Put in PROSPECTive:
It is almost eerie how much Israel Alcantara’s voyage through baseball mirrors that of Brian Daubach. Daubach spent nine years in the minor leagues before he signed with the Boston Red Sox in December, 1998, and finally became a regular player in the majors in 1999. In the minors, Daubach consistently put up solid home run numbers while he almost always led his team in doubles and RBIs. When the Red Sox picked up Daubach before the 1999 season, nobody expected Daubach to even have a cup of coffee in Boston. Daubach came up to Boston and made a himself a strong candidate for the Rookie of the Year award until he got slowed down in late August.
In 1999, Alcantara played for the Trenton Thunder, the AA affiliate of the Red Sox. Alcantara batted .294 and clubbed 20 home runs in only 77 games. The year prior, Alcantara hit 28 home runs, as he split time between A- and AA-ball in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays organization.
Alcantara, a right-handed hitter, has been a dependable 20+ home run hitter his entire minor league career, and is off to a hot start in 2000. He is hitting .284 in Pawtucket and already has five home runs, four doubles, one triple, and 15 RBIs in 74 at-bats. Alcantara is a tremendous, but over-looked hitter.
The Montreal Expos originally signed Alcantara in 1992, when he arrived in the United States from the Dominican Republic. From 1992-97, Alcantara slowly progressed through the Expos farm system as a third baseman, but later converted into an outfielder. Alcantara consistently put up good power numbers, but the Expos didn’t think Alcantara was ready to make any swift movement through the farm system. Ironically, the Expos general manger at the time was Dan Duquette, the current general manager of the Red Sox. After six years of frustration in the Expos system, Alcantara moved closer to home when was picked up by the Devil Rays. After splitting time between A- and AA-ball with the Devil Rays in 1998, Alcantara signed with the Boston Red Sox on November 10, 1998, thus reuniting him with Duquette. Duquette knew Alcantara from his days in Montreal, and immediately started Alcantara in AA in 1999, and sent him up for his first experience in AAA with some stints in Pawtucket. After Alcantara proved he could man-handle AA pitchers in ’99, the Red Sox moved Alcantara up to Pawtucket for 2000.
Alcantara isn’t playing as much in the field as he used to, as he mostly is a designated hitter nowadays. However, Alcantara can still move around pretty well and play in the outfield if needed. Alcantara can take pitches up in the strike zone and drive them farther than some of the players with the Boston team can. He can get on fire, as he has already demonstrated this year with two multiple-home run games, including two three run homers on May 4. With John Valentin injured and the Red Sox lacking a right-handed bat off the bench, Alcantara could be an excellent call-up for the Sox, if they choose to activate him from Pawtucket. Many were quick to proclaim Morgan Burkhart, the Mexican Winter League MVP this winter, as the club’s next Brian Daubach. Clearly, those folks have not done their homework, as Burkhart has not been overlooked nearly as much as Alcantara, and Burkhart only hit .230 last year in his stay with the AA Trenton Thunder. Alcantara is a superb hitter, and if the Sox bring him up, fans will be left scratching their heads asking why Alcantara was so overlooked his entire career.
BEN BADLER
Alcantara, who turned 27 years-old on May 6, has spent his entire eight-year professional baseball career in the minors, and is heading into his ninth this year with the Pawtucket Red Sox. When Daubach played in his first game with the Sox, he had turned 27 years-old roughly two months earlier.
Israel Alcantara