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

Harang’ing around

GAME 144 IN-GAME DISCUSSION THREAD [PARACHAT] CINCINNATI REDS (66-76) @ CHICAGO CUBS (71-72) WRIGLEY FIELD, 7:05 pm CDT, TV: CSN
Greg Maddux, RHP
12-11, 4.28 ERA
116/32 K/BB, 24 HR in 189.1 IP
Aaron Harang, RHP
9-12, 3.60 ERA
146/50 K/BB, 16 HR in 185.0 IP
2B Ryan Freel CF Jerry Hairston Jr.
SS #Felipe Lopez SS #Neifi Perez
2B Rich Aurilia. 1B Derrek Lee
LF *Adam Dunn 3B Nomar Garciaparra
1B *Sean Casey 2B *Todd Walker
RF Austin Kearns RF #Jose Macias
C #Javier Valentin LF Matt Murton
CF Wily Mo Pena C Henry Blanco
P Aaron Harang P Greg Maddux
As I pointed out in this week's organizational report, Maddux has 4 more chances to win 3 games and they may skip someone else's start so that he gets 5 more chances. I'm not sure how I feel about that, forcing your way to a record doesn't seem like the right way to go about things, on the other hand skipping what most likely will be a Glendon Rusch start, doesn't mean anything to me either. What's worse, Macias starting, or Macias hitting ahead of Murton? Tough call... The Cubs march on.... Go Cubs!!!

Comments

And by the way, Macias at second three days in a row? $%&*^*^%&*&^*(^&!!!!!

rumor has it that maddux is going to pitch every two days until he gets to 15....seriously, murton's patience would make him an excellent #2 hitter behind a base stealing lead off man...

Brings Burnie in, and moves to Macias to second. WTF????? Dusty is the streak killer. Check back to the Toronto gamea after the West Coast Swing. Who's in the starting lineup that night? Jose Macias. Coincidence, I don't think so.

Bonds just hit one to the opposite field gap, about a foot below the top of the wall. We thought it was a HR first, but it was ruled correctly to a ground rule double, b/c a fan grabbed it. About an 11 or 12 pitch at bat. Amazing.

Why call up Theriot or anybody else? The season is over and they should have saved the 50k. Hairston could play SS in an emergency sitution. Why didn't they just walk WMP in the 8th and bring up Harang. It forces Narron to either waste a chance to score runs by keeping Harang in there or pinch hit and lose Harang who had been lights out.

Hairston could play SS in an emergency sitution. What does that have to do with Theriot? He doesn't play SS. And the Cubs have 2 SS on the MLB roster anyway - Nomar and Neifi. And I would guess that Nomar will go back to SS if Ramirez returns.

he's played 3rd most of this year..he's a natural SS...he's got a strong arm. between him and fontenot and on a higher tier cedeno, theyre 3 of the most likely cubs utility IF of the future... cedeno is about the only out of them who's got a chance to play everyday. theriot is just too weak with the bat to play everyday as of now (aka, bobby hill)...great glove supposedly no matter where you stick him.

Guess you are right...every where I looked earlier today had him listed as a 3b. I still say it doesn't really matter, as the Cubs have a backup SS on the roster.

I think Murton and Dusty have a deal. Murton only stays in the lineup against right-handers if he hits a home run every day.

Incidentally, here's a newsflash: Sergio Mitre is not a reliever. Not that I haven't been saying that for absolutely frigging ages.

Last night was a great night to be a Cub fan if you're willing to dwell in the land of McFail. Nothing proves this team is on the right track more than Dontrell Willis winning his 21st game. If only the shirt he insists on wearing didn't read Florida. At some point some of these wins must revert to the Cubs otherwise, WHY THE FUCK WOULD ANDY HAVE EVEN BROUGHT IT UP???!!!

I don't see any comments about the actual game here, but it looks like they lost from the ambiance. Hard to tell, though. Things are always bitter here. On a more interesting note, what is it about Harang that seems to baffle the Cubs?

Can't resist this for a chuckle: I'm following my old team Midland Rockhounds (Texas league, AA) from my eight years in Midland TX, currently playing for TL championship. Hounds pummeled Davidson of the Travelers in the first inning, and his line, and ERA for the TLCS is: 0.1 3 6 5 1 0 0 135.00

Yes, that is an ERA of 135.00 :) "Try to keep in double digits, willya?"

