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

Let the Kids Play

GAME 131 IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] LOS ANGELES DODGERS (59-71) @ CHICAGO CUBS (62-68) WRIGLEY FIELD, 7:05 pm CDT, TV: ESPN, CSN, Fox Sports West 2
Jerome Williams, RHP
4-6, 4.74 ERA
51/31 K/BB, 12 HR in 79.2 IP
D.J. Houlton, RHP
4-7, 4.83 ERA
72/33 K/BB, 11 HR in 96.1 IP
3B Antonio Perez CF Jerry Hairston Jr.
SS *Oscar Robles 2B *Todd Walker
2B Jeff Kent 1B Derrek Lee
LF *Ricky Ledee RF *Jeromy Burnitz
1B Jason Phillips 3B Nomar Garciaparra
CF Jayson Werth LF *Todd Hollandsworth
C #Dionar Navarro SS #Neifi Perez
RF #Jose Cruz Jr. C Michael Barrett
P D.J. Houlton P Jerome Williams
You think we have problems, the Dodgers have Ricky Ledee batting cleanup and Jason Phillips starting at first base over Hee-Seop Choi even though a righty is on the mound. And every time I point out the deficiencies of another team's lineup, they pound us. Not to mention they have a relatively bad pitcher on the mound, who's certain to throw a gem tonight. You know when you look at Jerome Williams' numbers, he's not that good. Doesn't strike out a lot of guys, way too many walks for a guy who doesn't strike out all that many hitters and for a guy who's suppose to keep the ball on the ground, he's given up way too many dingers. He does have youth and "upside" going for him though. Why is Todd Hollandsworth in the lineup? That is really going to be the worst part of the rest of the season. Cause everyone including the Cubs brass has declared the season over, but Dusty just can't live with being below .500. So he's going to trot out marginal vets (Perez, Holly, etc) in an attempt to say he's a winning manager, thus not only is this season ruined, he's going to screw us up for next year too. Awesome!!! And how the hell is this game on ESPN by the way? Go Cubs!!

Comments

its either hollandsworth/corey/macias...pick your poison til next callups. neifi hasnt played the last 2 games i believe.

Neifi didn't play yesterday, he played Saturday. Nobody has to learn anything more about Neifi Perez, we don't need to see one more at-bat to know what we're getting with Neifi. Give Ronny some time to learn the NL pitchers, there's not one good reason that he shouldn't be starting just about everyday, at least till Ramirez gets back. Dusty will have to start Nomar to see if he can stay healthy, plus he "owes" it to his vet to try and get him a FA deal. Personally I'd shuffle him between SS, 3B and 2B (assuming Walker goes) I pick Korey. Yeah, he's brutal but he still has stuff to learn, and he isn't going to learn it by sitting. We all know how crappy Holly is and that he can't get around on a fastball anymore. The season is over, winning 65 or 81 games doesn't mean a damn thing.

Ick.

I agree with Rob. The Cubs are going to make money no matter who they start. Might as well use this as an extended spring training and build some success and confidence with the younger guys. Give them something they can look back on next season when the pressure cooks up again. I also think we should be playing Nomar to see if he can put a solid month together and look at the slight possibility of signing him next year. I love Todd walker but I am all for trading him for something now and using Nomar at 2nd next year if he can put together a healthy month. I would also plan on signing a FA SS if available and if not MAKE Dusty start Cedeno next year and sign Neifi for a SS/2b back up for next season. Also also even though Damon is going to be overpaid I say F*** it and get him anyway. He is a good leadoff hitter/Table setter and good clubhouse guy. I also try to go after a great corner OF player then play Murton in LF next season and see how he does. Damon CF Nomar 2b FA Rf (Could we get lucky and get Dunn?) Lee 1b Aram 3b Murton LF Cedeno SS Barrett C Invest the rest of the Money in the starting pitching and hopefully come out with something like this: 1. Zambrano 2. Prior 3. FA Starter (15-20 win guy) 4. Wood 5. Maddux (He should have 15 wins RIGHT NOW if not for the BP and Offense) Reliever Mid Mid Lefty Williamson Dempster Closer Bench Neifi, FA catcher, 3 other guys. There my 2 cents for the week.

