Cubs MLB Roster

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40-Man Roster Info

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

42 players are at MLB Spring Training 

31 players on MLB RESERVE LIST are ACTIVE at MLB Spring Training, and nine players are on OPTIONAL ASSIGNMENT to minors. 
11 players are MLB Spring Training NON-ROSTER INVITEES (NRI) 

Last updated 3-17-2024
 
* bats or throws left
# bats both

PITCHERS: 17
Yency Almonte
Adbert Alzolay 
Javier Assad
Jose Cuas
Kyle Hendricks
* Shota Imanaga
Caleb Kilian
Mark Leiter Jr
* Luke Little
Julian Merryweather
Hector Neris 
Daniel Palencia
* Drew Smyly
* Justin Steele
Jameson Taillon
Hayden Wesneski 
* Jordan Wicks

NRI PITCHERS: 5 
Colten Brewer 
Carl Edwards Jr 
* Edwin Escobar 
* Richard Lovelady 
* Thomas Pannone 

CATCHERS: 2
Miguel Amaya
Yan Gomes

NRI CATCHERS: 2  
Jorge Alfaro 
Joe Hudson 

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

NRI INFIELDERS: 3 
David Bote 
Garrett Cooper
* Dominic Smith

OUTFIELDERS: 5
* Cody Bellinger 
Alexander Canario
# Ian Happ
Seiya Suzuki
* Mike Tauchman 

NRI OUTFIELDERS: 1 
* David Peralta

OPTIONED:
Kevin Alcantara, OF 
Michael Arias, P 
Ben Brown, RHP 
Pete Crow-Armstrong, OF 
Brennen Davis, OF 
Porter Hodge, RHP 
* Matt Mervis, 1B 
Keegan Thompson, P 
Luis Vazquez, INF 

 



Minor League Rosters
Rule 5 Draft 
Minor League Free-Agents

A Look at a Decade of the MLB First Year Draft

Reader Real Neal breaks down the first round of the draft in a variety of ways to see if there's an optimal strategy and how have the Cubs done relative to their drafting position.


 

Two topics are always in hot debate this time of the year, when it comes to the MLB draft. How have the Cubs done, and who should they pick?


With that in mind, I am taking a look at 10 years worth of first round picks to try and help answer those questions. I am only looking at the top 30 picks each year (yeah I know the Cubs draft 31st), just to simplify things. The 10 year range I used was ’96 to ’05. It’s just too early to tell what is going to happen with highschoolers only drafted three years ago. I used WARP3, even though Baseball Prospectus has got something a bit wonky going on with their WARP3 scores for 2009, which seem exaggerated. I figured since the majority of these players are still playing, though, that the slight wobble could sort of build in a little projection.


To start off with, here is some general charts, which should be self explanatory.


Draftees By Level

Level

Pos

Total

C

1B

9

 

2B

2

 

3B

7

 

C

6

 

IF

5

 

OF

21

 

P

94

 

SS

13

C Total

 

157

H

1B

6

 

3B

9

 

C

7

 

IF

7

 

OF

35

 

P

64

 

SS

15

H Total

 

143

Grand Total

 

300


Nearly even on the HS vs. College players, but there’s a lot more college pitchers taken (60% of college players) than there are HS pitchers (45%). Maybe TINSTAAPP is starting to take hold around major league scouting departments.



ML Players by Draft Year


Total WARP3 by Year

Year

Total


Year

Total

1996

21


1996

172.3

1997

22


1997

263.1

1998

22


1998

246.8

1999

14


1999

152.4

2000

16


2000

82.1

2001

19


2001

151.3

2002

22


2002

213.7

2003

21


2003

127.3

2004

20


2004

42.4

2005

21


2005

99.2

Grand Total

198


Grand Total

1550.6


66.0%





Two out of every 3 first round picks get to the majors. That doesn’t always mean they’re useful major leaguers, though.




MLB's by College vs HS


WARP3 Coll vs HS

Level

Total


Level

Total

C

120


C

911

H

78


H

639.6

Grand Total

198


Grand Total

1550.6


About what you may expect, if you’ve been following things over the last 13 years.


