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

Trying to Read a Waffle Iron

I talked with Cubs Organizational Hitting Instructor Dave Keller today, and he admitted that he was the guy in the tower yelling at Felix Pie (in Spanish) after Pie left the AZL Cubs game on Sunday, but that the conversation had to do with Pie verbally being given the hitting schedule for Monday at Fitch Park (which otherwise was an off day for the AZL Cubs), and that there was no animosity involved in the exchange.

I will say this about Coach Keller. Both Felix Pie and the AZL Cubs (as a team) have apparently responded very well to the hitting guru's presence at Fitch, as the Cubs hitters banged out 21 hits on Sunday and had another big day today, and Pie drilled a double, took a bases loaded walk, and hit a grand slam HR over the CF fence in the AZL Cubs 18-1 victory on Sunday, before returning to Iowa yesterday and going 2-4 with a two-run HR, a walk, and two runs scored in the I-Cubs 10-4 victory over Omaha.      

Maybe Dave Keller should ask for a raise!

But Keller can't coach the pitchers, too, and contrary to some early reports in the "traditional" media that Rich Hill had been showing improvement since arriving at Fitch Park last week (I didn't see any), the fact is nothing appears to have changed (at least so far) as far as getting Hill out of his season-long funk.  

Hill got the start yesterday at Peoria versus the AZL Padres and lasted just 1/3 of an inning before being removed from the game, with the following game log:

HBP, BB, BB, E5-RBI, BB-RBI, and 1B-RBI.

Today, Chris Huseby (who has been struggling to throw strikes since Minor League Camp in March) got the start for the AZL Cubs, and he also lasted just 1/3 of an inning before getting the hook, with the following game log:

HBP, HBP, WP, HBP, SF-RBI, BB.

That's right. Huseby hit the first three batters of the game (ding, dong, dang). 

But Miguel Sierra came into the game in relief of Huseby with one out and the bases loaded, and immediately induced a DP grounder to end the inning.

The AZL Cubs then unloaded, scoring seven runs against the AZL Mariners, including a mammoth HR over the CF fence by 3B John Contreras, his third dinger of the young AZL season (today was game #9). The Cubs then hung-on for a 7-6 victory. 

box score 

The 21-year old Contreras was born in New Jersey but grew up in the Dominican Republic, and he is the prototypical third-baseman (although he plays 1B, too). He has a heavy lower body and "Popeye" powerful forearms, just perfect for hitting bombs away

Besides Contreras's missile, the other offensive hero today was LF Jericho Jones (2008 20th round pick out of Louisiana Tech), who reached base three times on a single, a double, and a walk, stole a base, and scored two runs.  

Best play of the day was a picture-perfect hit & run pulled off by the Cubs in the bottom of the 1st inning. With one out and the Cubs trailing 1-0, Bryan Jost at bat, and Starlin Castro on 1st base, Castro broke for 2nd. The second-baseman left his position to take the anticipated throw from the catcher, and Jost hammered a single right where the second-baseman had been stationed, sending Castro to 3rd base. Castro would later score on a FC ground out. That HAD to make Dave Keller happy.   

Later that same inning, Nelson Perez absolutely CRUSHED a ball off the CF green metal hitting background 400+ feet from home plate, but was thrown out (albeit just barely) trying to stretch a triple into an inside-the-park home run. He did get an RBI out of it, though.

Today's game marked the pro debut of Cubs 2008 4th round draft pick Matt Cerda (Oceanside HS - Oceanside, CA). The 18-year old Cerda served as the DH and hit lead-off, going 0-2 with two walks before being removed for a pinch-runner in the bottom of the 8th.

Cerda played SS in HS, but the Cubs are moving him to catcher (with his consent). Actually, the young man is being moved BACK to catcher, because he was the starting catcher on the 2001 Oceanside LLWS team that went all the way to Williamsport.

AZL Cubs coach Danny Fatheree is mentoring Cerda in the art of catching. And the youngster couldn't ask for a better teacher.   

In AZL Cubs roster news, 2008 24th round pick RHP David Cales (St. Xavier by way of UIC, the U. of Missouri, and Mt. Carmel HS) has arrived at Fitch Park, and he joined the other pitchers sitting in the grandstand about midway through today's game. I hope David is enjoying the 114 degree heat!

I don't know when Cales will get into a game, but it probably won't be too long because he was pitching for the Eau Claire Express in the Northwoods League (a collegiate "wood bat" league) up until the middle of last week, so his arm should be fairly close to "game ready" right now.

The AZL Cubs are still awaiting the arrival of 21st round pick SS Logan Watkins, who has agreed to a $600K bonus (that's a $500K signing bonus plus $100K in college tuition) to give up his chance to play college baseball at Wichita State. The left-handed hitting Watkins was a star baseball and football player at Goddard HS in Goddard, KS, and it took an offer of "2nd round money" from the Cubs to get him to turn pro. 

With the signing of Cales and Watkins, the Cubs have inked 29 of their 51 2008 draft picks, including 24 of their first 27. The only three still unsigned among the Cubs top 27 picks (with August 15th the signing deadline) are 1st round pick RHP Andrew Cashner (TCU), 2nd round pick RHP Aaron Shafer (Wichita State), and 10th round pick RHP Alex Wilson (Texas A&M).