look at it this way... Macias can be double switched with Walker in the 6th; CPat can be double switched with Holly in the 7th; Hairston to LF McClain can double switch with Nomar in the 8th; Cedeno can be double switched in the 9th with Neifi. or dusty can shock the fans by pinch hitting (my, what a novel idea)

I love comments like these: 3. FA Starter (15-20 win guy) Yeah #3 starters that might win 20 games grow on trees. All the contenders have them. You could get A.J. Burnett, he's well thought of and his career win high is....12 Well what about Clement his is....14.... And both those guys would be excellent 3/4 starters.

I feel the Cubs should be using promising Rookies they may want to start next year...Why not use Murton for almost every game for the rest of the season...? Why not use Rich Hill instead of Rusch this week...? What do we have to lose...? We're out of the Wild Card race and I think it's important to give players that you may really want to use next year some time as a starter. Does anyone really think Hendry will bring Holly back...? Why is he starting tonight...?

only FA starters out there worth mentioning i can think of are burnett/millwood... and neifi didnt play this weekend unless yahoo's boxscores are fuddup while cedeno played fri/sat/sun as a starter.

Actually, according BP's Expected Win-Loss record, Maddux should be exactly what he is, 10 wins and 11 losses. Maddux just hasn't been that good this year - he is 56th out of 76 pitchers with 150+ innings in SNLVAR. Sufficient for a #5 starter, but even that's a concern going into next season. Meanwhile, everyone's favorite CF has put up a .182/.224/.291 line since his return from AAA. Some things never change.

Rob, A little harsh on Williams. Look at his 03 and 04 numbers. GS IP W L WHIP K BB ERA 43 260.1 17 12 1.275 168 93 3.77 If he has 30+ starts next year I could see him having this line 15-8, 209.2 IP, 1.34 WHIP, 110 K/ 60 BB, 3.86 ERA

Crunch, You might want to double check your yahoo. Neifi started on Friday(2b) and Saturday, getting a rare day off yesterday. Saturday's box score: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/boxscore?gid=250827116 Just think logically, do you really think Dusty could stand to give Neifi TWO whole days off in a row? I mean that might knock the cubs out of playoff contention.

I agree Chifan - Williams is a 23 year old who is putting up average numbers as a starter for the Cubs. Name ten other pitchers like that. Family problems have played an undetermined role in his troubles recently as well. His K/IP rate isn't great, but it really isn't terrible either and the HR numbers seem to fit in well with everyone on the Cubs' staff this year - generally terrible. In all honesty, I think his acquistion might turn out to equal that of Ramirez's, and Hendry should be proud of the deal he made. I could see him put up an even better line than you stated in you message - a WHIP of 1.2 isn't unreasonable to expect, and if he can keep the ball in the park a little better, we've got a #2 starter on a staff with at least two other number two starters (health willing).

Why is Holly starting tonight? The other outfield lineup choices include: CPat CF; Hairy LF; Burny RF otherwise dusty's tempted to put Macias is in the mix? So the question shouldn't be "Why Holly"; the question is: Is Dusty punishing CPat? Probably. ...and our question should be: Why is Murton starting tonight, against Omaha, and not the Dodgers.

yeah.. my.yahoo.com has saturday's game mixed up with sunday's game and sunday's game intact. i dunno how to explain it unless anyone else uses my.yahoo.com and has their scoreboard feature set up for cubs. ive refreshed it many times and it all comes out the same.

C'mon Jerome get out of this inning as is. That ball 3 on Houlton was a strike and he should have gooten out of the inning now. Why aren't they walking Kent here? I would rather face leddee.

Williams seems to have lost his command and control tonight...LOTS of mistakes by Cubs players too...we're down 6-0 in the 2nd...wow...Dusty is now about ready to use our MOST INCONSISTENT Bullpen pitcher -- Todd Wellemeyer...This isn't funny at all.