When these charts are combined, you can start to see some suggestions about where drafting has been successful over that decade:


Draftees By Level

 

 

Level

Pos

Total

Success %

Avg W3

C

1B

9

67%

11.1

 

2B

2

100%

5.8

 

3B

7

86%

17.9

 

C

6

67%

0.0

 

IF

5

60%

10.8

 

OF

21

86%

8.8

 

P

94

72%

3.8

 

SS

13

100%

6.3

C Total

 

157

76%

5.8

H

1B

6

83%

8.8

 

3B

9

67%

7.6

 

C

7

43%

8.3

 

IF

7

43%

1.1

 

OF

35

60%

4.2

 

P

64

50%

4.2

 

SS

15

53%

2.3

H Total

 

143

55%

4.5

Grand Total

 

300

66%

5.2


College hitters, particularly infielders, but not catchers really stand out. HS corner men, and catchers have done well. Surprisingly HS pitchers have done better than college pitchers when it comes to WARP3, though only 50% of them make it to the bigs.


So, all other things equal, based on those 10 drafts, in the first round you should look for College infielders, College outfielders HS corner infielders and HS catchers in the first round. If you’re desperate for a pitcher, then the upside seems to be with the HS’s, but if you just want to get a guy to the majors, then go with a college arm (72% chance).


So, how have the Cubs, and other teams done?The first thing I did was looked at who should have been drafted where. These are the guys that should have been the #1’s by year. Determined solely by who has the most WARP3.

Year

Player

Position

Team

Level

WARP3

1996

Eric Chavez

3B

OAK

H

49.6

1997

Lance Berkman

1B

HOU

C

54.1

1998

C.C. Sabathia

P

CLE

H

46.7

1999

Barry Zito

P

OAK

C

39.8

2000

Chase Utley

IF

PHI

C

44.2

2001

Mark Teixeira

3B

TEX

C

39.9

2002

Matt Cain

P

SF

H

25.7

2003

Nick Markakis

OF

BAL

C

22.7

2004

Jered Weaver

P

ANA

C

18.9

2005

Ryan Zimmerman

3B

WAN

H

19.8


Two things that grabbed my attention here. There’s only one HS hitter, and one College Pitcher. There’s also no #1 overalls on the list, though Adrian Gonzales has a chance, I think to eventually rectify that.


I followed that up by asking, ‘Did a team make the optimum choice?”. Very simply if no one behind you did any better than you did, based on WARP3 of the player, then you made the correct decision. It doesn’t happen very often.


Team

Total

ANA

1

ARI

2

ATL

2

BAL

3

BOS

1

CHC

 

CHW

 

CIN

 

CLE

1

COL

1

DET

 

FLA

 

HOU

1

KC

1

LA

3

MIL

2

MIN

2

NYM

 

NYY

 

OAK

2

PHI

1

PIT

1

SD

 

SEA

2

SF

2

STL

3

TB

 

TEX

1

TOR

1

WAN

1

(blank)

 

Grand Total

34


Most teams did it (not the Cubs, of course), but no team was able to do it more than 3 times. That certainly lends evidence to the ‘draft is a crapshoot’ theory.


I went to take a little deeper look. How successful were teams at getting their first round picks to the Majors? How many wins did those players earn? And what’s the ‘value’ of those wins.


Picks Per Team

 

 

