Alcantara went 2-for-4 with a solo home run in Friday's loss to the Pirates.

After struggling through a seven-game skid that saw him go just 3-for-29 with a dozen strikeouts, Alcantara showed some life at the plate Friday night. The 22-year-old native of Cuba has had some impressive spurts during his rookie campaign, but is not likely to display much consistency until he can cut down on the whiffs.

Alcantara went 1-for-4 with a two-run homer Tuesday against Milwaukee.

It was Alcantara's fifth home run in his last 10 games, and after a three-week slump (.160/.200/.235) to start the month of August, the exciting, young center fielder is clearly red hot.

Alcantara supplied a two-run homer in Tuesday's 3-0 win over the Reds.

While his .228 batting average and .285 on-base percentage leave something to be desired, Alcantara has provided a little bit of everything for the Cubs since his July 9 promotion. Alcantara has contributed five homers, seven stolen bases, and has scored 20 runs in 42 games, while offering the versatility to play both middle infield positions and man the outfield.

Alcantara went 2-for-3 with a solo home run and a stolen base in Sunday's 2-1 win over Baltimore.

Alcantara has been productive over his last three games, totaling six hits in 10 at-bats and swiping a couple of bases. He's batting .228/.286/.359 with four homers, 14 RBI, and seven stolen bases in 41 games this season.

Alcantara will bat sixth Wednesday against the Rockies.

While Alcantara posted a .263/.358/.474 batting line from the two-hole, he hit just .205/.244/.256 from the leadoff spot, so the move down the batting order is likely a good thing for his fantasy value though it could limit his stolen base opportunities. Its looks like Javier Baez will occupy the No. 2 spot for the time being, with Chris Coghlan leading off.

Alcantara is going to take a break from the leadoff role, team's official site reports.

Alcantara, who had three hits Saturday, is hitting just .179 from the top spot for the Cubs, so he may get bumped down to second. "We might keep doing what we were doing before hen we had [Chris] Coghlan leading off and Mendy second," manager Rick Renteria said. "We might do that to give Mendy a different look." With Emilio Bonifacio gone, the Cubs need a regular leadoff hitter. While Alcantara has shown a little success so far in the majors, he might not be up to the task just yet.

Alcantara went 0-for-5 Friday, dropping his batting average to .238.

There are bumps in the road for every talented rookie, but Alcantara is really slumping now, with just four singles and a double in his last 32 at-bats. However, with Emilio Bonifacio now in Atlanta and mostly-untalented roster in Chicago, he'll get every opportunity to hit his way out of his slump.

Alcantara was 1-for-4 in Tuesday's marathon win over the Rockies. He played the entire contest, and was hit by two pitches while not factoring in on any of the Cubs' runs.

The promising youngster stayed in the game after being plunked twice, once early by Jorge De La Rosa and once late by Tyler Matzek. At least he'll be able to tell his grandkids he played in the longest timed game in 145 years of Cubs baseball. Alcantara has now seen his average slip to .258 after a hot start that saw him at .346 six games into his major league career.

Arismendy Alcantara went 2-for-5 with a stolen base and a run scored as the Cubs were trampled by the Padres 13-3 on Thursday.

Alcantara, who has split his time between second base and center field, enjoyed his fourth multi-hit game out of only 11 thus far to begin his major league career. The talented 22-year-old is slashing .277/.327/.532 with two home runs, seven RBI, and four stolen bases in 52 plate appearances.

Arismendy Alcantara hit his second home run of the season in a win over the Padres on Tuesday.

Alcantara and Anthony Rizzo went back-to-back off Padres reliever Blaine Boyer in the seventh inning. It was Alcantara's only hit in four at-bats on the night. The 22-year-old, who has split time between second base and center field thus far in his big league career, is hitting .282/.326/.590 through his first nine games and has found different ways to contribute in nearly every game. He's an exciting talent, and with the Cubs designating Darwin Barney for assignment Tuesday, he appears to be in Chicago to stay.

Arismendy Alcantara went 2-for-5 with his first career home run in Sunday's loss to the Braves.

Alcantara also doubled in the game, driving in two with his homer against Julio Teheran in the sixth inning. The 22-year-old has been impressive in his first five games with the Cubs, batting .391 (9-for-23) with three doubles, a triple, a stolen base, five RBI and six runs scored. His promotion was supposed to be a short-lived stint while Darwin Barney was away on paternity leave, but he's certainly forcing Cubs brass to reconsider that idea with his play to this point.

