Cubs Extended Spring Training Roster - Jimenez & Soler Go Deep at Riverview Park
Eloy Jimenez and Jorge Soler belted back-to-back tape measure solo home runs, and Jae-Hoon Ha walked twice, singled, stole two bases, and scored a run, in Cubs Extended Spring Training intrasquad action this morning at the Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park in Mesa, AZ.
Soler (hamstring rehab) was left behind in Mesa when his Tennessee Smokies teammates left town today, but he hopes to join them soon. He has been taking BP for the last few days, but today was his first game action in almost two weeks. The Cuban slugger played RF for all four innings and got three Plate Appearances, striking out (swinging) in his first two AB (and looking very rusty in the process), before unloading his game-tying monster dinger onto the roof of the clubhouse in the bottom of the 4th.
JH Ha (broken wrist rehab) can hit, run, and field, but can't throw, so he served as a DH for both squads, getting a total of seven Plate Appearances over the course of the game. In addition to his single and two walks, Ha also reached base on an E-4 dropped infield pop fly, grounded into a 6-4 FC, flied out to CF, and popped out to the catcher in foul territory.
Tennessee SP Corey Black and Daytona SP Tayler Scott were the two pitchers, getting their final tune-up in Mesa in preparation for their first regular season starts next Sunday.
Iowa SP Kyle Hendricks and Kane County SP Juan Carlos Paniagua faced-off in a four inning "sim" game prior to the intrasquad game, likewise as a final tune-up for their first scheduled regular season starts next Sunday.
Tennessee SP Ivan Pineyro, Daytona SP Rob Zastryzny. and KC SP Jen-Ho Tseng were also left behind in Mesa to get work, since their first scheduled regular season starts aren't until next Monday.
Here is the box score from this morning's intrasquad game:
SQUAD "A" LINEUP:
X. Jae-Hoon Ha, DH #1: 0-4 (6-4 FC, E-4, F-8, P-2, R)
NOTE: Ha batted in the top of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings
1. Jeffrey Baez, RF: 2-2 (2B, 1B, R, RBI, 2 SB, CS)
2. Kevin Brown, 2B: 1-2 (1B, F-8)
3. Jesse Hodges, 3B: 0-1 (BB, F-8)
4. Varonex Cuevas, SS: 0-1 (4-3, BB, SB)
5. Roney Alcala, LF: 0-0 (BB, BB)
6. Alberto Mineo, 1B: 0-2 (K, K)
7. Tyler Alamo, DH #2: 0-2 (6-3, F-7)
8. Mark Malave, C: 0-1 (E-5)
9. Zak Blair, DH #3: 0-1 (F-7)
10. Rashad Crawford, CF: 1-1 (1B, R, RBI, SB)
SQUAD "B" LINEUP:
X-1 Jae-Hoon Ha, DH #1: 1-1 (BB, BB, 1B, R, 2 SB)
NOTE: Ha batted in the bottom of the 1st, 2nd, and 4th innings
X-2 Jorge Soler, RF: 1-3 (K, K, HR, R, RBI)
NOTE: Soler batted in the bottom of the 1st, 3rd, and 4th innings
1. Gleyber Torres, SS: 0-1 (BB, F-8, CS)
2. Charcer Burks, CF: 0-1 (L-8)
3. Rony Rodriguez, DH #2: 0-1 (K)
4. Giuseppe Papaccio, 3B: 0-1 (5-3)
5. Dalfis Ortiz, 2B: 1-1 (1B, CS)
6. Ricardo Marcano, LF: 0-1 (K)
7. Antonio Valerio, C 0-1 (4-3)
8. Matt Scioscia, 1B: 0-1 (6-3)
9. Eloy Jimenez, DH #3: 1-1 (HR, R, RBI)
SQUAD "A" PITCHER:
Corey Black: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (3 ER), 3 BB, 5 K, 2 HR, 1 WP, 3/2 GO/FO, 84 pitches (47 strikes)
SQUAD "B" PITCHER:
Tayler Scott: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 2 K, 3/6 GO/FO, 80 pitches (52 strikes)
SQUAD "A" ERRORS: NONE
SQUAD "B" ERRORS: 2
1. 3B Giuseppe Papaccio - E-5 (fielding error allowed batter to reach base safely)
2. 2B Dalfis Ortiz - E-4 (dropped infield pop fly allowing batter to reach 2nd base safely)
SQUAD "A" CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Mark Malave: 2-4 CS, 1 PB
SQUAD "B" CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Antonio Valerio: 1-5 CS
CUBS EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING ROSTER (51 PLAYERS ACTIVE)
NOTE: The Extended Spring Training squad formed at the conclusion of Minor League Camp, and consists of players who were left behind in Arizona to provide a replacement cadre in case of an injury to a player at Kane County, Daytona, Tennessee, and/or Iowa during the first two months of the season, inexperienced players who are competing for jobs with one of the "short season" teams (Boise, AZL, Cubs, DSL Cubs, and VSL Cubs) that begin league play in May & June, and players (both MLB and minor league) getting into playing shape and/or rehabbing from an injury.