$ 2.63

Team

Total

MLB/Pick

WARP3/Pick

Value/Pick

ANA

8

88%

9.88

$ 26.02

ARI

9

78%

2.56

$ 6.73

ATL

8

75%

2.86

$ 7.54

BAL

14

50%

3.46

$ 9.13

BOS

8

63%

2.93

$ 7.71

CHC

9

44%

4.84

$ 12.76

CHW

11

82%

0.40

$ 1.05

CIN

10

60%

2.25

$ 5.93

CLE

11

55%

5.56

$ 14.66

COL

9

67%

5.70

$ 15.02

DET

10

70%

2.78

$ 7.33

FLA

11

64%

8.47

$ 22.32

HOU

7

57%

9.49

$ 24.99

KC

14

64%

2.01

$ 5.31

LA

8

88%

3.83

$ 10.08

MIL

10

60%

6.29

$ 16.57

MIN

12

58%

7.28

$ 19.17

NYM

9

78%

3.11

$ 8.20

NYY

9

44%

1.86

$ 4.89

OAK

16

63%

8.87

$ 23.37

PHI

8

100%

17.96

$ 47.33

PIT

10

60%

2.49

$ 6.56

SD

12

33%

1.38

$ 3.62

SEA

6

50%

4.70

$ 12.38

SF

11

91%

4.69

$ 12.36

STL

11

64%

8.54

$ 22.49

TB

8

75%

4.49

$ 11.82

TEX

10

80%

7.19

$ 18.95

TOR

11

91%

7.89

$ 20.79

WAN

10

50%

3.44

$ 9.06

Grand Total

300

66%

5.17

$ 13.62


This may need some explanation. The picks per team is the # of first round picks over the period, from 6 (Seattle) to 16 (Oakland). The MLB/Pick is the % of those picks who made the big leagues. The White Sox got a very good 82% of their picks to the Majors. The next is WARP3/Pick. Which is how many wins the average first round pick netted the team. The White Sox players were pretty crappy, you can see. It seems like if you’re a bad #1 pick but want a cup of coffee in the majors, the South Side of Chicago is where you want to go. Philly dominates this category by virtue of having drafted J.D. Drew, who they failed to sign, along with Utley, Burrell and Hamels. The final is just taking BP’s 2009 win value and multiplying it by the WARP3. This isn’t marginal value, for that you’d need to take out the player’s salaries, signing bonuses and other developmental costs.


The final thing I did was added in some weighting of the draft picks. If you’re always picking at the top, you should do better than perrenial playoff contenders. This to me is the best evaluation of how these first round picks have done over the time frame.



Weighted Warp3/Pick

Team

Draft Position

Wgt Pos

W3/P*Wgt

HOU

20

131%

12.4

PHI

10

67%

12.0

OAK

20

130%

11.5

STL

21

134%

11.4

ANA

14

90%

8.8

FLA

16

101%

8.5

TEX

16

103%

7.4

CLE

20

127%

7.1

SF

21

133%

6.2

TOR

12

79%

6.2

MIN

13

85%

6.2

LA

22

142%

5.4

SEA

18

113%

5.3

COL

14

90%

5.1

ATL

27

176%

5.0

BOS

20

129%

3.8

CHC

12

77%

3.8

BAL

16

102%

3.5

MIL

9

55%

3.5

ARI

20

127%

3.2

NYY

24

153%

2.8

NYM

13

81%

2.5

WAN

10

63%

2.2

CIN

14

90%

2.0

TB

7

44%

2.0

KC

13

86%

1.7

PIT

9

58%

1.4

SD

16

101%

1.4

DET

7

43%

1.2

CHW

16

102%

0.4



Average

5.1


Here we can see that Houston, who was in the playoff hunt for most of these years and Philly, who wasn’t did the best. The Cubs are pratically in a deadlock with the Red Sox, and are just about middle of the pack, though more than a win less than the average.

Comments

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Len and Bob say that Bradley just had a leg cramp yesterday, that's all, and it is completely unrelated to his getting a day off today. Sounds like Lou just wanted to rest him today.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

If by "just" you mean "Sounds like Lou [got sick of Bradley sucking and] wanted to rest him today".

drafted his son in Round 43 for the White Sox...bet he decides he's worth a $2m bonus.

[ ]

In reply to by navigator


“I think what they’re getting is a very solid baseball player,” Mainieri said. “He’s not going to wow you with his tools. He’s not going to run like the wind. He’s not going to hit balls 400 feet regularly. He’s not going to throw the ball a hundred miles an hour across the diamond. But what you’re getting is a very good baseball player. I think he’s going to get better in pro ball, too.”
Is there anything he can do?

