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

Things You’ll Never Hear Jim Hendry Say for $500, Alex

We are going to utilize several objective measures of player performance to evaluate and develop players. We'll rely on the more traditional objective evaluations: OPS (on base percentage plus slugging percentage) , WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched), Runs Created, ERC (Component ERA), GB/FB (ground ball to fly ball ratio), K/9 (strikeouts per nine innings), K/BB (strikeouts to walks ratio), BB%, etc., but we'll also look to rely on some of the more recent variations: VORP (value over replacement player), Relative Performance, EqAve (equivalent average), EqOBP (equivalent on base percentage), EqSLG (equivalent slugging percentage), BIP% (balls put into play percentage), wOBA (weighted on base average), Range Factor, PMR (probabilistic model of range) and Zone Rating. That said, we will continue to stress the importance of our subjective evaluations. Succinctly stated, we believe that a combination of quality objective and subjective analysis will allow us to maximize our probability of success and to make the best possible decisions.
That would be from new Pirates GM, Neil Huntington in a recent Q&A on the Pirates website. The Baseball Prospectus crew probably just wet themselves.

Comments

Well in fairness to Hendry, He did sell us some crap about Jeromy Burnitz being" 2nd in the league in slugging % for Rightfielders with 140 or more strikeouts." I didnt really think it was a good thing at the time. But at least Jimbo gave the numbers the Good old College try.

hendry's been talking about ob% a lot lately...recently, too. he's not the dumbass some paint him to be. hell, just look at his trade record and what's become of them. a little more "luck" in having draft picks pan out that arent just pitchers would be nice, though.

never said Hendry was a dumbass, but I think it's fair to say that half of those items he never heard of or would just laugh at if someone brought them up. But at least he's knows what OBP is, now if he only knew it's value.

yeah, im not calling you out. just saying...some thing he's a total dumbass and devoid of any concept of knowing what a stat is or how its applied in the real world. hendry believes in power and contact f'sure...he probably also realizes a guy who walks 15-20 more times doesnt automatically make him a better player than a guy who can hit 10+ more homers cuz the guy can put up .10 more points of ob%.

Crunch, you're right. I've seen a lot of references to OBP, especially in regards to Fukudome which is refershing. Still, it's disappointing to see a new GM come in to a rival team and be open to new ideas while blending in the older stuff that has worked. Hendry isn't latching on to some of the more stat-friendly stuff as quickly as I would like.

With FLA announcing that Cabrera could be had, I think, more than ARod, the Cubs should be getting in on him. Put him in RF. Yeah, I know he sucks defensively, but who really gives a shit with his offensive numbers. I wonder what it would take to get him. If something like Murton, Pie and Gallagher/Marshall would be enough, I say do it. I really hope we are involved and part of the talks.

the supposed asking price for Miguel Cabrera from Will Carroll.. The rumored asking price is three players - one pitcher and position player that are under three years of service time and “solid ink-’em-in guys.” The other would be a “plus prospect, not the best guy on the team, but useful. The Marlins will probably look for a slugger.”

not sure if this was mentioned in another thread, but uribe re-upped for the south siders for 1 year at 4.5 mil

I read somewhere that Olney said the Marlins would ask for Kershaw, LaRoche and Kemp from the Dodgers for Cabrera. Now I don't if the Dodgers would do that (they should), but that's they type of package you're talking about. A package I don't think the Cubs could put together.

So Hill, Pie and Murton wouldn't be good enough to meet that criteria? IF it is, make the deal, if it isn't, then it is a damn shame that we don't have a good enough farm system to be able to land Cabrera.