Wellemeyer had an ERA of over 6...it will be a miracle IF he an go a few innings without walking players or giving up runs.

I agree that Williams was a great trade. He's very young and very talented and the only way he won't be in the rotation next year is if any 2 of Guzman/Hill/Pinto shows up to spring training next year and mow down the competition. Even if that happens, Williams would probably still be in the rotation. He was superb last week and his ball had alot of movement. Not to drink the kool-aid, but I think Williams has a great future, especially as he matures and deals with his family issues.

Play Cedeno at SS, Murton in LF, HAirston at 2nd(Walker to Clev for good prospect), Nomar at 3rd. This year is over, let's find out about next year. Hill in rotation? So be it. Let's find out about next year. Right now we don't "Know" what Cedeno is going to do. We know Perez will be hot and cold(mostly cold-good utility). Lead-off? Murton? Pie? Cedeno? Let's find out. They are doing that with Guzman in a-ball then AFL. Maybe we have Prior, Zambrano, Guzman, Maddux, and Williams but I would like the addition of Millwood and Damon to the team. JMHO. scooterÆ

Every time I have seen Wellemeyer pitch the Cubs seem get into trouble...Why does Dusty still use him...? Inconsistent pitching (by starters and the Bullpen) has hurt the Cubs SO OFTEN this year...Hendry needs to address this or it will be tough for the Cubs to be competitive next year.

Sorry to post off topic, but another poster was asking about a good bears blog. I recommend the message boards link on chicago bears site from NFL.com

see if you could get Drew from LA if you could. Put him in CF in 06 and move him to RF in 07 and 08. Bring back Burny he can field RF great and is a 6-7 hitter not a 4-5 hitter. for SS I guess Furcal makes the most sense, though I'd hope he wouldnt go Farnsy with the local bar scene. 1. Furcal, SS 2. Murton, LF 3. Lee, 1b 4. Ram, 3b 5. Drew, CF 6. Barrett, C (although I would prefer Molina) 7. Burny, RF 8. Z or Hairston 9. P or when Z starts Hairston

chifan, I think Z may be better protection behind barrett than burny...

Isn't it kind of pointless to complain about the choice of relief pitcher when you're pulling the starter in the 2nd inning?

Hey Jumbo, thanks for the heads up. I'll check that out.

Wellemeyer just walked the lead-off player for LA...these base on walks are killing the Cubs this year...Dusty should switch pitchers before he really regrets waiting too long.

who was the guy that said jerome williams was as good as dontrell willis? don't get all jumpy-i like williams just fine but he's no willis... i'm really angry about cedeno being on the bench tonight. one thing about playing the kids is they really have something to play for. the vets on this team are mailing it in. that said, if dusty is playing for the lofty goal of .500, he'd be better served playing the kids. the only logical explanation for hollandworth tonight is that hendry has a scout lined up to see him for the big potential trade they have worked out. are we sure we want to trade walker? i'm not. burnitz yes.

Wellemeyer just walked the lead-off player for LA... not to mention Wuertz just walked his first batter... cub relief pitcher symmetry, catch it.

Dusty hasn't had "a losing season" for quite a while... http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-toni29.html {...STRANGE TERRITORY: Baker hasn't had a losing record since 1996, when his San Francisco Giants finished last in the National League West. The next year, they rebounded to win the division and finished first or second the next six seasons. Now he faces the possibility of a first losing season with the Cubs, who are six games below .500 after winning 88 and 89 games his first two years. "It's very weird for me,'' Baker said of not being in contention for the playoffs. "It's almost an unreal situation. But that makes you appreciate it more when you get back to it. It humbles you and makes you stronger and appreciative for the next one and the next one. "I don't like having a losing record. When you play, you don't like having bad stats on the back of your bubble-gum card. But you learn something from [those seasons] and get stronger. I think our guys will learn a lot from it, too.''...}