The ugliest pitching line I've seen this year is... 24 year old at short-season A-Ball 14 G, 6.2 IP, 14 H, 26 R, 23 ER, 0 HR, 30 BB, 4 K, 31.05 ERA Let's just say this guy was the Rule 5 draftee of ours from last year that didn't get away.

The hitting line for Cubs left fielders other than Murton this season: .249/.294/.386 For comparison Neifi .282/.308/.398 Macias .271/.292/.323

And here's the guy those cumulative chumps replaced in left field: Alou .316/.403/.496

This is all a conspiracy - Dusty is trying hard, very hard, to kill me. Why else would Macias start in right?

Nothing proves this team is on the right track more than Dontrell Willis winning his 21st game. If only the shirt he insists on wearing didn't read Florida. Speaking of Florida, oddsmakers have just installed them as Wild Card Favorites at 11-10. Houston is 12-10 (6-5) But the Cubs have slid as low as they go at 75-1 (the Pirates will only get you 75-1). HOWEVER, according to my projections, if the Cubs continue to play ball NO WORSE than they have all season, these favorable late season matchups will result in an 82-80 record. In fact Andy McFail, Dim Hendry, and Dusty Faker should be fired if they finish under .500 . To finish 82-80 Cubs must go 11-7: Cincy 1-1 St.L 2-2 Mil 2-1 Hou 4-3 Pitt 2-0 14-4 actually gets them back into the race with an 85-77 record. Presently the wild card leaders Florida and Houston are on a pace to go 86-76. However they are in the midst of a four game series with each other and have tough remaining schedules so those winning percentages could easily drop and 85 wins could be all that's needed to enter the post season.

So the Cubs are going to go 14-4 (a stretch difficult for a 100-win team to pull off) for 85-77, they'll do something like 5-2 against the Astros to render them helpless in the face of our tear, the (77-67) Marlins will be worse than 9-9, the (76-68) Phillies will be worse than 10-8, and the cow jumped over the moon. If both of those teams somehow miss those marks, then one has to look out for the Nationals going 13-5, because it'd be likely they acquired a bunch of those 13 with their six games against those teams. Or, to put it another way: if you believe BP and the Marlins are, at heart, little better than .500 and the Cubs are likewise an 86 win-team... then we've still got a half-a-percent chance. It is, however, cute that so many Cubs fans are oblivious to the reality that this team was a marginal player by mid-August.

Cute?

Forcing to a record? Think about it this way. Dusty was going to play Macias and Neifi more because that "fans would appreciate it." Let's see Maddux more because the fans will CERTAINLY appreciate THAT.

From Mike Kiley in the Sun-Times: http://www.suntimes.com/output/sports/cst-spt-cub13.html "Baker strangely denied before Monday's game that he had told reporters Sunday in San Francisco that he would consider giving Maddux an extra start down the stretch if it becomes necessary for him to try and win 15. ''What I said was let's win three in a row and it'll be a moot point,'' Baker said. Not exactly accurate. While saying that he wanted Maddux to win three in a row, a review of the taped conversation showed that what Baker also said was that he might work in an added start for Maddux if he needed it for a 15th win. His reply was: ''Yeah, it depends on where we are. Certainly I'd like him to get to 15.'' Hard to misinterpret that." I don't really have anything to add. I think the quote speaks for itself.

theriot has played mostly 3rd this year? hmm...I fairly certain he played second and shortstop most of the year. Matt Craig and Casey Mcgehee played 3rd for the Jaxx most of the season.

It is no big shocker. When Baker's lies and double standards are exposed he just denies it or acts like it never happened. I have never seen a manager with less integrity than Dusty Baker. As for Maddux, he probably knows he made a bad decision coming back to the Cubs. He probably thought the organization was finally getting out of it's rut, only to find out they have not learned a damn thing. I would bet money he will just simply retire than go through another season of misery with this crap collection of talent and attitude. Much less endure another season with the village idiot Baker at the helm. I few weeks ago an article ran somewhere where Maddux was trying to teach some players some things and then a few of them would talk back and Maddux would just say "screw it" and walk off in frustration. No idea who those players are, but if a Hall of Famer is trying to give you tips and you blow him off this team is WAYYYYYYYY to fucking stupid to win baseball games.

"So the Cubs are going to go 14-4 (a stretch difficult for a 100-win team to pull off) for 85-77" Nobody said they were going to do it Ron. Of course it's a long shot. But you're wrong, it's not impossible. Not at all. The Cubs dismal season is entirely due to their inability to beat the East. It's all about matchups. They don't have to elevate their game much to go 14-4 playing within the Central division. Especially after going 8-2 on the road.

