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

Perhaps

If Wade Miller doesn't work out as our #5 starter, maybe he can be our #1. The stakes really are higher this year. I don't normally feel this demoralized until May.

Comments

Right now we have more losses than we have wins. The fuckin' changes that have happened in the Cub organization are multifold. Alright, they don't show because we're 3 and 6... and unfortunately, that's the criteria of them dumb 15 motherfuckin' percent that come out to day baseball. The other 85 percent are earning a living. I tell you, it'll take more than a 3-5 or 3-6 to destroy the makeup of this club. I guarantee you that. There's some fuckin' pros out there that wanna fuckin' play this game. But you're stuck in a fuckin' stigma of the fuckin' Yankees and the Red Sox and the Cardinals and all that cheap shit. It's unbelievable. It really is. It's a disheartening fuckin' situation that we're in right now. All these mutherfuckin' editorials about LaRussa and fuckin aaahh...the DiceK-itis and all that shit, it's sickening. It's unbelievable, it really is. It's a disheartening fucking situation we're in right now. 3 and 6 doesn't negate all that work. We got 153 fuckin' games left.

Yeah, I was hoping for Cliff Flloyd to be the hometown hero today. But to your point jackie t, FUCKIN A!

cubs season is doomed-- hopefully after the season is over hendry will be fired (please new owner) and we'll get a gm that makes good offseason moves like the braves and the tribe and also one that knows the importance of developing the farm system.

Big Z spits the bit again in a game where his team only needed him to be decent. Once things began to go wrong, they fell of of a cliff, and he was unable to stop the bleeding. This happens way, way too much. He's fun, a good hitter and energetic -- but can he win when the games still matter? Three starts, and not an impressive one in the bunch, with 2 disasters. Simiilar to last year. Ugh.

And we have a Lou Pinella sighting! I think I could see his brain boiling in the press conference. Some idiot asked what wasn't working out there. He's lucky he was within reach of Lou. Lou got a deadly look in his eye and yelled "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK'S NOT WORKING OUT THERE? YOU WATCHED THE DAMN GAME. WHAT THE DO YOU THINK ISN'T WORKING? Then there was about ten seconds of dead silence as Lou looked around daring somebody else to say something stupid. Good times!

Oh yeah, he also said he's starting to see why this club's been losing games in the past and was basically speechless when someone asked about Ohman.

Maybe Lou needs to watch that link I posted.... I'm telling you, I feel a LOT better.

This already feelsl like a long season. If this offense can regularly be shut down by the Reds bullpen -- aye carumba!

I believe we are roughly at the historical karmic centroid of our collective long experience, for we are sifting through lamentable losses for those few glimmers of hope, the exceptional play here or there, the isolated hit or extra base, the reason to give a shit at all about any of these games. [Today's gem: Wuertz 3K on 11 pitches.] Oh well, too bad about the rest of all that: the LOB, CS, Z's BB's, K's at bat, lack of clutch anything. Remind me why this isn't the 98-year pattern all over again? SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT Fuck it. going out for more beer.

Indiana JJ, I hope those are actual quotes from Lou's presser. This team needs a little Uncle Lou fire right now.

Yes, everything should be fine now that Piniella yelled at the media over a legitimate question that was a follow-up to what Piniella had said. It's no big deal that the "ace" can't get an out in the 5th inning, and that this team can't hit or catch. But all that will be corrected now that Piniella has shown some "fire"

That was a pretty stupid question, if that really was the question........not that yelling is going to change anything

What did today's game teach us? Big Z isn't reliable under 50 degrees. Our #3 bullpen lefty needs some work. I liked the early offense with 2 people hurt. I loved the dominance of our bullpen towards the end. The roster will look completely different on August 1st. We're just finding out what parts need to be replaced.

Nice hits by Jones and Barrett in the ninth, but Jones needed to stretch his into a double. I guess he was afraid to make another of his baserunning gaffes. His speed isn't an asset if he won't run when it counts. Needing three hits to score a run in the ninth--for that we needed a celebrity manager?

jones would have been gunned down and then everyone would have been on him for him being a bad baserunner. It wasn't Adam Dunn out there, Hamilton got to it quick....

It's games like this that make it easier to be a Cubs fan...when this stuff happens in April, it makes it much easier not to care when the same stuff happens in July and August. I really have been able to seperate myself a lot from the up and down emotions of a 162 game season...I feel much more relaxed because of it. Of course, come mid-summer if the Cubs are in the hunt, I'll be right back hanging on every pitch again.