Some Cub Organization Promotions... http://www.suntimes.com/output/cubs/cst-spt-toni29.html {...PROMOTIONS: Several minor-leaguers will join the team in the coming days as rosters are allowed to expand Sept. 1. "We're not going to call up a lot of players -- there aren't a lot to call up,'' Baker said. "You call up guys who deserve it and have earned it.'' That group probably includes outfielder Matt Murton and left-handed pitcher Rich Hill, both of whom already have seen time with the major-league club. The Cubs also have begun promoting other minor-league prospects, notably Eric Patterson, the younger brother of Corey Patterson. Eric Patterson, a second baseman, was promoted to Class AA West Tenn this weekend after a strong season at Class A Peoria, where he hit .333 with 13 home runs, 71 RBI, 40 stolen bases and a .405 on-base percentage. Eric Patterson was a Midwest League All-Star selection at midseason and also a postseason All-Star, along with Peoria outfielder Ryan Harvey and right-handed pitcher Sean Gallagher...}

I-Cubs won 4-1 against the Omaha Royals Murton 2-5; BA .353 in contrast: Holly 0-3; BA .254 I'd call it Dusty's exercise in futility RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

*&%#$@! I really hate seeing Kerry Wood used to pitch garbage time 8th innings when he needs surgery. But that's just me.

J Van Buren pitched the 9th for the save (25); 2K's; ERA; 1.98 Why haven't we at least seen this guy this year? on another front: Andy Sisko threw 2 scoreless and hitless innings vs the Twins ERA 2.40; 66K in 63 innings and we have Todd Wellemeyer as the prospect we protected? Somebody needs to do a better job judging which ones of the minor league talent gets away from us. We're going to be sorry for not having Dontrelle to go with Zambrano and Prior for the next decade. Ah, the lot of a Cub fan.

actually they kept Remlinger at $3-4 million rather than consider Sisko would be major league ready that is what I'd call stinky judgement

"We're going to be sorry for not having Dontrelle to go with Zambrano and Prior for the next decade." Man am I sick of this revisionist history. Willis was a middling prospect when the Cubs got rid of him. No one looked at him as the main player in the deal or thought there was any chance of him winning 20 games. Sometimes so-so prospects turn into great players, just like sometimes great prospects turn into so-so players. I won't blame the Cubs org for getting rid of Willis, especially when there are so many other things they deserve to be blamed for.

Bluewater Pennant, perhaps you were too busy looking up stats of former Cubs players to hear that Kerry will have surgery on Wednesday.

Kerry Wood WTF??

Here's my wish list..... 1B - Derek Lee 2b - Alfonso Soriano SS - Miguel Tejada 3B - A Ram C - P Rod RF - Adam Dunn CF - Junior LF - Barry Bonds SP - Zambrano SP - Mark Prior SP - Cris Carpenter SP - Roger Clemens SP - Dontrelle Willis and I guarantee we'd still find a way to blow it. This is just the most disapointing season I've ever been through, I keep thinking it's gotta end sometime, this team has to get to the WS sometime. But they still find a way to crush me. Go Bears!

I wish Dusty had used Woody in the 9th...Kerry Wood looked awesome in the 8th and it only took him 7 pitches to retire 3 batters...It would not have hurt him to finish out the game...Woody is the best reliever the Cubs have (yet, he's off to have surgery) on Wednesday).

Why on earth would you double switch into a situation that puts the pitcher up 3rd the next inning?

Sometimes so-so prospects turn into great players... that says alot. It's just a random event then, if you say so. Seems like he was in the majors the year after this trade and was a significant factor getting them to the World Series in 2003. Other than Sandberg, who Dallas Green knew from his Phillie experience I'd say the Cubs haven't made that kind of trade from another organization. D-Train will be an 18-20 game winner this year, and barring injury for years to come. The Cub organization deserves to get smacked for losing him even if he was a mid level prospect at the time. Revisionist history maybe. Still he was a Cub and someone in the Florida management team took him off our hands. Are you saying he would still be a minor leaguer if the cubs had held him? Lefty starters are few and far between for this organization, except for mediocre soft tossers like Koronka. (the good soft tossers like Doug Davis escape us too). Sisko, another Lefty, was a much higher draft pick and although he had a disappointing year last year it obviously didn't stop KC from taking him and playing him. I'm sure we will regret that move too for a long time.

