Other top prospects must wait turn for Majors

CHICAGO -- The Cubs have decided to play Arismendy Alcantara at second and center, so the next question is, when do the other top prospects get to the big leagues?

Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer has been asked that a lot.

"I'm not going to sit here and answer that," Hoyer said Tuesday. "There's a lot of baseball left to be played. There may be more guys who come up at some point the rest of the year. It's important to focus on what's out here now.

"It's fun to look at the box scores at [Triple-A] Iowa and [Double-A] Tennessee, but I don't think anytime you switch a guy's position, or a guy has a big night, people shouldn't be clamoring for a promotion."

Fans eager to see the so-called "core four" get closer to the big leagues got their wish on Tuesday. The Cubs announced they were promoting top prospects Jorge Soler to Triple-A Iowa and Albert Almora to Double-A Tennessee. Soler, 22, was batting .415 at Tennessee after going 2-for-3 on Tuesday with a triple. The outfielder was limited early this season because of leg injuries.

Almora, the Cubs' No. 1 pick in the 2012 First-Year Player Draft, hit his seventh home run on Tuesday, and was batting .283 with 50 RBIs.

Javier Baez, the Cubs' top-ranked prospect on MLB.com's list, has started at second base in four of his last five games at Iowa. Hoyer said the decision to move Baez from shortstop to second had nothing to do with Tuesday's decision to designate veteran Darwin Barney for assignment.

"We want to increase [Baez's] versatility," Hoyer said. "We thought it was the right thing to do to put him there."

The Cubs had hoped to have Baez playing second before the All-Star break, but decided to wait, as the infielder struggled at the plate.

There also has been talk internally of moving Kris Bryant, the team's first-round Draft pick last year, to the outfield, but Hoyer said they want him to stay at third base.