"If something like Murton, Pie and Gallagher/Marshall would be enough, I say do it." Hmmm ... I'd suggeest it'd require something more like Hill, Murton, Pie, Gallagher, Marshall, our kooky cook Cookie and a cast of thousands.

cabrera has a legitimately horrible attitude and lacks a work ethic. his natural ability will only take him so far until he's in a position like d.ortiz (who doesnt have a horrible attitude) getting his joints/muscles pumped full of chemicals so he can actually play with the body he's trying to lug around on his legs.

it is a damn shame that we don’t have a good enough farm system to be able to land Cabrera. Maybe we do, maybe we don't, but there are definitely teams that have better farm systems who have an obvious place to play Cabrera. It really will end up on exactly what the Marlins want and what another team is willing to give up. maybe something like Hill, Pie and Soto (thinking slugger that fills a position for them). But that's just guessing and that would create at least two if not three new holes for us.

and Hill, Pie, Soto still wouldn't be that close to Kershaw, LaRoche and Kemp. Angels could give up Santana or Adenhart, Wood and pick a decent prospect. Yanks would eventualyl have to cave on one of Huges, Kennedy or Joba, Melky and someone else (no idea who that would be)... Giants seem to be dangling Lincecum which might be enough along with two lesser knowns...

No question most other teams "could" put together a better package than the Cubs, as the Cubs are well into the lower half of best farm systems, but I guess my hope is the other teams just would not pull the trigger on the deal thinking they are giving up too much.

a couple of Japanese relievers filed for FA... Yasuhiko Yabuta and Kazuo Fukumori.... No idea but it made Rotoworld... Mashaide Kobayashi seems to be the best of the relief crop that might come over... So if Kid K walks, anyone think the Cubs will get in on Cordero or Gagne?

"So if Kid K walks, anyone think the Cubs will get in on Cordero or Gagne?" cordero would be nice...then again i wouldnt mind seeing riske, linebrink, percival, or rivera...heck, if cheap enough i could live with seeing matt herges, too. doubt rivera is even in the picture and percival's thought to be going back to STL, though.

http://mvn.com/mlb-cubs/2007/11/06/gms-in-favor-of-reruns/#comment-1014… I had this up in another thread, but some thoughts on why they might be chasing Matsui. It's not an endorsement just trying to figure out what they're thinking. when you think of the shortstops out there, he just might be the best option. Cubs seems desparate to add some lefties to the lineup and some speed (32/36 in SB’s). Defensively he was one of the best at 2nd base last year(115 Rate2) and scored above average at SS in 2004 (106) with the Mets. I’m not necessarily for it, but I can start to see the reasoning. If he falls on his face, he’s probably better than Fontenot for a bench spot and you can go back to Theriot or Cedeno (although with Cedeno out of options I believe, he’d be traded). Food for thought…

i like the play for matsui, too...well, actually, i'll re-evaluate that depending on who's given up. theriot? i like matsui better, but theriot's flexibility and speed are 2 assets the bench doesnt have much of marshall? though debated by some, i feel marshall is worth more in this market if healthy. wuertz? i like wuertz...other people have their opinions. probably some other guys in consideration to be expendable im not bringing up...fontenot, mateo, cedeno, and a few others i could care less if they leave.

How about The Clev-Cubs rumor that has Murton and Gallagher to Indians for Peralta, the Pie for Greene of the the Pads or the possible trade of Pie(Murton?), Patterson, Marshall to TB for Crawford? I can see the Cubs moving Pie or Patterson for a big ticket item, but not sure which..... scooter®

Cle/Cubs rumor was just a BP writer making up stuff. I haven't seen any mentions of Peralta actually being available. I'm fine with getting Greene but not for Pie, save him for a bigger fish if you're going to trade him.

hendry seems dead set on keeping pie and has held him back for years from being on the table, fwiw. personally, i dont think he's just talking up his value for the hell of it at this point. seems to be someone he highly believes in. things happen, though.

the only thing Matsui gives over Theriot is likely better defense (that's debatable) and he's lefty (well switch-hitter). Theriot is plenty fast and steals plenty of bases. Seems like a wasted resource to me but maybe the Cubs scout think he'll stay locked in like they thought DeRosa would. Joe's angle that they're trying to bring in a Japanese buddy for Fukodome or Kuroda or Iwase makes some sense too...not much, but some. It would help balance our rather heavy right-handed lineup. Right now it's.. Soriano, Theriot, Lee, Ramirez, Jones/Murton, Soto, DeRosa, Pie,

hell, personally i think kaz is a better all-around hitter. he doesnt have power, but he can contact gap hits to both fields. he's got more of a linedrive stroke than theriot...

oh yeah...and kaz. isnt a guy who can exploit by throwing him offspeed stuff. his only real weakness is the slider, but he can kill change/curves and breaking fastball stuff like splitters/cutters.

