Rockies Belt Malave Offerings Around Salt River Fields & Beeler to I-Cubs
Cesar Galvez drilled a two-run double and singled, Luis Castro belted a solo home run and singled, Wesley Jones ripped two RBI singles, and Max George hammered an RBI triple, walked twice, and scored a run, as the Rockies cruised to a 9-3 victory over the Cubs in Cactus League Extended Spring Training action this morning at Dust Storm Field at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick Resort east of Scottsdale, AZ.
Frandy de la Rosa doubled twice and scored two runs for the Cubs.
RHP (ex-C) Mark Malave made his second Cactus League Extended Spring Training game appearance and his first start, allowing five runs (four earned) on six hits (four singles, a double, and a home run) and a walk (and a WP) in just 1.1 IP.
Malave is one of three former position players being converted to pitcher by the Cubs at Extended Spring Training, with RHP (ex-OF) Jae-Hoon Ha and LHP (ex-OF) Ariel Ovando being the other two.
Ha has yet to pitch in a Cactus League EXST game, but he did throw in an intrasquad game a couple of days ago and allowed a run on three hits (all singles) with no walks or strikeouts in one inning of work, and Ovando (selected by the Cubs from the Houston Astros in the AAA Phase of the December 2014 Rule 5 Draft) has yet to throw in a game.
In EXST Cubs roster news, RHP Dallas Beeler (on Cubs MLB 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation) has completed his Extended Spring Training work and has been assigned to the AAA Iowa Cubs on an Article XIX-C Minor League Rehab Assignment. He did not pitch in any Cactus League MLB Spring Training games last month, and just recently began throwing in Cactus League Extended Spring Training games.
Beeler threw poorly in his first EXST game on 4/15, but his fastball velocity upticked to 94 MPH and touched 95 in his second EXST start last Monday as he got his pitch count up to near 70.
DALLAS BEELER - 2015 EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING GAMES:
1. WED 4/15: 3.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R (4 ER), 0 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 1 PO, 1/4 GO/FO, 61 pitches (39 strikes)
2. MON 4/20: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, 6/5 GO/FO, 69 pitches (43 strikes)
TOTAL: 7.1 IP, 12 H, 6 R (6 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 1 PO, 7/9 GO/FO, 63% strikes, 7.36 ERA, 2.45 WHIP
Beeler will likely be optioned to Iowa when his rehab assignment is completed (which could be up to 30 days from now), but keeping him on the DL and sending him to Iowa on a Minor League Rehab Assignment rather than reinstating him from the DL now and optioning him to Iowa immediately will give the Cubs the option to transfer Beeler to the 60-day DL if a 40-man roster slot is needed sometime over the next 30 days.
Meanwhile, RHP Justin Grimm (on Cubs MLB 15-day DL with right forearm inflammation since April 2nd) threw two bullpen sessions this week, and so he will probably begin pitching in Extended Spring Training games early next week.
I saw RHP Neil Ramirez (on Cubs MLB 15-day DL with right shoulder inflammation since 4/16) playing catch on the Agility Field on Thursday, but he has not started throwing bullpens yet, so he is a few days behind Grimm.
Because getting "stretched-out" and building up pitch counts isn't that important for relief pitchers, Grimm and Ramirez will not need a whole lot of rehab games to get back into MLB game shape. The main thing to be concerned about with Grimm and Ramirez are medical setbacks during the course of the rehab that could send the pitcher back to "square-one" (or worse).