Patterson couldn't get any traction tonight when he was at the plate...He just can't seem to hit the ball...It's sad but I think he will be traded at the end of the season (and his younger brother may end up playing for the Cubs)...it's interesting how some things work out.

I didn't mean to imply Doug Davis was ever a Cub. Just that we don't seem to get soft tossing lefties to the majors either. I guess Glendon Rusch qualifies here, and we've marginally used him as a starter. Jamie Moyer might be the last Cub prospect although he wasn't good till he was in the majors for many years and he went thru several organisations including the Cardinals..

on WGN radio I heard that Hendry announes that Todd Hollandsworth has been traded to the Braves for 2 minor league players...GREAT NEWS...Should be good for Murton too -- he'll be playing more and he should.

The Cubs are getting 2 right handed pitchers from the Braves -- one that they really like...we'll find our more soon.

Hendry just announced that tomorrow they will call up Murton (for Holly) and J. Vanburen (for Woody).

thank god dusty got those crucial ABs for neifi tonight.

Lets say we trade Walker. Here's the lineup to get us to .500 Hairston 2b Murton lf Lee 1b Burnitz rf Garciapara 3b Barrett c Cedeno ss Patterson cf Naturally, Fontenot would out produce Patterson right now, so bringing him up and putting Hairston in cf would be better... I suppose Rusch will get traded, so lets hear it for Sergio. I can see it now, 7ip, 18 ground balls, 3 errors by Nomar. I'm really negative...

Cubster, Did you hate that trade when we hit Willis all over the park in Game four of the NLCS? I don't think Willis would have not seen the majors in 03. If that trade didn't happen Guzman would have started the season in the 5th spot. Remember he had a great 03 ST. If Guzman performed up here and didn't get hurt and we still signed Maddux in the 03 Off-season then Willis probably would be a LOOGY here or in Des Moines. Murton and JVB have been called up and Holly is a Brave for 2 minor league pitchers.

Was I seeing things or did Jerry Hairston single batting left-handed?

i can't imagine we got much for holly...at least his ab's go to someone...

Todd Blackford and Angelo Burrows burrows..converted OF, 25 year old at A-ball blackford, 20 year old rookie baller, 13th rounder last year

How about getting Braves free agent Furcal for SS and then use Nomar at 2B...Nomar might stay healthier in this position -- to keep him the Cubs would need to cut back on the salary and offer heavy performance incentives.

Too bad for Jeff Francoeur, I mean with Braves in a pennant race and all, I'm sure Todd Hollandsworth will get the majority of starts in his place. After all, you can't trust a rookie when during the playoff hunt, especially when you've got a proven veteran like Holly on your team. Oh, what? The Braves don't have that philosophy? And somehow they still make the playoffs every year? How can that be???

Willis would have not seen the majors in 03 I agree with you there...Dusty at most would have used him in the bullpen in 2003 if he was brought up at all. Still under the Marlins he was allowed to develop. Is that mean Jack McKeon is the reason D-Train is a star? He may have been bad in NLCS game 4 and we have beaten him in Florida during the regular season, still in his rookie year he had a strong first half and faded a bit later. We probably wouldn't have used him in 2003 but if he was in the system we would/coulda used him in 2004 when Prior had tendonitis and Wood missed 2 months. Patience and luck...We're short on both. We're still waiting on Angel Guzman and I'd love to see him become a star, yet it's the Cubs danged luck that he's been injured for 2 years now. We used Mark Guthrie, in the playoffs when it counted. That was Dusty's call though. No revision to that. Dontrelle woulda definitely been in the minors as long as he could put a Mark Guthrie as the veteran LOOGY on the playoff roster.

francoer's a high-end slugging prospect. cox was also given the choice of playing a rookie or a rookie or a rookie in RF.