"It wasn’t Adam Dunn out there, Hamilton got to it quick…." I wouldn't run on Dunn either, he's got a great arm.

OK - Get this - on Comcast Sportscenter just now - Barrett says, "Well, to be fair...we didn't get breaks to go our way either...seeing eye hits...but we need to do our jobs and Lou does his job." I think its Barrett's fault!

I'm puzzled that everybody loved Carlos Zambrano in 2006 when he allowed 5 or more runs 8 times, including three times in the month of April. Also, two of those occured in his first three starts. BOTH of those came against the Reds. Sound familiar? Yet when the exact set of circumstances unfold in 2007, everybody thinks he sucks. Someone have an explanation for that?

"jones would have been gunned down . . . " Look at that hit again, Rob. Last year, Pierre hit a dozen balls in that same spot, and every one was a double. Did you notice that when Barrett slapped a single to right, there were two outs and Jones still didn't go to third? He just wasn't going to run, anywhere.

Look at that hit again, Rob. Last year, Pierre hit a dozen balls in that same spot, and every one was a double. Juan Pierre's speed vs Jacque Jones' speed? you're kidding, right? Did you notice that when Barrett slapped a single to right, there were two outs and Jones still didn’t go to third? Why would you risk getting thrown out at third with 2 outs? Not to mention that's the 3b coaches call by that point. Wacky logic you're trying to use...

Postgame question: Postgame... "What wasn't working in the game today?" LouPa: "What the HELL do you think wasn't working. You saw the DAMN game." The game may have sucked but I love our manager.

"Why would you risk getting thrown out at third with 2 outs?" Unwritten rule of baseball: You don't make the 1st or 3rd out at 3rd base. Why take third anyway? Sure a passed ball gets you home but if you're out, game over.

not even going to talk about today.....i just can't stand Z's walks, and yet i know he wouldn't be nearly as successful if he could control his pitches. they have sooo much movement it's almost like a knuckler. i wonder if patient teams have done significantly better against him over his career.....(puts finger on nose, waits for someone to research....) also, i bought the mlb.tv premium package, and i'm trying to figure out how to load mosaic......do i need to have software? is it supposed to load automatically? so far i'm just seeing a regular one-game-at-a-time thing and i don't see how to change it.....anyone?

I saw a longer portion of the interview on Sports Center. The question was a particularly dumb one because Lou had just given a very detailed analysis, holding both Zambrano and Ohman ("our ace has a 5-0 lead with the 8th and 9th hitters coming up you have to feel pretty good about our chances but he does not put people away (implied Zambrano just lost his concentration) and our left handed reliever comes in with the bases full and starts throwing throwing 40 foot curve balls. I can see why this team has not been able to win. But we are going to start correcting that." He said this very very warmly, and then came the question that that sent the steam out is his ears. I know its the Cubs, but really, it is to early to award any team the pennant or condemn any team to last place. If this team had started out 6-3, I would certainly be enjoying it more, but I would know that there would be a losing streak coming up. There is to much talent on this team for 96 losses this year. There's not enough for much more than 85 wins, but will be a .500 team or better unless a good part of the line-up and rotation go down with injuries. I think at least Lou recognizes the team's problems and players will have to start executing better or he will find someone else to play and pitch. Or at least get roasted in the press (if Barrett is to sensitive for this, great, I kind of think trading him would be a good idea and would bring a lot of value since the team has enough offense at other positions we could carry a defense oriented catcher. Mark Prior is finally getting his shoulder examined. I fully expect to hear the words "partially torn rotator cuff" in the near future, and the words "probably occurred in 2005" in the same paragraph.