And here is the abridged box score from today's game (Cubs players only):
CUBS LINEUP:
1a. Kevonte Mitchell, CF: 0-2 (F-9, 4-3, HBP)
1b. Varonex Cuevas, LF: 0-2 (3-1, 6-3)
2a. Carlos Sepulveda, SS: 0-3 (4-3, 6-3, 6-3)
2b. Ho-Young Son, SS: 0-2 (F-7, 6-3)
3. Frandy de la Rosa, 2B-DH: 2-4 (2B, 2B, F-7, K, 2 R)
4. Eloy Jimenez, RF-CF: 1-4 (1B, F-7, 6-3, P-4, RBI)
5. Jordan Hankins, 1B-C: 1-4 (P-1, 1B, E-5, 4-3, R, RBI)
6. Tyler Alamo, C-DH: 0-1 (BB, 5-4-3 DP)
NOTE: SLOT WAS SKIPPED THIRD & FOURTH TIMES THRU BATTING ORDER
7. Ricardo Marcano, LF-RF: 1-3 (BB, 6-3, 1B, 6-3, RBI)
8. Adonis Paula, 3B: 0-4 (6-4-3 DP, 6-3, 5-3, F-8)
9. Bryant Flete, DH-2B: 0-2 (BB, P-5, 3-1)
NOTE: SLOT WAS SKIPPED FOURTH TIME THRU BATTING ORDER
10. Tyler Pearson, DH-1B: 0-3 (K, K, F-7)
NOTE: SLOT WAS SKIPPED FOURTH TIME THRU BATTING ORDER
CUBS PITCHERS:
1. Mark Malave: 1.1 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR, 1 WP, 1/2 GO/FO, 40 pitches (24 strikes)
2. Austin Reed: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 2/0 GO/FO, 35 pitches (21 strikes)
3. Jose Paulino: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 3/0 GO/FO, 25 pitches (16 strikes)
4. Hector Perez: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 0 BB, 1 K, 1 BALK, 1 GIDP, 3/1 GO/FO, 28 pitches (18 strikes)
5. Corbin Hoffner: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R (1 ER), 0 BB, 0 K, 1/2 GO/FO, 11 pitcbes (7 strikes)
6. Sam Wilson: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 1/0 GO/FO, 18 pitches (12 strikes)
CUBS ERRORS: 2
1. CF Kevonte Mitchell - E-8 (missed catch allowed batter to reach base safely)
2. 1B Tyler Pearson - E-3 (dropped pop fly in foul territory allowed AB to continue)
CUBS CATCHERS DEFENSE:
Tyler Alamo: 1-1 CS, 3 PB
WEATHER: Mostly cloudy with temperatures in the 70's
ATTENDANCE: 13
Recent comments
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crunch 7 hours 2 min ago (view)
yeah...sigh.
875K if he makes the team with 600K in performance bonuses possible.
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Dolorous Jon Lester 7 hours 16 min ago (view)
Shelby Miller...? Really?
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crunch 14 hours 13 min ago (view)
i like the cubs odds on this one.
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Arizona Phil 18 hours 8 min ago (view)
Ian Happ arbitration figures are $4.1M (player) and $3.25M (club) with hearing date TBD.
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crunch 2 days 5 hours ago (view)
* all figures stated are in a range of +/- 10m
yeah, that was me not typing info correctly. my bad.
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Arizona Phil 2 days 8 hours ago (view)
Bryant got $19.5M
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crunch 2 days 10 hours ago (view)
bryant 9.5m, contreras 6.65m, baez 11.65m, z.davies 8.63m
looks like happ is going to arbitration.
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Arizona Phil 3 days 7 hours ago (view)
RHP Edward Vasquez (2017 IFA - Dominican Republic) has retired.
E. Vasquez was one of the top SP on DSL Cubs Red in 2019 and was expected to be a SP on one of the Cubs AZL teams in 2020 if the minor league season hadn't been canceled.
He would have been first-time Rule 5 Draft eligible post-2021.
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K Dub 3 days 10 hours ago (view)
Thanks Phil!
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crunch 3 days 12 hours ago (view)
danny hultzen retires and joins the cubs as a "pitching development assistant"
shame the comeback story didn't last longer...but hey, at least he got to taste the bigs after his body failed him for so many years.
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crunch 3 days 14 hours ago (view)
theo joining the commish's front office operation as a "consultant reguarding on field matters"...basically weighing in on the possible impact of rules changes.
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Arizona Phil 3 days 17 hours ago (view)
https://www.thecubreporter.com/comment/266505#comm...
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K Dub 3 days 17 hours ago (view)
Yeah, to my calculation that suspension should be over by now unless he got caught again...
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Wrigley Rat 3 days 21 hours ago (view)
(Not Phil) - Last I saw, he was on the restricted list.
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K Dub 3 days 23 hours ago (view)
PHIL: Did the Cubs release Saul Vazquez?
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Sonicwind75 1 week 16 hours ago (view)
The 2021 guaranteed amount is $7 + $3 million mutual option buyout. 10>8. Most media reports summarizes it as a $10 million deal.
Comments
Hey Arizona Phil,
sbwilliams: Javy Baez is at
sbwilliams: Javy Baez is at Riverview Park, but it rained yesterday so he couldn't do anything except hit in the enclosed batting cages, and he didn't make the trip to Salt River Fields today.
Bruno with the grannie...
PHIL: Did you get to see
Any chance at all that
currently, a lot of people
B-BUCKS: I once thought that
B-BUCKS: I once thought that if Adam Dunn could play LF, then anybody could. Until I saw Dan Vogelbach. Not only do I not think he can play LF, he is also one of the worst defensive 1st basemen I have ever seen. And it's not because he doesn't work hard or something like that, because he does work hard. He simply has no defensive aptitude whatsoever
If there ever was a DH, it's Dan Vogelbach.
As I have said before, I firmly believe that the N. L. will adopt the DH as part of the new CBA in 2017. And once that happens, Vogelbach will have a position he can play in the National League.
He is a DH. Period.