Mainieri is close friends with Jim Hendry and invited the Cubs general manager to Baton Rouge earlier this season for a team practice at the Tigers’ complex.

Mainieri said LeMahieu’s swing caught Hendry’s eye right away.

“When Jim was back here in February for our opening banquet and came out and watched us practice, he whispered to me, ‘This kid is really going to hit in pro ball,’” Mainieri recalled. “‘You get him with the right hitting coach, they’re going to teach him how to pull the ball and I think he’s going to have power.’”

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

And anyone else find it odd that Hendry told LeMahieu's coach that LeMahieu just needed a better coach?

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Batting in college is different from in the Pros. What I think is odd is that a team notorious for not being able to develop hitting prospects selects two guys who are going to have to have their swings reworked with their first two picks of the draft.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Batting in college is different from in the Pros. Really? I wasn't aware. Thanks for the brilliant insight.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Obviously you weren't aware since you compared being productive in college to being productive in the pros. There are things you can get away with, primarily 'fisting' the ball for hits, that you can't get away with in wooden bat leagues. Always glad to be of help.

Cubs drafted Walt Jocketty's kid...3b out of high school with their 47th round pick.

The Cubs 2009 draft featured 22 pitchers(16 right-handed, 6 left-handed), 16 infielders (5 shortstops, 2 second basemen, 4 third basemen, 4 first basemen), 7 outfielders (5 center fielders), and 5 catchers. They drafted 28 players out of college, 8 out of junior and community colleges and another 14 out of high school. http://wiklifield.thecubreporter.com/Cubs_2009_June_Amateur_Draft

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports_hardball/2009/06/w… Zambrano was diplomatic about the decisions, saying it was the right move because Piniella would've been blamed had he gone out and given up the winning run in the ninth. Informed of Zambrano's comment, Piniella said: "I don't care about the blame. I thought he had done his job, I thought he had pitched enough. Remember, he's only two starts removed from the DL, and we've got another 3 1/2 months of baseball here." Actually, Zambrano was making his fourth start since being removed from the disabled list on May 22, and he threw 114 pitches in his second game back against Pittsburgh.

Cards with interest in Miguel Tejada, WSox could look to move Dye, Jenks or Dotel if things don't turn around quickly. maybe they'll take Neal Cotts back for one of the relievers...

I can't fucking believe this fucking team and the offense! Fucking Russ Ortiz shuts them down too? I don't think I've ever seen anything like it. The pitching is fantastic and we can't score runs? Unbelievable. I'm not optimistic they can pull this one out but you never know. 1 run since blanco's rbi double tuesday. And that was Soto's homer.

Recent comments

  • crunch (view)

    SF snags b.snell...2/62m

  • Cubster (view)

    AZ Phil: THAT is an awesome report worth multiple thanks. I’m sure it will be worth reposting in an “I told you so” in about 2-3 years.

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    The actual deadline to select a post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agent signed to 2024 minor league contract (Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta) to the MLB 40-man roster is not MLB Opening Day, it is 12 PM (Eastern) this coming Sunday (3/24). 

    However, the Cubs could notify the player prior to the deadline that the player is not going to get added to the 40 on Sunday, which would allow the player to opt out early. Otherwise the player can opt out anytime after the Sunday deadline (if he was not added to the 40 by that time). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Today is an off day for both the Cubs MLB players and the Cubs minor league players.  

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    For those of you keeping track, so far nine players have been called up to Mesa from the Cubs Dominican Academy for Minor League Camp and they will be playing in the ACL in 2024: 

    * bats or throws left 

    Angel Cepeda, INF 
    * Miguel Cruz, P
    Yidel Diaz, C 
    * Albert Gutierrez, 1B
    Fraiman Marte, P  
    Francis Reynoso, P (ex-1B) 
    Derniche Valdez, INF 
    Edward Vargas, OF 
    Jeral Vizcaino, P 

    And once again, despite what you might read at Baseball Reference and at milb.com, Albert Gutierrez is absolutely positively a left-handed hitter (only), NOT a right-handed hitter.

