NEWSLETTER
When I saw that The Athletic had written up 20 “underrated” prospects with a Chicago Cubs tag, I just assumed the prospect was going to be Jefferson Rojas, and I was going to mutter to myself that it’s pretty silly he’s still considered “underrated.”
But the prospect was NOT Jefferson Rojas. And when I saw it was a catcher at Double-A, I once again thought to myself, pfft, Moises Ballesteros is hardly “underrated,” guys. But it’s not him either!
“Pablo Aliendo, C, Chicago Cubs (not ranked): Catchers who can hit and play defense are a rare breed, but the Cubs might have one in Aliendo. A native of Venezuela, Aliendo played all of last season in Double A, hitting .231/.332/.458 with a career-high 16 homers. He’s repeating the level to start this year, and is off to a strong start with a .250/.346/.591 line and four homers in 14 games.
Aliendo will turn 23 in late May. He’s shown consistent improvement, both offensively and defensively, every year he’s been in pro ball. Offensively, his power is his best tool. Defensively, he has quick feet, the ability to frame pitches and a strong arm.”
Now, that *IS* an underrated prospect! I think Pablo Aliendo has been underrated going all the way back to his 2021 breakout at Low-A, when he emerged as a strong defensive catcher with an above-average bat. Aliendo reached Double-A at just 21 years old, extremely young for a true catching prospect. It is notable that he’s repeating Double-A this year, but we should keep in mind (1) he’s still quite young, (2) he played only 91 games there last year, (3) he’s working with some important pitching prospects right now, and (4) it’s not uncommon to leave Triple-A catching starts to the guys you would expect to call up in case of emergency (and the Cubs may not want to go there with Aliendo just yet).
As The Athletic noted, Aliendo has gotten off to a scorching start this year, hitting .250/.346/.591/175 wRC+. His power is through the roof, with a whopping .341 ISO that ranks second in the Southern League (behind only a corner outfield prospect who is a year and a half older, Heriberto Hernandez). If that power development is legit, then you’re talking about an average-or-better defensive backstop – well-rounded, at that – who could put together above-average offensive seasons at the MLB level at some point. That’s not just an underrated prospect, that’s a guy who should be in the Cubs’ top-20.
So why isn’t Aliendo universally regarded as a top-20 Cubs prospect? Well, a few reasons. For one, although he was above-average offensively at Tennessee last year, it was only slightly so (109 wRC+). This year, in a very small sample, is the first time he’s truly raking. For another, and it’s a big one, the uptick in power has come alongside a massive spike in his strikeout rate: 34.6%. That is unplayable, because it would likely be a heckuva lot higher at Triple-A, and then even higher in the big leagues. Clearly, there’s some work needed to balance his overall production, and you kind of expect that from a catching prospect.
Nevertheless, Aliendo needs to be on the radar. He may not be the prospect that Moises Ballesteros is, but he may be more likely to remain behind the plate. By the end of the year, the Cubs will need to know if Aliendo COULD be ready, if necessary, to take some big league games in 2025. Why? Because he’s not only Rule 5 eligible after the season, he’s also due to be a minor league free agent. So the Cubs will need to make a 40-man decision early in the offseason (and boy would it be nice to have a high-quality optionable catcher on the 40-man). Moreover, with Yan Gomes likely headed into free agency after the season, the Cubs are going to want to know what they’d have in Aliendo – like Miguel Amaya last year – in order to plan how aggressive they need to be at the spot in the offseason.