"Joe’s angle that they’re trying to bring in a Japanese buddy for Fukodome or Kuroda or Iwase makes some sense too…not much, but some." Hey! I just heard this point being discussed on WGN Sports show with Dave Caplan. Indeed, getting Matsui "cheaply", could help attract one of the other Nippon stars. The question is - where would he play? Where would DeRosa go? Also, if Soriano is not forced to bat 5th or 6th, then what? Its a mess, sort of.

well numbers are numbers and here are Matsui's... 288/342/405 last year 291/348/409 from the left side 271/311/386 from the right side 330/381/482 in wonderful Coors 249/304/333 away from wonderful Coors that doesn't even take into account the rest of his miserable career. Theriot 266/326/346 last year 286/353/444 vs lefties 260/318/316 vs righties 298/340/389 at Wrigley 230/311/298 on the road Actually seems like it might be a decent platoon....

I'd be careful about saying Matsui can "kill" anything... The question is - where would he play? Where would DeRosa go? Also, if Soriano is not forced to bat 5th or 6th, then what Seems obvious that he would play shortstop and bat 2nd. I guess possibly move DeRosa to SS and have Matsui play 2nd, but that doesn't seem as likely.

and of course the batting order is predicated on who else we may bring in and sign...

granting..comparing/contrasting matsui to theriot is akin to hollandsworth vs. dubois argument...not in the fact matsui/theriot suck as much as theyre so similar in outcome there's not much to talk about. i just like kaz. better for an everyday. great low-ball hitter who can hit a variety of stuff. i could live with theriot and wouldnt get excited if kaz. came on board. i do like the idea of kaz/theriot better than theriot/cedeno, though...especially given how versatile theriot could be off the bench in a variety of situations (either/or if platoon applied). this assumes theriot stays, though.

"I’d be careful about saying Matsui can “kill” anything…" you give matsui anything on the plate, inside, or low he'll hit it. he definately handles the curve and change better than many of his light-hitting peers. currently we got ronnie "i hit fastballs" cedeno and ryan "scrappy" theriot who's more of a slap-pull hitter. i wouldnt mind kaz if the price is right in trade. wouldnt mind him as a starter, either.

Kaz is a free agent I believe.... Rockies supposedly already offered 2 years/$6 million but would Ian Stewart at second base next year.

oh, i thought he was under club control or some kind of contract thing where COL can control his destiny.

Kaz Matsui? Oh brother. Look at his road splits last year. He sucked outside of COLO. He is no upgrade over Theriot.

"Indeed, getting Matsui “cheaply”, could help attract one of the other Nippon stars." Matsui has a Seibu Lion. Fukudome was on the Chummari Dragons and Kuroda was on the Hiroshima Carp.

well, the whole "someone to talk to" factor comes into play...these guys live/travel together for 200+ days.

http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/7416282 per Rosenthal... Teams are asking the Indians about shortstop Jhonny Peralta, knowing that the Tribe could replace him with second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera. The Indians, however, are not motivated to deal Peralta, and they also are not considering moving him to third and shifting Casey Blake back to the outfield. The team's goal is to add two or three bullpen arms after leaning heavily on Rafael Perez, Rafael Betancourt and Joe Borowski down the stretch . . and The Braves want a short-term solution in center, yet they're not interested in free agent Mike Cameron, who lives outside of Atlanta. Center fielder Jordan Schaefer, who likely will open next season at Class AA, is batting third and hitting .375 in the Arizona Fall League. Another Braves' prospect, Brandon Jones, is leading off and playing center field in Mexico, but he is more likely to be part of a left-field platoon next season than an option in center. Short term solution in center sounds like Jacque Jones to me..