* bats or throws left
# bats both
PITCHERS (29):
Adbert Alzolay
Frank Batista
Trevor Clifton
Josh Davis
* Alberto Diaz
Greyfur Eregua
Eduardo Figueroa
* Frailyn Figueroa
David Garner
Trevor Graham
Zak Hermans
Luis Hernandez
Corbin Hoffner
* Tyler Ihrig
Trey Lang
Erick Leal
Dillon Maples (LIMITED ACTIVITY ONLY)
Trey Masek
Jeferson Mejia
* Jose Paulino
Hector Perez
* Anthony Prieto
Jasvir Rakkar
Brad Renner (LIMITED ACTIVITY ONLY)
Alexander Santana
Duane Underwood
Michael Wagner
Ben Wells
* Sam Wilson (LIMITED ACTIVITY ONLY)
CATCHERS (6):
Tyler Alamo
# Mark Malave
* Justin Marra
Rony Rodriguez (ex-OF)
* Alberto Mineo
Antonio Valerio
INFIELDERS: (8+2)
# Roney Alcala
* Zak Blair
# Varonex Cuevas
# Frandy de la Rosa (INACTIVE - neck injury suffered in off-season car crash)
Jesse Hodges
# Dalfis Ortiz
Giuseppe Papaccio
Matt Scioscia
# Trevor Stevens (INACTIVE - right hand injury)
Gleyber Torres
OUTFIELDERS (8+2):
Jeffrey Baez
* Kevin Brown
Charcer Burks
* Rashad Crawford
# Kevin Encarnacion (INACTIVE - burns & other injuries suffered in off-season car crash)
Jae-Hoon Ha (ACTIVE REHAB)
Eloy Jimenez
* Ricardo Marcano
Jorge Soler (ACTIVE REHAB)
Casper Wells (INACTIVE - knee)
PITCHERS REHAB GROUP (7):
Marcelo Carreno (2013 shoulder surgery)
Jesus Castillo (2013 unknown-type injury)
Josh Conway (2013 elbow stress fracture)
Pierce Johnson (hamstring)
Barret Loux (shoulder)
Ryan McNeil (2013 TJS)
Trey McNutt (shoulder)
PRESENT STATUS/WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN (by me)
* Jeffry Antigua, P
Mike Hamann, P
* Michael Heesch, P (was with DAYTONA squad at Minor League Camp)
Reinier Roibal, P (was with KC squad at Minor League Camp)
* Brian Smith, P
Comments
Marlins Opening Day lineup vs
Marlins Opening Day lineup vs J. De La Rosa features Jeff Baker batting 2nd and C. McGehee batting cleanup
Can we trade lineups?
watching games on ESPN is an
Miami backwards is I maim.
the mike trout show is on now
I'm aware. Of course, since I
reminder- MLB EI is free this
ANAHEIM -- Angels hitting
According to Kaplan twitter
Cherry-picking stats is not a
Yeah, I'm not losing sleep
Yeah, I'm not losing sleep over a couple of hitters getting shut down by Liriano. There are plenty more shutdowns to come!
Wait, that's not the defense I wanted to make...
http://www.baseballprospectus
http://www.baseballprospectus.com/chat/chat.p...