It's too early for this!!! (isn't 4-19 the date of Cub season ruination by injury?) Regarding ARam's wrist... CMuskrat reported that he had a wrist arthrogram at Northwestern today. Their hand ortho surgeon there is Dr. Dan Neagle. The arthrogram is an XRay injection test with iodine based dye put in the wrist joint followed by XRays. It's used to look for either torn ligaments between some of the small wrist bones (there are 8 carpal bones) or a tear in the cartilage on the little finger side of the wrist (called the ulnar triangular fibrocartilage complex or TFCC). A TFCC tear will be tender on the outside (little finger side) of the wrist. Sometimes they do an arthrogram+MRI which uses a different contrast material (gadolinium) which shows up on the MRI images, enhancing the information. It will look for similar info but the MRI images the soft tissues/cartilage whereas the XRay only images the bones involved. The largest bone at the wrist is the radius, which is one of the forearm bones and the other is the ulna which is larger at the elbow but smaller at the wrist. Last year DLee broke both the radius and ulna. In sports, the smaller carpal bones most commonly injured are the navicular (aka scaphoid) and the hamate which can be fractured. These happen with falls on the wrist or in the case of a hamate fracture, a direct blow like getting hit by a pitch. Both of these fractures can be subtle (meaning they can't be seen on initial XRays) and need additional testing with specific/nonstandard angles for XRays to see a fracture or other studies like MRI or bone scans to get different imaging of those areas. The arthrogram isn't the usual study to identify these fractures, so I don't think they were worried about them. Where the local tenderness is located helps with the decision as to what study is indicated. A navicular fracture is tender at the base of the thumb and a hamate fracture is tender on the outer part of the palm. The arthrogram is used for ligament tears or TFCC tears. If the study is normal he'll be back soon. Unless you see they are doing additional studies (MRI or Bonescan). If the Arthrogram isn't normal all hell is going to break loose. Here is a link to the wrist anatomy: http://www.ucgc.org/segments/wrist-injury/

Jacos...did they say anything about an arthrogram on the ESPN 1000 report? XRays being negative would go along with them being worried about a ligament or TFCC injury and hence the arthrogram (or an MRI+Arthrogram) often follows when initial XRays are negative. Maybe I'm just being a worry wart considering 4/19 disasters past.

i just figured out mosaic.....answered my own questions. it's ok.....unfortunately i'm stuck on the lowest quality level......i'm not blown away yet though.

Why would you risk getting thrown out at third with 2 outs? Not much risk for a fast man running at the crack of the bat with two outs. It's the right fielder who probably won't risk throwing to third, not wanting the winning run to advance to second. Juan Pierre’s speed vs Jacque Jones’ speed? you’re kidding, right? I used Pierre as a comparison because, as in Jones's case, the left fielder shaded him toward the line. Last year, Pagan and Bynum were noticeably faster than Pierre. Then came either Cedeno or Pierre, then Izturis, then Jones, right? I'm not the Jones fan here, remember, but he's pretty fast, pretty frisky for an over-thirty guy. Play back the first inning, when he stole second with two outs and came around to score on Lee's double. That was a different Jones than the one we saw cautiously moving station to station in the ninth. That was my point. Do these guys want to win games, or not?

Cubster- At 5:30 pm update they said Xray was negative and it was tendinitis and he would be day to day. Nothing else.

Welcome to the Windy City, Lou, the place where it's never too early to wait til next year.

geez...lou, this your first day on the job? seriously, whatever...media crap. i prefer the dusty "i could f'n care less" media approach...mostly because for the next few days all im gonna hear about is lou being a jackass to a guy trying to get a soundbite outta him. everyone in that room has a job to do...

from Dick Van Dyke in the Trib online at 7:43pm... http://tinyurl.com/2sauom Ramirez missed Friday's 6-5 loss to the Reds and might miss more games because of swelling on his right hand between the thumb and wrist. X-rays were negative, but results of an arthrogram will not be known until Saturday. The injury officially is diagnosed as tendinitis, and his status is listed as day-to-day. ----- So with X-Rays negative the diagnosis of "tendonitis" is very preliminary and nonspecific. The swelling on the thumb side is useful information though and probably indicates the TFCC isn't a concern (it's on the other side) so I guess they are looking at some of the intracarpal ligaments or maybe the navicular with the arthrogram. A common cause of swelling at the base of the thumb that is a specific tendonitis is called DeQuervains, which is inflammation of the extensor tendons of the thumb. They can get irritated from repetitive activity as the tendons pass through a pulley on the distal radius (larger wrist bone). I doubt they would have done an arthrogram for that diagnosis though. DeQuervains usually it treated with anti-inflammatory meds, some therapy or a cortisone injection. The arthrogram better be normal...

I just watched the replay of the Reds' fifth inning and I saw something I wasn't expecting. Lou implied that Zambrano should have been able to handle the #8 and #9 hitters with a five-run lead; but let the record show that the second guy in the inning, a pinch hitter for the pitcher, hit a pop fly to center that Soriano misjudged. There was no wind. He took a couple steps backward, then ran in for the ball but did not call for it. He got tangled up with Cedeno and the ball hit his glove and then the ground. There should have been one out, one on in the inning. It's not all on Zambrano--or Soriano either, for that matter. It wasn't his idea to play centerfield.