AZ Phil -- Yeah, I was afraid
When I saw him in spring
O&B: I saw Vogelbach quite a
O&B: I saw Vogelbach quite a bit at Minor League Camp last month and watched fielding drills every day, and he still has the same problems he had when he first signed in 2011. He doesn't make an error on every play, but he has stone hands, he can't shift his feet, he has trouble tracking pop-ups, and he has a rag arm when making throws around the infield.
It's not that he doesn't try, because he most definitely works very hard trying to improve. But just like some people can't dance no matter how hard they try, Vogelbach can't play defense.
I think Cubs fans are getting a bit spoiled with Anthony Rizzo, because he actually CAN play 1st base, and he makes it look simple & easy. He makes the routine plays without effort and (most importantly) he saves errors by scooping short-hops and shifting his feet and catching off-line throws from Cub infielders (and occasionally a glove thrown at him with a ball inside).
E-MAN: I saw a lot of Stephen
E-MAN: I saw a lot of Stephen Bruno at Minor League Camp last month, in BP, fielding drills, baserunning drills, and games. He was with the Iowa squad until the last week, and then he was moved down to AA. But he easily could have started the season in AAA, and in a lot of other organizations, he would have.
As far as his skillset is concerned, he's OK defensively at 2nd base, but nothing special. I wouldn't compare him to D. J. Lemahieu. More like a younger version of Aaron Hill. Somebody like that. Bruno also doesn't have the skills required to play multiple-positions (he has a second-baseman's arm for one thing), and he has (at best) average speed, so I don't see him projected as a bench guy, either. His bat will have to carry him to big leagues because he will need to be an everyday 2nd baseman to play in MLB, and his glove isn't what will get him there.
So far so good, because he has been hitting like a maniac at AA.
I do believe Bruno will be an MLB second-baseman, I just don't think it will be with the Cubs. In fact, Bruno will probably be one of many current Cubs minor leaguers who will likely get traded, claimed off waivers, or selected in the Rule 5 Draft over the next couple or three years.
I would go further than that and predict that within five years the big leagues will be crawling with players drafted and signed by the Cubs, but most of them will be playing for other teams. The Cubs should be in a great position in July to package prospects for the "mssing link" (whatever that might be), even if they "overpay" to get that piece. But it won't matter if they overpay because for every player they trade, there are more coming along behind them.
The main thing is to correctly identify the players who will form the nucleus of the Cubs team over the next six years, and not trade any of them. In other words, you don't want to trade the next Lou Brock or Bill Madlock, but otherwise, everybody else should be available in a trade, because everybody else can be replaced by somebody else who is already in the system. The Cubs are that deep right now.
Thanks PHIL: That is
Right - the MLB isn't
For those of you who might
For those of you who might glance at the Extended Spring Training box scores I present and wonder which pitchers matter most (like who the projected Eugene starters are), Carson Sands, Justin Steele, Austyn Willis, Jose Paulino, and Alexander Santana right now project as the five starters at Eugene. So even though a rehab guy or a conversion guy might start the game, those are the five pitchers who matter most, and you might notice that while they actually do pitch in rotation, that pitcher might not actually literally start the game.
For example, Santana didn't actually start the game, but he pitched two innings (which is the current game innings limit for all Cubs pitchers at Extended who are not AA or AAA rehab guys) last Tuesday at Oakland (Jesus Camargo and Adbert Alzolay pitched 1-2, but they are projected as starters at AZL Cubs, not at Eugene), Carson Sands followed Austin Reed (TJS rehab) Wednesday at home versus Colorado, Justin Steele was one of the starting pitchers in the intrasquad game on Thursday even though the Cubs weren't playing another team that day (just so he could stay in rotation), Austyn Willis did start yesterday at Milwaukee, and Jose Paulino followed Malave and Reed today at Colorado, but Paulino is actually projected as the true Eugene starter of the ones who threw today.
Dylan Cease had TJS just after he signed with the Cubs last June, and he is throwing only "live" BP right now. However, he is the best of the bunch. Nobody can hit him. He has absolutely filthy stuff. But he will probably be at AZL Cubs this summer (at least at the start of the short-season) so he can be a starter but where the Cubs can keep more control over and limit his outings (AZL Cubs usually carry at least 20 pitchers, while Eugene might carry 15).
There are other pitchers of note still down here (lefty reliever Sam Wilson is looking VERY good and he should be moving up to South Bend or Myrtle Beach any day), but the Big Five (Sands, Steele, Willis, Paulino, and Santana) plus Cease (when he is cleared to pitch in games) are the ones to keep an eye one.
So when checking out the daily Cactus League Extended Spring Training box score, remember to look for the Ones Who Matter Most. They are there, but sometimes you have to look a little bit "Beyond the Box Score" to find them.