Arismendy Alcantara went 2-for-5 with two runs scored Saturday in the Cubs' loss to the Braves.

Alcantara doubled in the first inning and then singled in the fifth. He's now 7-for-18 (.389) at the major league level and appears ready to take over as the Cubs' starting second baseman for good. The 22-year-old is worth grabbing in all mixed fantasy leagues.

Arismendy Alcantara will remain with the Cubs for now.

The plan had been to send him down prior to Friday's game when Darwin Barney returned from paternity leave, but Alcantara evidently changed the Cubs' mind after going 4-for-5 with a triple, a double and three RBI Thursday. The 22-year-old isn't guaranteed anything going forward, but he should see plenty of playing time while he's up.

Arismendy Alcantara went 4-for-5 with a triple, a double and three RBI as the Cubs beat the Reds 6-4 in 12 innings on Thursday.

Needing a homer for the cycle, Alcantara instead settled for an infield single in the 12th. He and Starlin Castro came around to score when Skip Schumaker couldn't grab Luis Valbuena's shot to the wall in right. Valbuena tried to turn it into an inside-the-park homer, only to get cut down at home plate (the appeal on whether Devin Mesoraco blocked the plate was denied). It was Alcantara who was the star, though. He had as many RBI today as Darwin Barney did in his last 24 games combined. the Cubs have indicated that Alcantara would return to Triple-A when Barney returned from the paternity list, but Alcantara is their best option at second base right now.

Cubs recalled INF/OF Arismendy Alcantara from Triple-A Iowa.

Alcantara will get a cup of coffee with the big club while Darwin Barney is on paternity leave. The 22-year-old is batting .307/.353/.537 with 10 homers, 41 RBI and 21 stolen bases at Triple-A Iowa this season. He's worth a short-term pick-up in redraft leagues.

Jesse Roger of ESPNChicago.com reports that the Cubs will call up second base prospect Arismendy Alcantara on Wednesday.

He's replacing Darwin Barney, who went on paternity leave. While it will be nice to get a look at Alcantara, he's expected to be sent back down on Friday when Barney returns. Alcantara entered play Tuesday batting .308/.354/.538 with 10 homers, 41 RBI and 21 stolen bases at Triple-A Iowa.

Cubs VP of scouting and player development Jason McLeod said Monday that the front office has been impressed with prospect infielder/outfielder Arismendy Alcantara.

Alcantara, 22, is batting .305/.347/.543 with 42 extra-base hits (including 10 home runs) and 18 stolen bases through 80 games this season with Triple-A Iowa. He was recently named as the Pacific Coast League Player of the Week, so he continues to build momentum toward a promotion in the near future. "He's certainly making himself noticed," said McLeod. "He's making the front office and the major league coaching staff take notice of what he's doing. Guys are talking about him." Interestingly, Alcantara has played some center field for the first time in his pro career in recent days, which is an indication of where the Cubs could play him when he reaches the majors. He also has extensive experience at second base. Either way, he should be on your radar in deeper mixed leagues.

Cubs second base prospect Arismendy Alcantara went 2-for-4 with two home runs on Friday for Triple-A Iowa.

He is hitting .286/.323/.551 for the season, and has been walking more and striking out less as of late, with seven walks and nine strikeouts in his past 15 games. He still has 47 strikeouts and 11 walks in 50 games, so the decrease in strikeouts and increase in walks is a welcome improved result.

Cubs prospect 2B/SS Arismendy Alcantara reached base five times on Saturday, as he was 4-for-4 with a double, triple and walk for Triple-A Iowa.

The 22-year-old also scored four runs, tallied two RBI and stole his 10th base of the season. Alcantara's performance this season at Iowa has been up and down, but the switch-hitting middle infielder still owns a solid .281/.321/.520 batting line through 46 games to go along with 25 extra-base hits and 25 RBI. His 46/11 strikeout-to-walk ratio during that span certainly leaves something to be desired, but it's more important for Alcantara to improve his walk rate moving forward rather than try to trim some of the swing-and-miss from his game.

Cubs second base prospect Arismendy Alcantara went 5-for-7 with a triple on Saturday.

He is hitting .301/.310/.554 for the season and has been particularly hot as of late, putting up a .423/.423/.846 line over the past six games. Alcantara's walk rate was up to 10.9% last year, but it has plummeted to a troubling 2.3% this year. If Alcantara keeps hitting above .300 with power, he could be the Cubs second baseman of the future, pushing Javier Baez to third base and Kris Bryant to the outfield.