There should have been one out, one on in the inning. It’s not all on Zambrano–or Soriano either, for that matter. It wasn’t his idea to play centerfield. PIE

Pie (.444) was 1/2 tonight with a RS, an RBI, two walks and no strikeouts. He has struck out twice in 27 at bats. So far he has scored 14 runs on 12 hits. no, that's not a typo

pie solves nothing without moving players. there's no room for angel pagan as it is and the team has 2 guys who can pretty much only play LF. since its unlikely both floyd and murton would go...and ditto for soriano...it would take j.jones being traded to find room for him. given how cheap he is in this market there's very little reason to give him up for little to nothing. im sure someone would want jones, but who wants him at this point in the season to take over as a starter?

of course, there's always injury...or letting him be a bench player and trading away either floyd/murton/jones...blah blah blah... a lotta things could happen, but the most likely opportunity for pie to come up and see significant time is if j.jones goes or soriano/jones gets injured.

meh...by "both floyd and murton" i mean, both of them getting traded. doubt they'd trade one away without letting the other get significant time covering the spot.

Who gives a shit Virgina Phil.....who the hell was on the mound giving up hit after hit? single, single, walk, single, single, double, hit batter. No one to blame for that line of garbage but Z himself. You don't just throw in the towel in pout about it, you get back on your horse and you finish out the inning. Instead Z went into self destruct mode and ended it by hitting a batter. He needs to grow up a little and Lou is going to try and help him along in that process. But then again this is how Z always seems to start the season. He gets pouty and bitchy and clearly throws some games away but after the first month he is usually money. I don't know, maybe his PMS only kicks in during the month of April.

Draft Update: Matt Wieters .331 .459 .574 with 7 HR's and a 31/23 BB/K ratio in 136 at bats. On the mound 10.2 innings 6.75 ERA 2 HR's and 4/15 BB/K ratio David Price 6-0 25 ER 74.1 innings, 1 HR 21/108 BB/K ratio Andrew Brackman 6-2 3.31 ERA 54.1 Innings 4 HR's 21/48 BB/K ratio I couldn't find any stats for Josh VItters.

Z is a head case. He has all the talent in his arm that he will ever need, but I see his meltdowns and his infantile behavior, his boastful cockyness with the media, and I dont see him ever reaching his potential until he grows up. And he isnt likely to grow up without something major happening. And I dont mean giving him a huge contract. I think the prudent thing to do is to let him pitch out the season and either earn a huge contract or have reality slap him in the face when he doesnt live up to expectations. Put Glavine's or Smoltz's head on his body and you have a HOF pitcher. Put Z's head on either of those two and you get... Andy Richter.

another division team loses starting pitcher: righthander Jason Jennings will miss his next start on Saturday. Jennings has been diagnosed with tendinitis in the flexor muscle of his right elbow. He will have an MRI tomorrow in Houston and be evaluated at a later time.

Ohman with 0 ER... horrayyyyy stats. Cubster:
righthander Jason Jennings will miss his next start on Saturday.
Gee... umm... this would be good time for the Cub's to make a move, playing division rivals.

lmao... from mlb.com:
"What the [heck] do you think isn't working? You see the [darn] game," he said.

The Real Neal — April 13, 2007 @ 11:59 pm Floyd also can’t be traded until June(?). ===================================== NEAL: Cliff Floyd has an automatic "no trade" through June 15th, but he can waive it. But if he does waive the right, the Cubs can only get back cash and/or aggregate player contracts not in excess of $50,000 (total). In other words, the Cubs could probably get back one minor league player who is on a 40-man roster for the first time (first-time players on the 40 who are optioned to the minors get a $30K split minimum, and all other optioned-out auto-renewals on the 40 get a $60K minimum), or a couple of minor league players not on the 40-man roster (minor leaguers with less than six years of pro experience usually make between $10-30K). Besides Floyd, other Cubs players who have an automatic "no trade" through June 15th are: Henry Blanco Mark DeRosa Ted Lilly Jason Marquis Aramis Ramirez Alfonso Soriano Daryle Ward Kerry Wood Ramirez and Soriano have "no trade" clauses in their contracts that extend beyond June 15th. Scott Eyre (limited), Jacque Jones (limited), Derrek Lee, and Jeff Samardzija also have "no trade" clauses in their contracts. Because Wade Miller signed prior to the conclusion of the free-agency filing period, he does NOT have automatic "no trade" rights through June 15th.

