00:00Another guy that I want to talk about here, Kevin Alcantara comes up for the Chicago Cubs.
00:05What's so weird is Owen Casey, when rosters expanded, was optioned to AAA Iowa at this point.
00:12Cubs are a little weird when it comes to this.
00:14Obviously, we have seen Kevin Alcantara get up for a brief cup of coffee last year and then not emerge at any point this year.
00:21We've seen them do this with guy after guy after guy.
00:24I feel really bad for Casey.
00:26What are you expecting from a guy in Alcantara who's back under the big leagues?
00:30I think Alcantara fills a more specific role for them now that you have Kyle Tucker healthy and performing again.
00:38I wonder, you want Pete Crow Armstrong in the lineup every single day, but if he's not starting to swing it a little bit better, especially against lefties,
00:47maybe that's a spot where late in games you like the matchup.
00:51You could pinch hit Kevin Alcantara on the short side of the platoon there.
00:54I don't think you do that because PCA has been so good, but that could be one area.
00:59I just think they wanted to also just in general a right-handed bat that can hit lefties a little bit better,
01:05and that's something that Alcantara has done all year.
01:08He's slashing 319, 394, 604.
01:11It's a 999 OPS against left-handed pitching this year, and he's a phenomenal defender in center field when he's locked in.
01:18And I think he'd be a little bit more locked in there and be able to play a good defense up the middle,
01:23or I would say phenomenal in the corners, good up the middle.
01:27So just having a guy that can do that as well, you think about probably what he's providing compared to Casey.
01:32It's going to be a little bit more valuable for what they need right now.
01:35And then I think also they probably want Casey getting more regular A-Bs, whereas Alcantara,
01:40I think you can just focus on the value that he gives you with the glove and being able to slide into all three spots.
01:45But I think it's short platoon or just pinch hitting and being able to fill in defensively off the bench is what I see at least.
01:53Another guy in the National League Central that I want to spend the rest of this segment on here is Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds.
01:58And Sal was officially selected on August 31st.
02:03So he is eligible for postseason play for the Cincinnati Reds, which is, number one, awesome.
02:08Number two, he's an electric factory.
02:10I mean, the pregame press conference that he did, Cincinnati clipped it, and they were ready to run through a brick wall.
02:16That's social media admin there.
02:18He said, I'm going to do whatever you need me to do.
02:20My position is in the batter's box.
02:22So wherever Tito puts me, I'm very happy.
02:25Sal Stewart, 21-year-old from Miami, first-round pick of the Reds in 2022.
02:29Out of Westminster Christian.
02:31So I ask you, Aram Layton, is he the next Alex Rodriguez?
02:35He seems to have the swagger.
02:37But no, you're going to hear that probably a lot when people go to check the alumni.
02:44I think there's been a couple other big leaguers from there.
02:47But Sal's been crushing the ball, man.
02:50And I think I would have loved to see them bring him up a little bit earlier.
02:54But we just talked about it.
02:55They're still trying to figure out who goes where.
02:58And I'm curious to see who ends up seeing the reps cut into a little bit.
03:02But I don't know.
03:03I think there's a lot of different ways you can mix and match.
03:06I don't need to see Gavin Lux in the lineup, especially against lefties.
03:09I would love to see Sal out there.
03:11And it's not like Lux is flashing the leather.
03:14So you could still move Steer to a corner outfield, get creative, do what you want to do.
03:18But last 40 games entering this call-up, Sal's slashing 311, 387, 609.
03:26It's a 997 OPS with just a 15.5% strikeout rate.
03:30So the guy has just been mashing.
03:32And I think the way that he hits the ball, it's plus-plus EVs, hardline drives everywhere.
03:38A lot of those are going to sneak their way out in Great American Ballpark.
03:41He's my pick to click in terms of guys that are getting called up right now that I think are just going to come out and go nuclear.
03:46Because it doesn't happen much anymore.
03:48It's really hard.
03:48I think he's a guy that's going to come up and rake.
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