Cubs MLB Roster

Cubs Organizational Depth Chart
40-Man Roster Info

40 players are on the MLB RESERVE LIST (roster is full) 

28 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE, and twelve players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 

Last updated 3-26-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 15
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
* Jordan Wicks

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

INFIELDERS: 7
* Michael Busch 
Nico Hoerner
Nick Madrigal
* Miles Mastrobuoni
Christopher Morel
Dansby Swanson
Patrick Wisdom

OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

OPTIONED: 12 
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, P 
Alexander Canario, OF 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, P 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Daniel Palencia, P 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 
Hayden Wesneski, P 

 



 

Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

Cubs Trivia

Only two players have played over 1,000 games with the Cubs without ever playing for another Major League baseball franchise. One is Ernie Banks. Who is the other?

Comments

Ryno?

From the prevoius thread: I’d like to know whether two countries should go to war over a sandwich. Well... one of them will be Turkey. And for the trivia - Ernie Banks?

um dave? Read the question again. And we have a correct answer right off the bat. Stan Hack. Ryno played a few games with the Phils. Grace went to the Dbacks. Cap Anson was with the Philadelphia Athletics.

Never mind, misread the question. I took it to mean without playing for another organization prior to the Cubs. My bad.

(yes, yes, I know I'm an idiot for answering Biggio...) I think it's Cap Anson.

Cavaretta? I gave it a good think, and that's suprising that the # is so low, has to be a position player you would think.

Anybody in Miami right now? The weather forecast looks very ugly -- heavy rain tonight and tomorrow -- could make things very interesting if we have to squeeze in a DH....

I do not condone cheating. But its fun for me when I cheat for these trivia questions. It's fun looking up stats in baseball reference.com. Is it this guy? Nope. Is it this guy? Nope. Is it this guy? Hey, it IS this guy! I win! (Except I cheated.)

I put Hack into that drunken wound up with another team to give it one more chance category - but I always confuse him with Hack Wilson. Good thing their parents never married. =================== From last thread: Since there has been discussion here of the one subject I know best : Maddux I don't think she was saying she knows about Maddux better than the rest of us, she was saying that's the Cubs subject she knows best...

Cap is also correct, if I understand the wording of the question. The Philadelphia Athletics of 1871 to 1875 was not a Major League baseball franchise, assuming that means National League and American League teams. It was part of the National Association. If you're including National Association teams among Major League baseball franchises, then please ignore this. Didn't realize Hack was only a Cubbie. Thanks.

Wait wait... according to the question, "without ever playing for another Major League baseball franchise". The PHI Athletics were part of the National Association, which is not considered to be part of the MLB historically.

Neal, I think the message was for us to let that alone. That would be nice, yes. As for the wording of the question, I take them from my Cubs calendar and they just have Stan Hack. I suppose technically Cap would qualify by those standards

Ah crap, I need to do my research better. The Philly As were in the National League in 1876, the inaugural year, but not after. So I'm wrong that they weren't a major league team. Still, Anson left the team in 1875, so he never played on another NL team besides the Cubs, once there was an NL. Partial credit, teach?

Real Neal, Regarding the Padre rotation response to me you made in the prior thread. The point I tried to make is that Bud Black did *not* need to throw Peavy on 3 days rest on Sept 5. If Black had not done that, Peavy, Young and Maddux would be lined up to pitch against the Brewers in a crucial series this weekend, all on regular rest. But because Black mucked up his rotation in early September by jumping Peavy ahead a day, he now may have to pitch Peavy on three day's rest this Sunday if they need that win.

With apologies to cwip in # 85 of prior thread. Stan Hack's career 162 game averages: 183 hits, 30 2B, 7 3B, 5 HRs, 14 SBs, 91 BB, .301/.394/.397 Compare to Juan Pierre career 162 game averages: 200 hits, 24 2B, 10 3B, 2 HRs, 45 SBs, 40 BB, .302/.348/.374 "Stan Hack: Almost as Good as Juan Pierre" I kid, I kid. I do think that stat lines are uncannily similar.

good news... Marlins have been awful since the break 24-43 and 8-13 in September bad news.... rain and T-storms the next 3 days. Being Florida it's rather unpredictable. 50-60% chance the next 3 nights.