And also remember that while there are some weird rules variances (like multiple designated hitters, fluid batting orders, rehab exceptions, etc) in Cactus League Extended Spring Training games (hey, there is a DH in the A. L. but not in the N. L., isn't that a major rules variance?) and that the games are not "official," the games are not company softball games. The games are real and the performance of the players on the field are no different than what you would see at Myrtle Beach, South Bend, Eugene, or AZL Cubs. The players are trying to improve, they play to win, and they give their all every day. A player will make a spectacular diving catch and then on the next play he might make an error; another will make a great defensive stop, and the next inning commit a "little league" baserunning gaffe; you might see a "golden sombrero" one day and then the same player might hit for the cycle the next game. But you see that at South Bend, too.
Cactus League Extended Spring Training performances may not be "official," but they are legit. The games are the real thing. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise.
Looks to me like Wainwright's
Did you talk to Ken Rosenthal
Ugh. I want the Cubs to be
That's some next-level roster
Phil, can you tell us a
W FLAG: Frandy de la Rosa has
W FLAG: Frandy de la Rosa has above-average speed (although he still needs to learn how to use it on the bases) and good range defensively, but he was a wash-out at SS (too many bobbles and too erratic with his throwing), so he was moved to 2B. And he has played pretty well at 2B (so far). And if 2B doesn't work-out, he will probably be moved to CF.
FdlR is a switch-hitter with gap power LH but no HR power from either side. He is a much better hitter LH than RH, because he actually drives the ball when hitting left-handed (both of his doubles yesterday were yanked into the RF corner), but he just sort of slaps at the ball when hitting right-handed. He might be a guy who would benefit from giving up switch-hitting (like Rashad Crawford did a couple of years ago, and like Kevin Encarnacion is doing now), and just hit LH. (Crawford did it to take better-advantage of his plus-speed, and Encarnacion can't hit RH because of the injuries he suffered in that car crash post-2013). It would probably take de la Rosa about a year to make the adjustment, but it might be worth it long-term.
Phil, give us your opinion on
HAGSAG: Duane Underwood is
HAGSAG: Duane Underwood is considered the best prospect among the starters at Myrtle Beach, but both Daury Torrez and Tyler Skulina were assigned to the Tennessee squad for most of Minor Leagie Camp, so I would think those two are probably more-likely to get moved up before the other three.
Rizzo with his 5th SB.
Ata boy Addison! 5-0
Yeah, thought he was going to
I was staring at the screen
Well, Arietta is suddenly
It seems that whenever JD
For those of you on MLB.TV
O&B,
http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb
Man it PAYS to be a regular!
I've noticed Manny hasn't
Sorry O&B! Just got around
Okay, I said this in an
woo hoo! Kevin Gregg in.
Castro being the exception,
I've noticed a lot of them
snort
Seriously, though, JD and Len
I would say that I think that
That could be it. Castro is
I like Castro.
TRADE CASTRO!!!!
Since when do all of the
Whenever it is cold, the umps
I've seen the mouth thing a
It's not a rule change, it's
sorry, a bit of politics here
GBA is just a better song,
Wayne Messmer could try this
Wayne Messmer could try this one next Friday:
link
Nah, there will never be a
"I'm a lefty." Bring him up!
To confirm, Kiki is awesome.
What about all of the
RYNO: Woody Guthrie addressed
RYNO: Woody Guthrie addressed that, and (IMO) it should be the U. S. national anthem.
link
yup
The Crazy Horse years were
I'm also quite the leftist,
https://www.youtube.com/watch
Christians don't hold a
+everything
+everything
I would prefer no songs, it's
one of the Hansens really
Hey Crunch, your boy Rosscup
What a huge comeback for him
he's as good as his control
Heyward just left the STL
I don't want to see the Cards
Twitter says he tweaked
Me too, man. I hate Matt
Halliday is like baseball's
yeah so here's the thing. I
Who are you people talking
Who are you people talking about?
Yeah don't like to see so
It's not the team I feel
Heh, I'll be sure to put an
Heh, I'll be sure to put an mental asterisk next to this season if Cubs win it all, right after 2004 Red Sox give us their rings.
last time Wainwright missed a whole season they won it all. I think Marco Gonzalez is pretty decent and they'll probaby just trade for Hamels or whatever Ace they can find in June or July.
Hamilton's numbers are still
Rosscup and German are taking
Kinda neat hearing Len ask J
Good tweet in the twit box:
A lot of people think Joe
A lot of people think Joe Maddon is a good-time upbeat guy, but he has a serious side, too...
link
hah...nice.
Not Cubs related, but I
Not Cubs related, but I wonder how long the Yankees will stick with Carlos Beltran. He hit just 233/301/402 last year and is hitting just .161 to start this year. Age 38 season. Might be time to hang-em up.
They have been talking about