Outside of the big 4 + Alcantara, who impressed you the most from the Cubs back field scouting?
Jason Parks: Jen-Ho Tseng. I really liked the profile. The FB showed plus velocity and life; the CB was tight and thrown for strikes. Advanced pitchability. Based on what I saw in camp, I would put him in the Cubs top ten.
Who finishes with more MLB HRs? Javier Baez or Kris Bryant?
Jason Parks: Career? Baez.
With the recent decision by the Cubs to try Javier Baez out at second base, does this open up third for Kris Bryant for the next few years?
Jason Parks: I think its about having options. You could try Baez out at third, but you already have Olt and Villanueva ahead in the queue--which should be considered a strength in the upper minors/majors, not to mention Bryant; although I think his long-term home will be in a corner OF spot. As an org, if you can fill a weakness from a position of strength, you explore those options. Baez needs more time in the minors, but there is going to come a time when he is ready to attack the major league level, and when that time comes, you have to play him somewhere. You might as well prepare for that outcome by getting him reps at a position of weakness in the short-term regardless of your long-term plans or projections for the player. It's smart baseball.
So Rob, is Baez getting reps
"He projects as a major
They may want to trade him?
I think they'll trade Castro,
Trade Baez?
I think Mike Wellman would
I think Mike Wellman would know better than any of us, but as far as I know, he'll be playing SS most of the time, probably with an occasional 2B stint or at least some pre-game work.
Season starts tonight for Iowa.
Also from article referenced
Under
certainly be an
certainly be an accomplishment, but possible. Sandberg got regular playing time at age 22, but didn't find power until age 24 and skipped a year and a half.. Santo was a full-timer by age 21, but ended his career at 34.
Obviously he's being extremely optimistic, but doesn't sound implausible and I think Bryant and Baez profile with more power than Santo and Sandberg respectively. Both should be regulars by next season imo (age 23 and 22 respectively).
jed hoyer did an april fools
cc.sab and the D behind him
I know the Cubs minor league
Ex-Cubs playing elsewhere:
Ex-Cubs playing elsewhere:
MEXICAN LEAGUE:
Esmailin Caridad, RHRP
Jake Fox, C-IF-OF
Sean Gallagher, RHSP
JAPAN (NPB):
Michael Bowden, RHRP
Chris Carpenter, RHRP
Kosuke Fukudome, RF
Matt Murton, LF
Cody Ransom, 3B
KOREA (KBO)
Felix Pie, OF
Garza had a no-hitter through
Garza had a no-hitter through 6.2 IP before a Chris Johnson HR
Harang still has a no-hitter through 6
Shouldn't Lake and Olt be
Is the line up out?
Bonafacio 2B
batting your pitcher 7th..
batting your pitcher 7th...bold
Muskat has it as Bonifacio, Valbuena, Castro, Rizzo, Schierholtz, Sweeney, Castillo, Kalish, Jackson
whatever notion Renteria has
whatever notion Renteria has that he's actually gonna win or effect games with rather trivial lineup juggling needs to get put to bed soon.
Play the youngsters, let them suck, hope they adjust...and stop bunting.
Lol. Whoops...not sure how I
Double steal?
"Archer, Rays agree to $25.5
The Iowa Cubs have not
The Iowa Cubs have not released their Opening Day roster, but last Sunday (3/30) this was the Iowa Cubs Active Roster (28 players plus Edgar Gonzalez INACTIVE as a player-coach):
* Bats or throws left
# Bats both
PITCHERS: 16
Frank Batista
Dallas Beeler
Casey Coleman
Marcus Hatley
Kyle Hendricks
* Tommy Hottovy
* Eric Jokisch
Marcos Mateo
Yoanner Negrin
Blake Parker
Carllos Pimentel
Neil Ramirez
* Zac Rosscup
* Chris Rusin
* Jonathan Sanchez
* Tsuyoshi Wada
CATCHERS: 2
Luis Flores
Eli Whiteside
INFIELDERS: 6+1
# Arismendy Alcantara
* Lars Anderson
Javier Baez
Edgar Gonzalez (INACTIVE - player-coach)
Chris Valaika
Christian Vllanueva
* Logan Watkins
OUTFIELDERS: 4
* Chris Coghlan
* Brett Jackson
Matt Szczur
Josh Vitters
Darnell McDonald had disappeared by Sunday (may have been released), and outfielders Mitch Maier and Casper Wells are INACTIVE (injured) and will probably start the season on the I-Cubs DL while rehabbing at Riverview Park, although an injured player signed to a minor league contract can be released and be owed only two-weeks salary as termination pay as long as the player is released no later than the 14th day after Opening Day (that's why the Cubs should have signed James McDonald to a minor league contract).