And I think that a 100% need-to-win game this weekend is more valuable to have Z or Lilly pitching on normal rest than the game he threw on 3 days last week (which is not 100% need-to-win). That;s the game that got him to the point where he would throw this weekend. I think Real Neal proposed the opposite in the previous thread.

bad news…. rain and T-storms the next 3 days. Ugh, yet another reason to contract/move the Marlins.

I had a hunch, so I checked it out. What about Kerry Wood for the trivia? He hasn't played for anyone else, and despite his time on the DL, he has been ~with~ the Cubs, and active, for at least 1000 games.

Kerry Wood has only played in 209 Games. The team may have played over 1,000 games in that time but that wasn't the question.

DC Tom, Ok, either I didn't read your post clearly or it wasn't clear. However, you do understand that the longer you go back on the time frame, the less probably it will be that you'll stay in alignment anyway, not to mention that there may be other reasons that Peavy was moved up, such as he would have pitched on five days rest two consecutive starts after that, or something. Actually that is the case, they were off the 6th and the 10th, so it gets to the point of messing with your entire rotation to keep Peavy on track, or pitch Peavy a day early to keep the rest of the guys relatively on track.

A stadium that ugly should at least have a dome. Seriously, now I'm not going to be able to sleep tonight.

Neal, I think the message was for us to let that alone. That would be nice, yes. Sorry, my psychic antenna is broken, as the message was to leave the political stuff alone. As always, say what you mean, and there won't be any miscommunication issues.

I'll guess Beckert, although the Cubs might not even have been his first team, let alone his last. Getting back to Theriot: Theriot has the fewest errors (8) of any NL SS who has played in at least 100 games. But he also has the fewest games over 100, so he must have lost some starts to Izturis. His total chances are low per game, maybe something to do with the Cubs' staff leading the league in strikeouts. His fielding percentage (.979) is seventh behind Tulo (.986), Vizquel, Greene, Rollins, Wilson and Reyes (.981). Of those six, I'd probably rather see Theriot come to bat than Vizquel or Greene. Not far behind Theriot in fielding percentage, however, are Renteria and Hardy, who are obviously better hitters. Theriot is very similar to Furcal offensively, but Furcal has 19 errors. So does Eckstein, and Eckstein only has nine SBs.

Theriot is very similar to Furcal offensively And both have been below league average offensively this year.

Virginia Cousin - Rob already confirmed the answer and Beckert played for the Padres after his Cub days.

That;s the game that got him to the point where he would throw this weekend. I think Real Neal proposed the opposite in the previous thread. Yes, I will go on record saying 1+ 1 + 0 = 1 + 0 +1. It really comes down to how you feel moving the start up effects your chances to win the game, though, and there's not enough data to come up with a reasonable argument on either side of the coin. The Cubs are esentially a .500 ball club, and they had a .500 record in the two moved up starts. Finally, Zambrano, in case you have forgotten has now missed time due to injury in each of the last two seasons. He isn't the bionic man, no matter how much we would wish it otherwise or he would try make the coaching staff believe it.

theriot and furcal aren’t really that similar at all. Not even close. I agree... but I think he is solely referring to their numbers this year, which are almost identical.