Incidentally, here's a newsflash: Sergio Mitre is not a reliever. Not that I haven't been saying that for absolutely frigging ages. Might as swell insert a random crack about Zach Day and Sergio Mitre. For what it's worth, on pitches 1-15 his career ERA is 10.80. If Baker is really trying to get Maddux 15 wins, do you honestly think he feels the best way to do that is hitting Jose Macias 6th in the lineup.

JJ, regarding Maddux and Dusty Baker. Baker was asked directly if he'd like Maddux back next year after Maddux told reporters that he'd return in 2006 if Chicago thought he still had the ability to start for them. So what did Baker say? He said, "It's up to him (Maddux)." What a weasel. Then he went on to imply that Maddux was losing his pitching prowess as "pitchers do at the end of their career." This comment came after a long Dusty diatribe about how the "blame" for this McFailure of a season needs to be spread around and not just dumped on him. It doesn't sound like he really wants GM back at all. I fully expect Macias to start pitching side sessions in prep for next year.

"What does that have to do with Theriot? He doesn't play SS. And the Cubs have 2 SS on the MLB roster anyway - Nomar and Neifi. And I would guess that Nomar will go back to SS if Ramirez returns." Dave, There thinking was that they needed a SS in case something happend to Nomar or if Ram does not come back. . All I was saying was Hairston could play SS if need be.

Sure, it's not impossible, in the sense that it isn't impossible for the Blue Jays to win their division or that it wasn't impossible for the Devil Rays to win the World Series this year. It is, and has been for a month, highly if not prohibitively improbable. Personally, I'd like to see more of the media and passive fan base acknowledge that this team will have spent 25% of the season as an also-ran, because before you know it, we'll be having offseason discussions where some will praise the job various elements of the team did in "keeping us in the playoff hunt well into September."

"Matt Craig and Casey Mcgehee played 3rd for the Jaxx most of the season." yup...my bad...ther's still got an arm, though.

can't wait for the "Dusty has managed only X number of meaningless games comments since whenever" that ESPN loves to spew on us. Ignoring the fact that we've been playing meaningless games since the middle of August, maybe not mathmetically, but certainly in reality.

that would involve ESPN actually talking about something sports related not going on in the north east in the boston-to-newyork corridor. i just dont see it happening...

I also bet Greg realizes what a mistake it was to come back to Chicago, especially this season. He's getting a taste of what he missed all those years when he was playing championship baseball with the Braves. After 2003 when he faced the Cubs in the playoffs, they looked like a team built on pitching that was on the verge of something great... Maddux was fooled like everyone else. It's really chicken-shit if the Cubs are hoping/looking for Greg to not pick up his option.

Re post #30 First of all, it IS up to Maddux if he is to return. There were articles around the time of his option kicking in about how much Dusty likes Maddux and wants him to come back. Hendry, too.

MikeC--"I would bet money he will just simply retire than go through another season of misery"
If you're suggesting that Maddux will retire before seeing out his contract with the Cubs, I will take your money.

I also highly doubt that Maddux sees this as "misery." He's highly paid playing the game he loves, still doing it reasonably well and in a city, and ballpark, he clearly enjoys. I wouldn't assume a fan's views on the Cubs are always going to jibe with how a player feels.

i dont know why people think maddux likes anything but his money or playing the game like he was hired to play it no matter who's paying him. maddux sat around forever 2 offseasons ago waiting for someone to hand him loot. he was offered 1 and 2 year deals from clubs and turned them down flatly cuz no one wanted to give him the money he wanted for the years he wanted to compete. the dude was throwing 88mph and was getting hit in atl. at the end of his last season there...a season where maddux accepted arbitration and royally screwed atl's money situation causing them to freak out and make trades they didnt want to make and put off signings of FA's. btw, this was atl's fault... now he's throwin 84/85mph and about to make 9m bucks in 06. love or hate maddux, he's not known as a patient baseball man who loves this winning more than life. yes, he respects the game...no, he's not a jerk...yes, he's willing to do what he's asked...but he's just a guy trying to make some scratch and do his job.

