Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest skills to accomplish in sports. For Cubs top prospect James Triantos, that’s the easy part of his game.

“It’s not whether I hit the ball, because I’m going to hit the ball every time,” Triantos told the Marquee Sports Network broadcast crew of Cole Wright, Elise Menaker and Lance Brozdowski during the Cubs’ March 15 Spring Breakout game. “It’s just whether I hit the ball hard.”

The 22-year-old’s numbers don’t lie: Triantos had the second-lowest strikeout rate (9.7%) and was tied for the second-best batting average (.300) in all of Double-A last year.

The utilityman, a 2021 second-round draft pick by the Cubs out of high school, was called up to Triple-A Iowa midway through last season. His minor league performances earned him his first spring training invite this year as well as a start in the Spring Breakout win against the Los Angeles Angels prospects.

“This offseason, I really worked on swing decisions and just being able to get the ball in the air more often,” Triantos told the broadcast after a 2-for-4 day at the plate. “I know when I’m at my best, I’m hitting everything hard.”

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The crew pointed out that Triantos’ swing has evolved to look a lot like Nico Hoerner’s, who Triantos is often compared with because of their similar plate approaches. When asked if Hoerner is someone Triantos tries to emulate, Triantos had high praise for the Cubs’ second baseman.

“I’ve definitely watched Nico and he’s great – he’s an unbelievable player,” Triantos said. “For me, It’s all about intent and focus. I go up there and I know what I want to swing at.”

Triantos said he already has the confidence that he is going to hit every pitch, but for him what counts is how he’s going to uniquely approach every at-bat.

“It’s all just game planning,” he said. “It’s trusting that I’m going to execute in the game when I step in the box.”

Triantos had an impressive spring training, slashing .318/.333/.500 with an .833 OPS in 24 plate appearances in Cactus League play. He will begin his first full season in Triple-A with the Iowa Cubs when they take on the Omaha Storm Chasers at home on March 28 at 8 p.m.

Catch the full interview with Triantos on the Marquee Sports Network app.