From the Daily Herald, Bruce Miles on Ryan Theriot - who it is noted by Dave - has statistics making him the 12th of 14 in the NL of many catagories. Just don't tell the manager of the team, writers or broadcasters: "April 25: Cubs 9, Brewers 3 The Cubs were in last place at the time, but in that game Piniella replaced virtually invisible shortstop Cesar Izturis with Ryan Theriot. Izturis was at Wrigley Field over the weekend -- as a member of the Pirates. Theriot is one of the team's MVPs. Although Theriot didn't play every day at short since April 25, it was at that time Piniella knew he had something. "There were a lot of things that happened here," Piniella said. "Those are part of an evolution of a baseball team. You make changes. Things weren't working early in the year. We tried to do different things to shore things up. I can talk to numerous, numerous things. There are too many, but certain Theriot's important."

VA Phil: "Theriot is very similar to Furcal offensively" This year, yes. But both are below average offensively.

E-Man... where does it say anything about how he compares to the other shortstops in the league? I have never said that Theriot has not played an important role in the Cubs. I do think that he is somewhat overrated by many Cubs fans, but I do also like him a lot. I just that in terms of production, he is below average offensively. And that doesn't contradict anything that you posted from Miles or Lou.

"Theriot is one of the team’s MVPs." c'mon miles...he's an important cog, but its theriot...never has a sub-.700 OPS been so celebrated. i'll take him over izzy..i'll take him over cedeno...im glad he can squeek out some doubles along with his singles/walks...im glad he can play an adequate SS... but c'mon...he's not a team allstar even with loose associations. what does that make mark derosa? a god? or we just handing out 20 team MVPs this year?

Theriot is one of the team’s MVPs. HA HA HA HA HA HA Yeah if the team has like 10 MVP's maybe.

Furcal has consistently been one of the better defensive shortstops, it's not a comparison defensively with Theriot, who is average defensively. But if the point is that Theriot is basically an average NL shortstop, there's a lot to be said for that. Especially given with what the Cubs have had a shortstop since Shawon Dunston. Theriot compares pretty favorably to Blauser, Jose Hernandez, Ricky Gutierrez, Alex Gonzalez, Ramon Martinez, Neifi!, and Cedeno circa 2006.

CA Phil, thanks. No wonder everybody stopped guessing. I'm not really up on Stan Hack (I get him confused with that other Hack), but I see that he's a Cub who played in four World Series. When today's (or tomorrow's) Cubs make the Series, Hack's name will start to be tossed around again.

Yes, it's nice that the Cubs got a sort-of league average half-season out of a career minor leaguer who's going to head right back to the nowhere he came from before 2009. Bruce Miles can call Theriot an MVP on a team with Lee, Ramirez, Zambrano, and Lilly all he wants. If he's got a concrete, defensible reason why, I'd love to hear it. The Two Consecutive Winning Seasons defense relies on Theriot's lackluster predecessors and does not change his merits as a player, which are restricted to not making very much money. I'm done with trying to bring these "young" players reputations in line with reality. I'm going to sit back, enjoy the final however many weeks, hope the hacks on the team don't lay any eggs and that if they do, the true MVPs can overcome them.

theriot and furcal aren’t really that similar at all. I didn't say Theriot reminded me of Furcal; but the stats, at least this year, are almost interchangeable. Furcal: 270/333/355, 87 runs, 6 hr, 47 rbi, 25 sb, 6 cs. Theriot: 273/333/356, 79 runs, 3 hr, 44 rbi, 28 sb, 4 cs. Since the Cubs recently coveted Furcal and were willing to pledge a lot of money to him, they should be happy with Theriot.

Dave: I am just reprinting the data you asked for. "What broadcasters...etc.?" I stated that these media folks disagree with you on your assertions - I gave some to you and there are many, many more. But I am not sure if you live here so you may not hear or see all of the media coverage. You have your stats. Lou makes up the lineups and sees the player everyday. And then we have the fan's perspective...

hope the hacks on the team don’t lay any eggs Another gratuitous insult to the guy this thread was dedicated to (and also Hack Wilson).

RON GUALT: "Yes, it’s nice that the Cubs got a sort-of league average half-season out of a career minor leaguer who’s going to head right back to the nowhere he came from before 2009." And you predict the future for a living? You were in the win-loss pool here, for instance?