According to Baseball ref, Greg has made a ton of dough by being effective in getting ML hitters out: 1988 Chicago Cubs $82,500 1989 Chicago Cubs $275,000 1990 Chicago Cubs $437,500 1991 Chicago Cubs $2,400,000 1992 Chicago Cubs $4,200,000 1993 Atlanta Braves $5,875,000 1994 Atlanta Braves $4,975,000 1995 Atlanta Braves $6,500,000 1996 Atlanta Braves $6,675,000 1997 Atlanta Braves $6,775,000 1998 Atlanta Braves $9,600,000 1999 Atlanta Braves $10,600,000 2000 Atlanta Braves $11,100,000 2001 Atlanta Braves $12,500,000 2002 Atlanta Braves $13,100,000 2003 Atlanta Braves $14,750,000 2004 Chicago Cubs $6,000,000 Career (may be incomplete) $115,845,000 So, he has his ring and he's had his fat contracts, so I have to believe he's still pitching cause he wants to and thinks he can. The $ can't be the motavating factor at this stage.

yeah, the man expects to be paid to do it, too. he was very clear he wanted to be paid fair and wanted a multi-year deal. he waited a very long time to get the deal he was looking while shoving aside other deals including 1-year deals. he's not selfish, but he's not known for being a rah-rah guy...he's a guy who expects fair pay for a fair season's work and wants to do it on his terms. he's gonna make 9m next year and he earned it via the contract stipulations built in as injury protection for the club. i doubt very seriously he wants to walk away from that now. he could have been a yankee a couple years ago for christ's sake...if you really care about winning, you go to the 200million team who buys their way to the postseason by strangling the competition with money. maddux plays the game right and he fullfilled his contract without bitching about it...what more can you ask for?

"Sounds to me like Dusty wants Maddux back, but I guess it makes better fodder to say otherwise" GEEZ!! go read all the articles available. They're all reporting the same interview with Baker. Those headlines are extremely misleading. What does Faker mean, he "hopes" Maddux comes back. If you really want a pitcher back who just automatically vested a 2006 contract at $9 million, you don't imply that Maddux might be so upset at the deterioration of his pitching skills that he might not return.

a big big big problem with a lotta quotes is the lack of the question that prompted it and the lack of emotion that can be conveyed in text. a lotta dusty press conferences he's just laughing off questions giving light-commented answers. some of this is turned into shoe-banging statements of total seriousness. yeah, it looks bad on him sometimes, but honestly, dusty has shown he really dont give a damn what any media thinks of him as long as his players know what's up. when other sportswriters read comments taken out of context to the question or jest of answer and repeat it to the player things can get a bit weird. it sometimes becomes a stupid circle where a question not being answered in total seriousness becomes absolute statements of fact and serious answers to some questions become lost in the context of what question lead to the answer. this is also why some people dont take sportswriters seriously or even care to take press events seriously.

GEEZ! The original poster took the "It's up to him" part out of context, not even bothering to post the positive quotes. I did not have time to find every single article on the subject to your satisfaction. But I think "Iíd love to have him back" is a pretty clear indication that he wants him back.

When is the last time a non-Cubs team clinched a division at Wrigley field? Because the Cardinals have a magic number of 4 heading into play tonight.

1983

"Sergio threw too many strikes. That's what happens with youth." Dusty Baker passing the buck and ripping on young players again. What a player's manager.

Hairston Walker Lee Garciaparra Burnitz Barrett Murton Perez Zambrano

best lineup I've seen in a while. Hey, wait...where's Jose?

wow, Baker made a good line-up actually.

Shouldn't Zambrano being hitter higher in this lineup? At least in front of Neifi? Zambrano: .286/.286/.457 - OPS: .743 Neifi: .279/.304/.395 - OPS: .699 That is sad that Zambrano is a better hitter than the player with the third most at-bats on this team.

Shouldn't Zambrano being hitter higher in this lineup? At least in front of Neifi? Zambrano: .286/.286/.457 - OPS: .743 Neifi: .279/.304/.395 - OPS: .699 That is sad that Zambrano is a better hitter than the player with the third most at-bats on this team.

If houston can get 3 from florida I believe the cubs can get in with a 14-4 record. Both the phillies and Florida have 6 games each against ATL. If atl wins 4 out of 6 Florida has to go 6-6 in the other games and Philly has to go 7-5. Florida's other games are against Philly NYM and Washington. Philly's are Florida, Cin NYM and Was. I'll make a prediction: IF We finish 14-4 taking 5 out of 7 from Houston we will at least tie for the wild card. Unless Florida sweeps houston.

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...