Jae-Hoon Ha is on the Iowa roster but he is presently on ACTIVE REHAB at Extended Spring Training (he can hit, run, and field, but he is not cleared to throw yet), and he will start the season on the Iowa 7-day DL.
The I-Cubs had 16 pitchers on their roster last Sunday (three more than they will carry), but Frank Batista was left behind at Extended Spring Training (although he is NOT injured), and so that leaves 15 pitchers. It's possible that Carlos Pimentel could get moved-down to AA Tennessee (which had only 12 pitchers listed on their provisional Opening Day roster), where he can get starts until Pierce Johnson (hamstring rehab) is ready to join the team. It's also possible that the Cubs will loan Yoanner Negrin and/or Frank Batista to a team in the Mexican League if there is no room for them at Iowa (the Cubs did this with Negrin in 2012).
exciting infield, terrible
exciting infield, terrible looking outfield
be nice if Vitters would do something to make him tradeable...seems like a prime change of scenery dude.
pitching goes 2-deep in terms of guys worth watching (Hendricks and Ramirez).
e.jokisch is boring, but
just released
just released
http://www.milb.com/documents/1/7/0/70727170/...
besides F. Batista, D. Beeler and Hottovy seem to be somewhere else.
Dallas Beller is not on the
speaking of our Renteria, if
speaking of our Renteria, if he's playing to win this early, wouldn't you start Baker vs. the righty today and Castillo vs. the lefty tomorrow since it's a day game after a night game?
boni picked off...again.
Maybe Rickey and his 1B coach
JD just said Morton dropped a
I noticed that too...bit of
Through 13 innings of batting
Lock him up to Cabrera like
If Starlin doesn't learn to
why the hell was boni smiling
He didn't get picked off?
oh castro...
Well done Castro - that was
renteria wins a challenge..
I already am tired of
I already am tired of challenges.
boni with back to back 4 hit
lol...boni being
With Castro on deck knew the
Not sure Castro is ready to
rizzo HR! 3-2, top 12.
W00t!
Marmollery....
Marmollery....
veras continuing a recently
veras continuing a recently
damn...bases loaded...2 outs.
We will look back in October
13th inning...travis wood is
Ricky Rents off to great
bases loaded 0 out...so
Did he have a 1b glove?
Glow in the dark neon rosary?
j.lake needs to get a more
No kidding!! Haha. I do
officially the longest MLB
why in the hell was lake
That Rizzo at bat was a sight
I thought Bonifacio was
I thought Bonifacio was supposed to Barneyesque hitting wise but he seems to have an idea what he's doing up there. Maybe he's in a zone but his last hit especially I wasn't expecting. I can't remember the pitch this morning but it seemed like a good one at the time.
I think this idea is to ducksnort enough hits to get into Renteria's favor. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts...
Haha, may be!
Dear closer-
Recently signed veteran RHP
Recently signed veteran RHP Joel Pineiro threw three innings in a Cubs Extended Spring Training "sim" game this morning at Riverview Park.
Ben Wells, Pierce Johnson, and Duane Underwood threw four innings a piece, Ryan McNeil (2013 TJS) threw two innings, and Tyler Ihrig, Corbin Hoffner, Michael Wagner, Frailyn Figueroa, and Jose Paulino threw one inning each.
Josh Conway (2013 elbow stress fracture) threw "live" BP prior to the "sim" game.
