Prospects of the Week for Chicago Cubs Affiliates for the Week for 5/21-5/28

Chicago Cubs Double-A Hitter of the week: C Pablo Aliendo (21 Years Old)

.286/.348/.762 2 BB, 4 2B, 2 HR, 7 RBI, 3 R

The Cubs suddenly have several interesting catchers in the system. Amaya was nearly the player of the week at the AAA level, Aliendo is the player of the week at AA and he won’t be the last catcher you see on this list. 

Aliendo is a perfect example of why you have to be patient with IFA signings. He signed in 2018 for $200,000 out of Venezuela and had a wRC+ of less than 100 in every season prior to 2022 and even then it was only a 105 last year. This year his wRC+ is an impressive 162 as he’s batted .280/.358/.624 with a whopping .344 ISO. 

This week Aliendo continued to show off that power as every single hit he had this week went for extra bases. Did he strike out too much? Yes. He struck out eight times in the five games he played which isn’t going to cut it as he continues to move through the system. However, at the end of the day, the Cubs have a 21-year-old catcher at AA that just had a week like this and he’s arguably the third-best catcher in the system. 

For the last several years the Cubs system has been barren. For years before that it was top-heavy. Now, the Cubs have legitimate players that will seemingly have the ability to contribute as major league players and Aliendo absolutely appears to be one of those players, even if he doesn’t stick behind the dish.