Rays could pursue this Cubs top prospect as a great outfield depth piece

Kevin Alcántara is one of the more fascinating prospects in baseball.

The former Yankees prospect came to the Cubs in the Anthony Rizzo deal in 2021.

He stands at 6'6 and has tools for days, with an enticing power speed combination and the ability to potentially stick in center field. Although, he's mostly been playing right field due to Pete Crow-Armstrong's status as the Cubs' everyday center fielder for the foreseeable future.

The good news is that Alcántara's speed plays well in center field, as he has a 60 grade in that category according to FanGraphs to pair with a potential 60 future value in his fielding ability.

A big downside for the Dominican outfielder is his ability to put bat on ball and his approach at the plate.

While his quality of contact metrics during his brief cameo in the majors last year were elite, as were those same marks in AAA, he hasn't been able to prove he can lay off bad pitches or make enough contact to truly be an elite player at the major league level.

If a guy is struggling to put bat on ball at AAA, the likelihood isn't super high he'll be able to make enough contact at the major league level to do much offensively, even if he has the massive power that Alcántara has in his tool kit.

But, if he can use that fun sprint speed to his advantage and turn into a quality center fielder, his lack of offensive production might take a back seat to his overall contributions.

That's a lot to wish on, but Alcántara is still only going to be 23 this season and has a lot of time to continue his development.

If the Cubs are serious about him potentially replacing Kyle Tucker, who's due to be a free agent after this season, they might choose to keep Alcántara in AAA for all of 2024 (barring injury) and allow him to continue to settle in as a right fielder.

Then, if they're in serious contention and need some massive pitching upgrades (their current pitching staff is fine but injuries always cause problems), the Rays could come calling, offering one of their (hopefully) high-performing arms for the young power-hitting outfielder.

Zack Littell and Pete Fairbanks are the usual suspects, as they're both a bit advanced in age and likely to be some of the better performers of the Rays' pitching staff, but the Rays are always willing to do something weird, so it could be a less expected name dealt for Alcántara if the Cubs make him available.

He's a fun prospect to dream on and write about, one with massive tools and a high ceiling, but unfortunately a low floor as well due to the volatile nature of his potential performance.

Alcántara could end up as the next toolsy large human being in the NL Central to be good, or he could flame out and never quite put his elite talent together, or the Rays could trade for him and have another successful outfielder they stole from an NL Central club.

Either way, he's a name to monitor this season in trade talks.