    Probably not too surprisingly, D. Valdez was the Cubs #1 prospect in the DSL last season, Cepeda was the DSL Cubs best all-around SS prospect not named Derniche Valdez, Gutierrez was the DSL Cubs top power hitting prospect not named Derniche Valdez, E. Vargas was the DSL Cubs top outfield prospect (and Cepeda and E. Vargas were also the DSL Cubs top two hitting prospects), Y. Diaz was the DSL Cubs top catching prospect, and M. Cruz was the DSL Cubs top pitching prospect. 

    F. Marte (ex-STL) and J. Vizcaino (ex-MIL) are older pitchers (both are 22) who were signed by the Cubs after being released by other organizations and then had really good years working out of the bullpen for the Cubs in the DSL last season. 

    The elephant in the room is 21-year old Francis Reynoso, a big dude (6'5) who was a position player (1B) at the Cardinals Dominican Academy for a couple of years, then was released by STL in 2022, and then signed by the Cubs and converted to a RHP at the Cubs Dominican Academy (and he projects as a high-velo "high-leverage" RP in the states). He had a monster year for the DSL Cubs last season (his first year as a pitcher). 

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    DJL: The only players who definitely have opt outs are Cooper, Edwards, and Peralta (Opening Day, 5/1, and 6/1), and that's because they are post-2023 Article XX-B MLB free agents who signed 2024 minor league contracts and (by rule) they get those opt outs automatically. 

    Otherwise, any player signed to a 2024 minor league contract - MIGHT or - MIGHT NOT - have an opt out in their contract, but it is an individual thing, and if there are contractual opt outs the opt out(s) might not necessarily be Opening Day. It could be 5/1, or 6/1, or 7/1 (TBD).

    Because of their extensive pro experience, the players who most-likely have contractual opt outs are Alfaro, Escobar, and D. Smith, but (again), not necessarily Opening Day. 

    Also, just because a player has the right to opt out doesn't mean he will. 

  • Dolorous Jon Lester (view)

    I love the idea that Madrigal heads to Iowa in case Morel can’t handle third.

    The one point that intrigues me here is Cooper over Smith. I feel like the Cubs really like Smith and don’t want to lose him. Could be wrong. He def seems like an opt out if he misses the opening day roster

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    Childersb3: Both Madrigal and Wisdom can be optioned without any restriction. Their consent is not required. 

    They both can be outrighted without restriction, too (presuming the player is not claimed off waivers), but if outrighted they can choose to elect free agency (immediately, or deferred until after the end of the MLB season).

    If the player is outrighted and elects free-agency immediately he forfeits what remains of his salary.

    If he accepts the assignment and defers free agency until after the conclusion of the season, he continues to get his salary, and he could be added back to the 40 anytime prior to becoming a free-agent (club option). 

  • Childersb3 (view)

    Phil, 
    Madrigal and Wisdom can or cannot refuse being optioned to the Minors?
    If they can refuse it, wouldn't they elect to leave the Cubs org?

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    In my opinion, the biggest "affirmative" mistake the Cubs made in the off-season (that is, doing something they should not have done), was blowing $9M in 2024 AAV on Hector Neris. What the Cubs actually need is an alternate closer to be in the pen and available to close if Alzolay pitched the day before (David Robertson would have been perfect), because with his forearm issue last September, I would be VERY wary of over-using Alzolay. I'm not even sure I would pitch him two days in a row!  

    And of course what the Cubs REALLY need is a second TOR SP to pair with Justin Steele. That's where the Cubs are going to need to be willing to package prospects (like the Padres did to acquire Dylan Cease, the Orioles did to acquire Corbin Burnes, and the Dodgers did to acquire Tyler Glasnow). Obviously those ships have sailed, but I would say right now the Cubs need to look very hard at trying to acquire LHSP Jesus Luzardo from the Marlins (and maybe LHP A. J. Puk as well).