Alcantara, Villanueva On Double-A All-Star Team

The Topps Double-A All-Star Team for 2013 was announced Tuesday and two Cubs prospects made it:

Minor League Baseball™ and the Topps Company announced today that Tennessee Smokies infielders Arismendy Alcantara and Christian Villanueva are among the players selected to the Topps Double-A® All-Star team. The Tennessee infielders give the Chicago Cubs a pair of farmhands on the nine-man squad.

Arismendy Alcantara (22) of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, finished second in the Southern League in hits (134) and doubles (36) and third in stolen bases (31). The Tennessee Smokies second baseman hit .271 with 15 home runs and 69 RBIs. Alcantara signed with the Chicago Cubs as a non-drafted free agent in November 2008.

Christian Villanueva (22) of Guadalajara, Mexico, led the Southern League and the classification in doubles (41) and extra-base hits (62). The Tennessee Smokies third baseman topped his league in total bases (230) and hit .261 with 19 home runs and 72 RBIs. The Chicago Cubs acquired Villanueva from the Texas Rangers as part of a trade for Ryan Dempster in July 2012.

Villanueva played several games for the Cubs in spring training 2013 as well, and in addition to his hitting, he plays solid defense. Alcantara burst on the scene by hitting a home run in the 2013 Futures Game. Both of these players have an outside shot at making the 2014 25-man Opening Day roster; Villanueva has quite a bit of competition at third base and could wind up being traded, while Alcantara might be better suited to a utility role at the major-league level. But both have a chance to have a significant big-league career.

Congratulations to the two Cubs prospects on this honor.