Chicago Cubs outfield prospect Alexander Canario, he of the otherworldly second half, entered play today at 29 homers on the minor league season. Not since the days of Javy Báez and Kris Bryant going bonkers on dingers has the Cubs minor leagues seen a 30 home run season.
Canario, true to his 2022 form, not only joined that 30-homer club today, he added a second homer for good measure:
Canario, 22, has been so good at Double-A for nearly three months now that you would expect him to be in line for a late-season promotion to Triple-A, his second promotion of the year. Every player has his own development plan, obviously, but it’s hard to imagine there is much else for Canario to do. Not only is he producing at a crazy power clip at Double-A, he’s also walking a ton and not striking out. After those first rough couple weeks at the level, he’s just taken off completely, in every way you’d want to see.
Canario’s 31 homers, by the way, is second in all of minor league baseball behind only Moises Gomez, a Cardinals prospect who has hit 33 between Double-A and Triple-A this year. Caveats there are that Gomez, who hit most of his at Double-A, is almost two years older than Canario, and played those Double-A games in the Texas League, which is I believe more homer-friendly than the Southern League.
Basically that’s my way of saying Alexander Canario is the best home-run-hitting prospect in the minors, whether it’s true or not. He’s at least close.