There was a lot of buzz after the Chicago Cubs called up hot-hitting prospect Alexander Canario, but after six games and zero plate appearances, there are serious questions why he hasn’t seen the field.
Canario, who had nine home runs and 47 RBI’s in 233 plate appearances at the minor league level this season, hasn’t been inserted into any of the games the team has played since he was brought up.
When asked prior to Tuesday’s game against the San Francisco Giants why Canario wasn’t playing, Ross had a blunt answer.
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“The guys that got us here are going to play,” he said. “He’ll play when he’s needed and fills in nicely, or the game gets out of hand one way or the other. I think the future is bright for a lot of our minor leaguers that are coming up, but now’s not the time that I’m trying to get those guys at-bats.”
The Cubs did have one blowout victory over the weekend, with Patrick Wisdom and Miles Mastrobuoni both coming in for pinch-hitting duties, but Canario still didn’t get the tap on his shoulder to get a plate appearance in the game.
Even still, Ross says there is value to Canario being around a team that’s in the thick of the playoff hunt.
“It’s an important environment to be in. I think you learn a lot from being around winners and a winning team and a winning environment here,” Ross said.
Ross said that it’s important for young players to learn how to be useful at the big-league level without playing every day, and that Canario has done the little things necessary to establish a routine and to stay sharp so that he’ll be ready when his moment arrives.
“His career is just starting,” he said. “I think being around this group, especially this coaching staff, with the work that they put in the routine, finding out how to stay sharp and what not, (is important).”
The Cubs will finish up a three-game series against the Giants at Wrigley Field on Wednesday, and Canario is not in the starting lineup.