I live in SF and I can say, categorically, that the Giants are not trading Lincecum. Unless his first name is Bernie.

Some amusing comments about Fukudome over at ArmchairGM.com -- Henceforth he shall be known as K-Fuk. Fuk-me? Fuk-U!! Fukudome, Mr. Roboto. this gets a vote because I still giggle at things that sound/look like swear words. If his number was 69, I'd have to leave work. (I hope this doesn't duplicate -- a previous post apparently was sent to moderation)

yanks still got t.clippard, h.sanchez (coming back from injury), and d.betances if you wanna go real deep. not like they're out of it, totally...especially when youre talking about a team who dont give a toss about obtaining what they want, locking them up blocking youth, and having a 200+m team because of it.

i dont think anyone but an AL team can afford to invest in a guy like caberra, anyway. he's like 24/25, 260+lbs, and will NOT get in shape or listen to anyone telling him to do so. he actually gained weight this season after showing up overweight for ST (for a second year in a row). hell, even ozzie (a good friend of his) opened up on him about his training habits and body condition pre-season this year. its like he just doesnt want to deal with it.

Matsui has had one decent year in the bigs, unless you count his rookie year when he hit .272. He is horrible away from Coors and to say he hits anything is ridiculous. Instead of signing him to offer some other Japanese players "someone to talk to" why not just sign 2 new Japanese players. You know what you get with Matsui (not much), so sign K-Fuk and someone with some potential from Japan.

crunch: "yanks still got t.clippard, h.sanchez (coming back from injury), and d.betances if you wanna go real deep." There is no way, IMO FLA trades Cabrera without one of the big 3 pitchers coming back from the NYY. And to be honest, I think it would need to be Hughes or Joba in a package as Kennedy in a package won't be enough.

If I were the Yankees, I would part with Hughes for Miggy. Hughes is a guy I could see being a stud or dud.

That Phillies/Astros trade is equally bad for both teams. For Philly if Lidge got screwed up from blowing saves in Houston, imagine the mental train wreck he will be when Philly fans boo him for blowing one. Also for Houston how do only get a 4th OF in Bourne and a middle reliever in Geary for your best tradeable (obiviously you arent trading Berkman Clee, Pence, Oswalt) chip. That prospect better be great, but I doubt that given the blackhole at 3b for PHI.

lidge is gonna cost philly like 6-10m this season if they dont sign him multi-year...still, yeah, i would have guessed he'd be worth more than geary/bourne. bourn's a cool 4th OF'r, though...no power, but he's got enough arm for RF so he can play all 3 OF slots. geary's barely a replacement-level middle reliever. his only real plus is he dont give up the longball too much. seems like they gave up lidge for 2 middle-of-the-road parts...and some AA 3rd baseman... btw...who cares about eric "what's a double? a home what?" brunlett? =p

*cabrera has a legitimately horrible attitude and lacks a work ethic. his natural ability will only take him so far until he’s in a position like d.ortiz (who doesnt have a horrible attitude) getting his joints/muscles pumped full of chemicals so he can actually play with the body he’s trying to lug around on his legs.* Yet another genius advocating NOT going for yet another big fish [pardon the pun], who then turns around and suggests we get some POS who can't hit away from a ballpark that inflates everyone stats who plays there. Sour grapes syndrome at its finest. You know, I'm sure Cabrera could lose 20 lbs if he wanted to, but I surely doubt Kaz Matsui could ever will himself into becoming half the player that Cabrera is.

crunch: bourn’s a cool 4th OF’r, though…no power, but he’s got enough arm for RF so he can play all 3 OF slots. Plus, Bourn is probably the fastest guy currently in the game. He doesn't even need good jumps to steal bases. Freddie Bynum, eat your heart out.

"Yet another genius advocating NOT going for yet another big fish [pardon the pun], who then turns around and suggests we get some POS who can’t hit away from a ballpark that inflates everyone stats who plays there." you got a real problem jumping to conclusions about things and making them facts. here's an exercise...next time you think of a cause and effect, dont assume your first feeling/observation is the way it is.

nov. 19th baseball america "officially" drops their top10 Cubs 08 prospect+tools list to the public.

nov. 19th baseball america “officially” drops their top10 Cubs 08 prospect+tools list to the public. ---- Last year, they went 2 days later than their expected date because Callis couldn't do the chat that day. I hope that isn't the case this year because I'll be out of town for Thanksgiving starting the 21st.