Since the Cubs recently coveted Furcal and were willing to pledge a lot of money to him, they should be happy with Theriot. That is pretty faulty logic there. Premise A: The Cubs coveted Furcal Premise B: Furcal has put up mediocre numbers, and gets paid a lot of money Premise C: Theriot puts up similarly mediocre numbers, and gets paid less money Therefore the Cubs should happy with Theriot. Now... if you could say that the Cubs coveted Furcal's mediocrity, then you could have an argument. But his OPS this year is 75 points below what he his career OPS was before he signed his contract with the Dodgers. His power is also way down from what it was in the couple of years before the contract. The Cubs didn't covet the current incarnation of Furcal. They coveted the former version of Furcal. Better logic: A: The Cubs coveted Furcal B: Furcal has disappointing numbers this year Therefore, the Cubs are probably pleased that they didn't give so much money to Furcal.

I am not sure if you live here so you may not hear or see all of the media coverage. I live here, but can't stand the Score and rarely listen to ESPN 1000. I am never in my car to listen to the radio anymore. You have your stats. Lou makes up the lineups and sees the player everyday. And then we have the fan’s perspective… Again... I have never said that Theriot shouldn't be playing, nor have I said that he hasn't been important. But I don't think his slightly above replacement level production comes anywhere close to the "most valuable" player on this team. Cubs who I would say are more valuable that The Riot: Lee ARam Lilly Soriano DeRosa Hill Marmol Dempster Marquis Jock Jones Then I would probably go with Theriot. Again - I like Theriot. But he has less value to this team than many people think.

NL shortstops on offense: Two all-world guys: Hanley Ramirez: .333 BA, 28 HR, 50 SB Jimmy Rollins: .293 BA, 29HR, 37SB Then, you've got: Renteria (.332 BA, 12 HR) Jack Wilson (.295 BA, 12 HR) Troy Tulowitzki (.292, 22 HR) Jose Reyes (.285 BA, .360 OBP, 78 SB) JJ Hardy (.279 BA, 26 HR). Hard to put Theriot in that group, which means he is in the lower half ("below average") of NL SS in offense. Replacing Izzy with The Riot was a great move, but the competition at SS is pretty intense.

You can't have studs at every position. I'll take a cheap Theriot at SS as long as we have good players at nearly every other position. Unfortunately, this is not the case. CF and RF have both been weaknesses for the Cubs this year (relative to their positions). RF: 296 / .371 / .424 CF: 245 / .299 / .390 C has also been sucky, with Barret, Hill, Blanco, and Bowen combining for .201 / .258 / .328, but as we all know, Soto and Kendall have been kicking much combined ass the past month and a half.

I assume C should be set for next year with Soto/Blanco. Another winter of ???? abut CF/RF -- but, we have all winter to debate that one.....

Another winter of ???? abut CF/RF — but, we have all winter to debate that one….. Indeed...

How can a team have multiple "most valuable players", Bruce Miles? That said, making Theriot the everyday shortstop was one of the more important line-up moves of the season. But moving JJ to CF and dispatching Barrett to the wilds of SoCal were probably more significant to the team's success this year. I think the trainer needs to be given some kind of award. No significant injuries to the starting rotation, only a couple weeks of ARam injuries, the Wood "miracle recovery", and an early return for Soriano. Knock on wood.

Good Grief. Some of you really have to get over the fact that you never thought Theriot belonged on the Cubs. Never saw him coming. Never thought he would stick. And certainly never thought he would be our starting shortstop. You were wrong. Get over it. This endless Theriot bashing is nuts. As for listing the qualified NL shortstops and then saying Theriot is below average. That's equally nuts. There are 16 teams in the National League and each team has 8 positions for a total 128. And yet there are only 64 qualified position players in the entire NL. It's incredible just to be one, and in Theriot's case he's been used as a supersub this year much like DeRosa (who also must be "below average" because he's way down the list among qualified second basemen). There are only 3 qualified NL catchers. Does that mean #3 is below average?? Apparently it does here. But it's nuts, I tell you. nuts! /rant

There are 16 teams in the National League and each team has 8 positions for a total 128. And yet there are only 64 qualified position players in the entire NL. What's your point? There are 14 players who ESPN has qualified as SS in the NL. The only player on that list that may not be considered a SS would be Loretta, but he has played 70 games there, more than any other position. Do you research before you create a strawman.