excellent post-bleeding blue. i love sarcasm and there is no problem on this team bigger than our stupid manager the rev johnnie b.

i've decided we should trade walker. not enough speed, not enough power. defense below avg. no risk in pullin trigger.

cox was also given the choice of playing a rookie or a rookie or a rookie in RF. Excatly, and now Cox has a choice, so I bet Holly gets the majority of his starts. They'll probably throw Francoeur a bone by putting him a platoon and giving him some ABs against southpaws. Afterall, you only want to play a rook in a place where they're guarenteed success.

well if holly played RF i might join in on your laugh-fest.

seriously though, how hard is it to play a rookie when your GM gets rid of your veteran outfield except for andrew jones and gives you 4 rookies? seems like a no-brainer to me. cox's history with youth you might wanna take a look at...aside from furcal/a.jones not a lot of kids got thrown to the game with a full nod. francour's the newest exception.

This is kind of hard to believe, but the Cubs now have the same record as the AAA Iowa club at 62-69. Is Dusty secretly managing that team too? Maybe his eyeglasses and toothpick are actually cutting edge audio-visual remote control devices.

If Holly played RF? You mean like he did for a full month for the Cubs last year?

yeah, holly's a perfect RF'r for a healthy team...just like bitching for the sake of bitching is a healthy pasttime.

if playing francour suprises you, you probally dont know who he is. the fact he's up early should be more suprising, but that's the case with almost the entire OF this year and it'll probally be like for a while. the braves spending has been put on lockdown and money's gonna be tight for a while...especially with the hard money years of hampton's baggage.

my guess is it's not Francouer that will lose AB's. Ryan Langerhans/Kelly JJohnson in LF will be more likely see fewer innings. The Braves are taking a big risk here. With Farnsworth and Hollandsworth they are making their ex-cub factor a potential playoff liability.

Yes, most managers do prefer to play veterans, and I'm sure Bobby Cox is one of them. Most of them also realise that if your option are Todd Hollandsworth or a promising rookie, its worth taking a chance on the kid. But I could be wrong, maybe Holly will be a starter most days for the Braves.

when the cubs get a "francour" and he's wasted on the bench then i'd get upset...the closest we got is murton and he's not even in the same class as francour. murton's on his way...hold your horses...its no big deal at this point. this pen and the 4-6 bats that cant hit their way outta a bag have screwed this team...no one's been blocked on that bench or in the minors that's just ready to put this team over the top. chalk it up and move on, nothing more to see here.

"The Braves are taking a big risk here. With Farnsworth and Hollandsworth they are making their ex-cub factor a potential playoff liability." heheheh...rock

hopefully these two pitchers are as studly as other brave P prospects, namely Reuben Quevedo and Joey "Rhythm" Nation

anytime you get 2 of anything for hollandsworth i wouldnt get too stoked...heh... on a side note, i knew LA was having rough time, but they only got 2 players with more than 400ab on the team (and one is on the DL)...ow.

I only saw part of the AB and was watching with one eye, but Jerry Hairston did single batting left-handed, right?

"hopefully these two pitchers are as studly as other brave P prospects" "Sometimes so-so prospects turn into great players..." and don't forget the memorable Lefty Andy Pratt, a prospect we plucked from Atlanta just like the Marlins plucked Dontrell Willis from us.

ok...so it's not about the prospects, it's about the At Bats. HOLLY GONE. Dusty sez: Looks like Macias will have to play LF now.

Recent comments

  • Arizona Phil (view)

    There are two clear "logjams" in the Cubs minor league pipeline at the present time, namely AA outfielders (K. Alcantara, C. Franklin, Roederer, Pagan, Pinango, Beesley, and Nwogu) and Hi-A infielders (J. Rojas, P. Ramirez, Howard, R. Morel, Pertuz, R. Garcia, and Spence, although Morel has been getting a lot of reps in the outfield in addition to infield). So it is possible that you might see a trade involving one of the extra outfielders at AA and/or one of the extra infielders at Hi-A in the next few days. 

  • 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...