Rob wrote: http://www.suntimes.com/sports.....07.article speaking of Japanese relievers.. besides talking about Fukodome, Kuroda, says they life lefty reliever Hitoki Iwase, supposedly Japan’s top closer. He’s 34 years old. --------- Iwase is one of the guys AZ Phil talked about in those roundtables a few weeks ago. Iwase seems interesting. He's certainly not the top closer in Japan (that's Kyuji Fujikawa) but he sounds like a very interesting reliever.

Woohoo, WGN agrees with me!...wait, is that a good thing? Rob, I take offense to you saying my thought doesn't make much sense. I watch a lot of Japanese movies so I know the Japanese psyche...I'm practically Japanese. Anyway, if I were going to another country, I would certainly take interest in the fact that at least one person in the organization speaks the same language as me. It's all speculative bs on my part, but I find it interesting that there is Matsui talk in the year that the Cubs FINALLY seem interested in signing players from Japan.

well I wasn't attacking you per se, just we went down the little buddy role with Neifi/Furcal and that didn't work out so well... Just seems a bit anti-productive to sign a unnecessary spare part in Kaz just to make Fukodome or whomever is possibly happy if we happen to sign him or whomever.

thanks to Ed Wade for making us remember why he got fired in the first place. Michael Bourne???? Wake me up when it's 1983 again and stolen bases matter...

Mayhap...but Matsui isn't exactly a waste of space. If he's looking for a SS upgrade, then Matsui isn't too bad. I, at least, like him more than Themildaltercation. If his Asiosity helps out secondarily, that's not too bad either.

the team has to "subtract" somewhere if they choose to sign someone off the FA market. they pretty much have a ready team as it is...but yeah, upgrades are expected cuz what's here isnt optimal compared to what it could be. imagine the theorists going nuts if hendry finally gets tejada from baltimore...hehe.

Didn't Wade used to work for the Phillies? I smell a Bourn conspiracy brewing. They're saying he's going to play center and leadoff, not be a fourth outfielder. Interesting that crunch isn't enamored with him, after steadfasting defending the value of Pierre as a leadoff hitter for a year. "Matsui has a Seibu Lion. Fukudome was on the Chummari Dragons and Kuroda was on the Hiroshima Carp." All of those places are in Japan. Nippon is Japanese for Japan, not a city. I like the idea of Matsui when the Mets signed him. Here in 2007 he's proven not to be a not very good hitter, that's already our problem at Short, isn't it? Hunington and Yost in one organization would be a SABR fan's dream come true. We'll see if he can moneyball his way into contention in the NL Central. It's not exactly the toughest environment to win in.

"Interesting that crunch isn’t enamored with him, after steadfasting defending the value of Pierre as a leadoff hitter for a year." they're moving luke scott to make room for this guy...i wouldnt laud it. and i didnt mind pierre cuz he was 6m bucks, filled a need, and yeah i kinda see a value in having a guy like him that runs like does on 2nd/3rd 100 times a season. just cuz i didnt see a problem with the guy doesnt mean i think he was the best thing ever. i just saw a value in having him for what his role was on the club.

and about my support for matsui...hell, i already stated that a matsui vs. theriot arguement is just about moot as far as who's better...i just wouldnt mind having him matsui for the reasons i stated. i wouldnt consider it an exciting addition, but i wouldnt mind having a matsui/theriot crew around...matsui would get his 400+ab's starting, theriot could get his 200+ab's starting and they could both pad out a chunk more of ab's pinch hitting when not starting. i just think it makes sense if the price is right...and if he becomes nothing but bench its not like he wouldnt be a bad 2nd/SS bench option. nothing about the SS market interests me and the best trade option at this point that's somewhat publicly available, tejada, isnt very slick there anymore.