I think Zambrano needs a staff leader. No Wood, no Maddux, and he becomes a bit unhinged. He hasn't been so good since Maddux was traded last year.

He hasn’t been so good since Maddux was traded last year. Hmm, I guess that wasn't you who said I was stupid for wanting to keep Maddux on our staff.

8-4 with a 3.64 after the All-Star Break last year with 86 K in 89 innings. If that's "hasn't been so good", there are 2 "good" pitchers in baseball and the rest suck.

Talk about reverting to form, 9 games into the season and one of the lessons of spring training has already been forgotten. The Cubs hitters are last in the NL in walks. 4th in BA/ 8th OPS/ 12th HR's/ last in BB's As for the Cub pitchers, they have allowed the second fewest hits but still have the third highest ERA.

I read a scout.com blurb that Brackman hasn't overly impressed so far and has already dropped a bit. Probably still a top 10 pick but not quite the top 3 slam dunk he was before the year. http://story.scout.com/a.z?s=260&p=2&c=634685 Oregon pitcher Blake Beaven and Miss St. Ross Detwiler have been rising though..

ESPN 1000 said Theriot/Cedeno again in the lineup for ARam/DeRosa ...today is day to day, tomorrow is out for the series, monday could be... the dl stint will be retroactive to April 11th. After that it's Kram Roirp disease finally diagnosed.

wow

Well George Castle seems like a stand-up guy and all, but maybe he should pay attention in the press conferences? He asked a question that Lou had just basically given the answer to.....

its not about paying attention as much as it is getting the interviewee to say the right thing to put into print. its fishing for soundbites...something that can be printed that doesnt look like: "Well he (Ohman) was trying to throw strikes," Pinella stated, "and he couldn't (get it done)...with the game on the line," this isnt his first press conference and if a few stupid losses this early are gonna bug him that much the media is gonna turn him into a circus act its gonna be a long season for him.

anyone ever see a non-sit-down garciappara interview? the guy had to have taken coaching classes or soemthing...he almost exclusively speaks in printable soundbites. helps him end his interviews really quick...works for him. cant trust a thing outta his mouth, though, cuz of what he feeds out to the media.

well he fished for the wrong soundbite then, I'm sure George and Lou can learn from this experience and can move forward. And I'm fairly certain Lou will take every loss this bad. Not that I really care, Lou makes Sportscenter, George learns not to ask stupid questions hopefully, doesn't change anything.

and if you really preferred Dusty's way with the media which was to say stupid shit that made everyone question if you knew anything about baseball and why is this man managing a major league ballclub, I'm worried about you crunch.

i could care less about the media crap anyway...i just hope the story dies out with a cubs win. lot of more important crap going down...wood, prior, aram, derosa... theriot playing 3rd again today...cedeno 2nd... all the screaming and hugging and ass grabbing in the world means nothing to me while those issues are on the table.

"and if you really preferred Dusty’s way with the media which was to say stupid shit that made everyone question if you knew anything about baseball and why is this man managing a major league ballclub, I’m worried about you crunch." well, i did. cuz i dont care about dusty. i dont care about media crap. how many YEARS have we all been mislead (not just by the cubs) by managers/players downplaying stuff in the media? when i want an injury report i dont care to hear from the person injured OR his manager in most cases cuz the real stuff comes from the front office in press releases or its "leaked" by the team in various forms of protectionism. when i wanna know how the game went...well, hell...i could care less. i know how the game went. i watched the same game. if a manager wants to share blah blah had a bad back and that's why he didnt play or blah blah started cuz he hits .300 off him...whatever. i do not need a manager or player to energize me with words...get on the field, play. they can all lie through their teeth to the media for all i care, it all comes clean in the end.

well we can agree on that... Wood tendonitis Prior is dead to me Derosa is going to be a season long problem Ramirez just hope it's not serious, but will probably linger all year. Will Carroll thinks they should scope out Prior's shoulder, many times they'll find something that MRI's and tests will never find, fwiw.

well we can agree on that… in regards to comment #76, not #77

re: 79...yeah. i dont expect the world to not give a crap with me. i, personally, just dont care about the press conferences. its a window into the club that fans and news enjoy. i enjoy it occasionally, but 162 post-game conferences a year along with the beat writing and travel posts can really drag on after a while.

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...