Besides Pineiro, eight additional players (including five from Venezuela and one from Colombia) have been added to the Cubs EXST roster since last week:
* Jeffry Antigua, P (reported late)
Arnaldo Calero, OF (from VSL Cubs)
# Erick Castillo, C (reported late)
Casey Coleman, P (sent down from Iowa)
* Bryant Flete, INF (from VSL Cubs)
Erling Moreno, P (making pro debut - signed as 16-year old out of Colombia 7-2-2013)
Elliot Soto, INF (RESTRICTED LIST while serving 50 game Drug of Abuse suspension)
Eufran Vargas, C (from VSL Cubs)
Any quick impressions of
CRAIG: I saw Ben Wells pitch
CRAIG: I saw Ben Wells pitch a couple of times in Minor League Camp and he had a bad case of the yips both times (but then so did Scott Frazier, and yet he made the KC Opening Day roster). I guess that's probably why Wells was held back at EXST. He looked OK yesterday, though (at least he threw strikes), and so I would expect him to be moved up to the Daytona starting rotation soon. If he's stretched out and throwing strikes, no reason for him to stay at EXST.
Same goes for Pierce Johnson and Duane Underwood. They're both stretched out as starters & ready to roll (Johnson to Tennessee and Underwood to KC). They might get one EXST game start before they leave but there is no reason for either of them to stay at EXST for very much longer.
Ryan McNeil is more advanced in rehab than Josh Conway. McNeil looks like he can pitch in EXST games right now, although I doubt that he will leave EXST before it's over. Conway is maybe a couple of weeks behind McNeil.
Jose Paulino looks physically like a LHP version C. J. Edwards. He's a bean-pole. Throws a riding fastball (cutter?) that bores in on RH hitters, fair breaking ball (looks like a curve more than a slider). Didn't see a change-up.
LHP Frailyn Figueroa doesn't look at all like Paulino. Figueroa has a thick lower body and a bit of a Mickey Lolich-type stomach paunch that most guys get in their 30's. He throws a heavy sinker and a hard breaking ball. Didn't see any change-ups from him, either. Had poor command yesterday, but it was his first game outing (albeit only a "sim" game).
I liked what I saw from Paulino more than what I saw from Figueroa.
About Roney Alcala... VERY heavy build (even heavier than Mark Malave), almost fat... slow runner... decent hitter but not as good as I expected... I thought the Cubs were planning on moving Alcala to catcher full-time (he was used as a catcher at the end of the 2013 season, and he's certainly built like the prototypical catcher), but he's played only 1B-3B-LF (so far) in fielding drills.
Ricardo Marcano has been fairly impressive in BP. He's not a monster like Eloy Jimenez, but he has some pop and can drive the ball into the gaps. Remains to be seen how he'll hit in EXST games, but I'd say he is a good bet to make the AZL Cubs Opening Day roster. Handles corner OF OK, too (he was signed as a third-baseman). He's got a cut-build like he works out a lot.
Also, it looks like Rony Rodriguez is back to playing only corner OF again. His catching conversion seems to come & go with the wind.
I failed to mention it yesterday, but Gleyber Torres made an MLB highlight-reel type leaping catch at SS in yesterday's "sim" game while going to his right. It's one thing to leap straight up and snare the ball, but to leap sideways and catch the ball (you had to see it to believe it) requires some major athleticism and defensive chops.
RHRP Kyuji Fujikawa (2013 TJS
RHRP Kyuji Fujikawa (2013 TJS rehab) threw a 25-pitch "live" BP session this morning on Field #5 at the Cubs Under Armour Performance Center at Riverview Park in Mesa (Extended Spring Training) and he looked very good.
Newly-hired Field Operations Assistant Darnell McDonald, long-time Rehab Pitching Coordinator Rick Tronerud, Assistant Athletic Training Coordinator Chuck Baughman, and Fujikawa's translator and personal assistant were watching the session closely. There were cameras set-up all over the field so no doubt Theo & Jed had the opportunity to watch it either "live" or sometime later at their convenience.
Fujikawa is (right now) about where pitchers are the second week of Spring Training (end of February), so if he has no setbacks, he could be ready for a minor league rehab assignment within a week or two. Since he isn't a starting pitcher, he won't need to build his pitch count up to 90, and he won't even need to throw multiple innings. But he will need to prove that he can throw at least two days in a row, with the second day being at least as strong as the first day.