"Some of you really have to get over the fact that you never thought Theriot belonged on the Cubs." lot of people, espeically some of the people actually talking about him here, did see him coming and know what he's about. ...another boring singles hitting middle IF'r. excuse us for not wanting to elevate that into something its not. and theriot's not been used a supersub...mostly cuz he hasnt needed to be one...but he can be and that's why most of us dont think of him as trash. but he's just an adequate singles-hitting SS who can smack a few doubles every once in a while. no biggie.

“Some of you really have to get over the fact that you never thought Theriot belonged on the Cubs. And I wasn't one of those people. I wanted Theriot to get an opportunity to start, either at SS and 2b. That was one of the reasons I didn't like the DeRosa signing, because I believed it may block Theriot from playing. But that is beside the point. He is below average offensively at the SS position. His rankings in every offensive category other than stolen bases are 10th or lower at the shortstop position.

Phil Cavaretta...cause his other team was the WSux (hence not a major league franchise); course he's got that in common with Ronnie. Can I guess on which is the Blue state? Hopefully not Royal Blue. Connecticut. Is this a monopoly reference? Do they have blue jobs in the blue state?

Theriot stabilized the #2 spot in the lineup, gave us a decent leadoff hitter when Soriano was out and most importantly stabalized the infield defense which Izturis should have done but wasn't able to- for whatever reason. Had Izturis played steady defense, he may well have never lost his job. It's hard to quantify what that stability does for the rest of the team, but just throwing out his OPS like some Dayn Perry clone understates his value. Even without a flashy glove or power bat, he did let the pitchers think 'if I get a groundball to short, it's going to be an out'. All that being said, I would have preferred Cedeno as our starting shorstop from May 20th or so. I think we would be more optimistic about our playoff chances with him than Theriot in the lineup.

CWTP- I'm missing your point. I've listed 7 SS who are clearly superior (offensively) to Theriot and are every day players, which puts him 8th at best. Not clear how the fact that most catchers don;t play every day is relevant to that point. I like Theriot as the Cubs SS -- but, before callign him "average" offensively, I think people need to realize there are some very good offensive shortstops in the NL, and "average" ain't what it used to be.

You're all missing the point on Theriot -- it isn't the numbers -- it's his tough gritty Eckstein-like play that makes him so valuable.

Given that my last post was at lunch hour and I have not had time to look back ( I do have to work) yes the bottom is automatic and I don't actually SEE it at least the way I view this site. I am not very good on computers and I don't know how to remove it ( I realize I could remove it totally but it goes on all my work e mail so that is out) It is NOT intentional and if any wants to explain how to delete it when I can't even see it I would seriously appreciate it. ( I thought of one thing to try but it may not work) Yes I am Maddux centric and sorry just assuring him that you were going to spend lots of money and bring in Lilly & Soriano etc would not in my humble obsessed opinion have been nearly enough for him to pass on playing with West Coast teams in pitcher friendly parks with a track record of getting to the post season in the last year or so. Ironically Maddux was one of the few pitchers who I think really appreciated Wrigley and liked pitching there. Again IGNORE the sig ( and address if it shows up and I will now go back to my lurking) PS is there a preview function I am missing in which the offending sig would appear and I could delete it?