Given what's now available at SS, I don't see an upgrade over Theriot that would want to make me spend a good portion of the $25M that Hendry has over 2007's budget. Not to say I'm opposed to Tejada, but the dollars and production potential don't appear to equal what some serious attention to the OF (Fukudome, Crawford, Crisp, et al) and rotation (Kuroda, anyone but Dempster/Marquis) would bring to the team. For example, adding Crawford and Fukudome to a lineup that already has Soriano, A-Ram, Lee, DeRosa, and Soto should balance out what Theriot/Cedeno don't bring. Money-wise, you probably get to the same place. I'd rather have my finger nails torn off than watch Dempster start 30 times next year.

More reports today that the Cubs are interested in Silva - I fail to understand why they think he'll be any better in Wrigley than he was in the Met. Do they then trade Marquis if they sign him, even though you could argue it's a neutral exchange?

With Mitchell report lurking on the horizon, it's no wonder that teams are shopping the Japanese market heavily this winter. A whole bunch of GM's are going to drop serious coin on US or Latin players this winter who are then going to be suspended for the first 50 games in 2008.

Cubster:Houston sends Lidge and Bruntlett to Philly for Bourne and Geary and a prospect The prospect's name is Mike Costanzo. Oh, how I hope he makes it to the bigs. Costanzo is so close to George Costanza. This will make me laugh and sing to the tune of "By Mennen" "Costanzo" every time he plays. The jokes will be so delicious--eating an eclair from the trash, shrinkage, festivus. Please, oh please make it happen. My life needs more Seinfeld references!

I like the Astros on this actually. While he did have limited ABs Bourn did have a .348 OBP, and was 18-19 on steals. He plays solid defense, etc. If he does well he is their starting CF and does well at that top ahead of the big guns. If he flops he is still your fourth OF and the best pinch runner in baseball. And you get addition by subtraction in getting rid of Lidge! Perhaps they could have done something better with Lidge, but I don't think the Astros got hosed on this.

can't wait for the lawsuits and appeals if MLB tries to suspend players found to be using before testing was instituted..

*crunch says: November 7th, 2007 at 10:24 pm “Yet another genius advocating NOT going for yet another big fish [pardon the pun], who then turns around and suggests we get some POS who can’t hit away from a ballpark that inflates everyone stats who plays there.” you got a real problem jumping to conclusions about things and making them facts.* You're somewhat correct. You presented reasons for obtaining Matsui BEFORE you badmouthed Cabrera.

"You’re somewhat correct. You presented reasons for obtaining Matsui BEFORE you badmouthed Cabrera." somehow in your mind you think the 2 are related. if youre gonna blindly compare ANY talk about ANY player and compare it to cabrerra you can make the same statement. doesnt make it hold any water, though. you cant just make links as if theyre in the same boat. there's not a broad conspiracy and if you'd read the substance of the posts you'd see there's more to getting cabrerra or signing matsui than pushing the B button on a playstation controller. the world of FA and trade subjects involves real world pepole with real-world considerations.

*the world of FA and trade subjects involves real world pepole with real-world considerations.* I'm not talking about the Cubs or the "real world", I'm talking about stupid fans who are here posting nonsense. Namely, that they wouldn't want Alex Rodriguez--who coincidentally could be acquired with the same ease as pushing a button on a PS3 controller--because he's just too expensive or Miguel Cabrera because he's just too fat. As far as whatever effort it would take to get Matsui, forget it--he's not worth it. The Cubs already have plenty of guys who can hit. 270 and do little else. Why are the same type of middle-of-the-road no-names CONSTANTLY brought up as potential acquisitions? You know what happens when you amass a team of mediocre nothings? Mediocrity happens, that's what. Maybe you get lucky and win 87 games. Wow, what an accomplishment. The fact that you in particular sit here all day long posting crap does not make you some kind of expert. If sheer amount of hours wasted typing counted for anything, the Cubs would hire you to make these decisions in real life.

Wow, snap! I haven't seen this much hostility since ST..........are we sure he and Blargh aren't related.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.