, 135 wRC+, with 7 home runs. The right-handed hitter drove in 25 runs, scored 17 times, while hitting 10 doubles and adding two stolen bases in 23 games.
Right now, you would suspect that Canario would be able to get some at-bats as the DH, mixing and matching depending on the opposing pitcher along with Christopher Morel and Patrick Wisdom.
This guy has legit power.
Canario also has the ability to play all three outfield positions.
The Cubs officially called up Canario prior to the start of their four-game series against the Reds along with right-handed pitcher Shane Greene.