Theriot is in his first year as a major league shortstop and is tied for 2nd in zone rating in the NL, which, while flawed, is right now the best judge of defensive prowess out there. He's also posted some very good numbers, then gone on cold streaks, which is something you'd expect from someone just playing his first full season (and it wasn't even a full season, since Izzy started it out.) He has shown he can hit major league pitching, but has also shown the tendencies of a young player to try too hard. When he gets those worked out, he will get even better. Cedeno, by comparison, has shown no sustained ability to hit major league pitching and no defensive prowess. Theriot is also very fast, which adds a lot to our team. He is young, will get better, and to me will be a better then average SS, which will fit very well with this team with all the other good hitters. At SS, a very hard position to find good hitting, good defense plus pretty good hitting plus not much money equals a vital cog of a team.

Johann, Theriot is in his first year as a major league shortstop and is tied for 2nd in zone rating in the NL, which, while flawed, is right now the best judge of defensive prowess out there. But how does he do in zones G and M - the ones that distinguish great shortstops? I would suspect very poorly, because I don't recall him making any plays in either of those 'shared zones' this year, zones where Cedeno can make plays. Theriot is not 'very fast'. He's best described as 'sneaky fast'. Yes he steals bases succesfully, but he doesn't tend to do it in high leverage ie obvious situations. First to third I would take clay-foot over Theriot, for instance.

E-Man: "You have your stats. Lou makes up the lineups and sees the player everyday. And then we have the fan’s perspective…" So does Lovie Smith, but he finally sees teh light thte fans have seen about Grossman.

"...he finally sees teh light thte fans have seen about Grossman." But he didn't last year and the Bears won the NFC Championship. Bad argument.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    18-year old SS Jefferson Rojas almost made the AA Tennessee Opening Day roster, and he is a legit shortstop, so I would expect him to be an MLB Top 100 prospect by mid-season. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Among the relievers in the system, I expect RHRP Hunter Bigge at AAA Iowa and RHRP Ty Johnson at South Bend to have breakout seasons on 2024, and among the starters I see LHP Drew Gray and RHP Will Sanders at South Bend and RHP Naz Mule at ACL Cubs as the guys who will make the biggest splash. Also, Jaxon Wiggins is throwing bullpen sides, so once he is ready for game action he could be making an impact at Myrtle Beach by June.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    I expect OF Christian Franklin to have a breakout season at AA Tennessee in 2024. In another organization that doesn't have PCA, Caissie, K. Alcantara, and Canario in their system, C. Franklin would be a Top 10 prospect. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The Reds trading Joe Boyle for Sam Moll at last year's MLB Trade Deadline was like the Phillies trading Ben Brown to the Cubs for David Robertson at the MLB TD in 2022. 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Javier Assad started the Lo-A game (Myrtle Beach versus Stockton) on the Cubs backfields on Wednesday as his final Spring Training tune-up. He was supposed to throw five innings / 75 pitches. However, I was at the minor league road games at Fitch so I didn't see Assad pitch. 

  • crunch (view)

    cards put j.young on waivers.

    they really tried to make it happen this spring, but he put up a crazy bad slash of .081/.244/.108 in 45PA.

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Seconded!!!

  • crunch (view)

    another awesome spring of pitching reports.  thanks a lot, appreciated.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Tuesday afternoon's Cardinals - Cubs game art Sloan Park in Mesa:

    SHOTA IMANAGA
    FB: 90-92 
    CUT: 87-89 
    SL: 82-83 
    SPLIT: 81-84
    CV: 73-74 
    COMMENT: Worked three innings plus two batters in the fourth... allowed four runs (three earned) on eight hits (six singles and two doubles) walked one, and struck out six (four swinging), with a 1/2 GO/AO... he threw 73 pitches (52 strikes - 10 swing & miss - 19 foul balls)... surrendered one run in the top of the 1st on a one-out double off Cody Bellinger's glove in deep straight-away CF followed one out later by two consecutive two-out bloop singles, allowed two runs (one earned) in the 2nd after retiring the first two hitters (first batter had a nine-pitch AB with four consecutive two-strike foul balls before being retired 3 -U) on a two-out infield single (weak throw on the run by Nico Hoerner), a hard-contact line drive RBI double down the RF line, and an E-1 (missed catch) by Imanaga on what should been an inning-ending 3-1 GO, gave up another run in the 3rd on a two-out walk on a 3-2 pitch and an RBI double to LF, and two consecutive singles leading off the top of the 4th before being relieved (runners were ultimately left stranded)... threw 18 pitches in the 1st inning (14 strikes - two swing & miss, one on FB and the other on a SL - four foul balls), 24 pitches in the 2nd inning (17 strikes - three swing & miss, one on FB, two SPLIT - six foul balls), 19 pitches in the 3rd inning (13 strikes - seven swing & miss, three on SL, two on SPLIT, one on FB - three foul balls), and 12 pitches without retiring a batter in the top of the 4th (8 strikes - no swing & miss - four foul balls)... Imanaga throws a lot of pitches per inning, but it's not because he doesn't throw strikes...  if anything, he throws too many strikes (he threw 70% strikes on Tuesday)... while he gets a ton of swing & miss (and strikeouts), he also induces a lot of foul balls because he doesn't try to make hitters chase his pitches by throwing them out of the strike zone... rather, he uses his very diverse pitch mix to get swing & miss (and lots of foul balls as well)... he also is a fly ball pitcher who will give up more than his share of HR during the course of the season...   
     
    JOE NAHAS
    FB: 90-92 
    SL: 83-85 
    CV: 80-81 
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day... relieved Imanaga with runners at first and second and no outs in the top of the 4th, and after an E-2 catcher's interference committed by Miguel Amaya loaded he bases, Nahas struck out the side (one swinging & two looking)... threw 16 pitches (11 strikes - two swinging)...   

    YENCY ALMONTE
    FB: 89-92 
    CH: 86 
    SL: 79 
    COMMENT: Threw an eight-pitch 5th (five strikes - no swing & miss), with a 5-3 GO for the first out and an inning-ending 4-6-3 DP after a one-out single... command was a bit off but he worked through it...   

    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 6th inning... got the first outs easily (a P-5 and a 4-3 GO) on just three pitches, before allowing three consecutive two-out hard-contact hits (a double and two singles), with the third hit on pitch # 9 resulting in a runner being thrown out at the plate by RF Christian Franklin for the third out of the inning... 

    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and allowed a hard-contact double on the third pitch of the 7th inning (a 96 MPH FB), and the runner came around to score on a 4-3 GO and a WP... gave up two other loud contact outs (an L-7 and an F-9)... threw 18 pitches (only 10 strikes - only one swing & miss)... stuff is electric but still very raw and he continues to have difficulty commanding it, and while he has the repertoire of a SP, he throws too many pitches-per-inning to be a SP and not enough strikes to be a closer... he is most definitely still a work-in-progress...   

    ZAC LEIGH: 
    FB: 93-94 
    CH: 89 
    SL: 81-83 
    CV: 78
    COMMENT: Was called up from the AA Tennessee group at Minor League Camp for the day and tossed a 1-2-3 8th (4-3 GO, K-swinging on a sweeper, K-looking on another sweeper)... threw 14 pitches (11 strikes - one swing & miss - eight foul balls)... kept pumping pitches into the strike zone but had difficulty putting hitters away (ergo a ton of foul balls)... FB velo is nowhere near the 96-98 MPH it was a couple of years ago when he was a Top 30 prospect, but his secondaries are better...   

    JOSE ROMERO:  
    FB: 93-95
    SL: 82-84
    COMMENT: Was called up from the Hi-A South Bend group at Minor League Camp for the day and worked the 9th (14 pitches - only six strikes- no swing & miss) and allowed a solo HR after two near-HR fly outs to the warning track, before getting a 3-1 GO to end the inning... it was like batting practice when he wasn't throwing pitches out of the strike zone...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.