The Cubs will receive compensation picks in next year's Rule 4 Draft if they are unable to sign Cashner and/or Shafer (#20 overall if they don't sign Cashner, and/or #66 overall if the can't sign Shafer).  

 

Comments

Thanks Phil. By the way, the author name is so small, I read "John Contreras" and thought all the way through that he was the writer of the article. I kept thinking, who is this dude and who the hell does he think he is? Then I started picturing an oiled-up wrestling match between him and Phil. Not sure why there was oil involved. Then, upon finishing the article, I looked back at the top and realized Phil wrote it, after all. My mind was again at peace. But maybe an enlarged "submitted by" is in order?

Tyler Colvin was named Southern League player of the week earlier and Rebel Ridling (1b) of Boise named Northwest Player of the Week. Josh Vitters with a 919 OPS so far in Boise, which is good for only third best on the team behind Ridling and supplemental first rounder Ryan Flaherty (1.061 OPS). Vitters does have 4 errors already, which leads the team.

rebel ridling and jericho jones? between them and rocky cherry, now rocky roquet, and buck coats, the cubs have had some great minor league names the last few years. out here in SF for the week....pretty city, weird ass people, and the park is gorgeous but damn cold. all as expected, all a good trip (no pun intended) and all hoping that dempster can continue the cubs mastery of the NL west. if ted lilly played in a huge park like this one in SF he would be a perennial cy young candidate.

Top 3 in OPS with a healthy amount of AB's (kind of an arbitray cutoff by me) AAA Andre Torres .945 Bobby Scales .848 Josh Kroeger .834 AA Matt Craig 1068 Doug Deeds (acquired in the Craig Monroe trade) 907 Nate Spears (I believe the C-Pat trade) 803 Hi-A Blake Lalli .878 James Adducci .762 Tony Thomas .732 A Marquez Smith .889 Dylan Johnston .797 Jovan Rosa .772

AZ - Watkins was rated as the #25 prospect in the state of Kansas (per Baseball America). Any idea why the Cubs value him so much to give him that much money? There seems to be a big disconnect between their value of him and the "draft rankings" done by BA. For our sake, I hope their is a story behind this kid. Thanks,

Cubs Win, I've seen articles on Watkins (in reference to Wichita State, the school he was headed to) that said he was rated as more of a top 5 round prospect but a really difficult sign. Maybe BA just missed on him in terms of potential. Not sure. Here is the link: http://www.kansas.com/250/story/425205.html "Watkins said professional scouts tell him he could go in the first five rounds or so. He said he will not be an easy player to lure away from college, which could affect his desirability. "Tough signs" with a real commitment to college baseball sometimes drop in the draft. " - quote from link AZ Phil, I know you compared Starlin Castro to Daytona's Jonathan Mota in the past as more of a utility guy. Is that still true (because he sure seems intriguing when he's doing pretty well at 18 in Mesa and getting so much playing time)? Hopefully tomorrow's Mesa pitcher (I believe it's Antigua and his 0.00 ERA)can get that all important second out of the first inning...

RAISIN: Thank you for answering Cubs Win's inquiry regarding Logan Watkins. That was excellent.

As for Starlin Castro, I see him as being most comparable (in the Cubs organization, anyway) to Jonathan Mota, but yet not exactly the same. Maybe I should have said that Castro is more like a young Ronny Cedeno (as I remember him), but I would say something like Cedeno-Castro-Mota as far as talent/potential when comparing the three.

Of Castro and Mota, Castro is faster and a better hitter with more power (more like Cedeno), while Mota is a somewhat more consistent defensive player, although Castro should get more consistent with more experience. Both Castro and Mota have the versatility to play 2B-SS-3B.

Long-term I would take Castro over Mota, but I would project both as MLB utility infielders (if they make it that far), with Castro more-likely (of the two) to make it to the big leagues because of his speed and power potential.

Also, AZ Phil, what type of stuff does Jeffry Antigua have? He racks up the groundballs, so I assume his FB has some sort of sink on it. Thanks.

Thanks, AZ Phil. You can never tell with raw, teenage Latin American-born SS in terms of which one will develop the bat to be a big league starter. I do have hope for Hak-Ju Lee, Logan Watkins and Ryan Flaherty giving some nice starting SS depth in the system.

Submitted by Raisin101 on Wed, 07/02/2008 - 5:40pm.

Also, AZ Phil, what type of stuff does Jeffry Antigua have? He racks up the groundballs, so I assume his FB has some sort of sink on it. Thanks.

================================

RAISIN: Jeffry Antigua throws a two seamer, a curve and change. He has good command of all three pitches and appears to be more polished than the other Cubs Latin pitchers making their AZL debut, especially considering he just turned 18 last week. 

When Antigua has had problems it's when he gets mad and overthrows his fastball or when he hangs a curve. But he generally throws strikes.

Jeffry Antigua, Miguel Sierra, and Julio Pena are the three best Latin starting pitcher prospects with the AZL Cubs, and Rogelio Carmona is the best Latin relief prospect. There is no Jose Ceda, Robert Hernandez, or Alberto Cabrera at AZL Cubs this year.

But presuming they can stay healthy, Antigua, Sierra, Pena, and Carmona should move up the ladder to Boise or Peoria next year.

AZ Phil, I noticed (finally), some Cub prospects showing us something. What do you think of these guys: DUMAS GARCIA: Promoted to AAA after raking in AA. Two weeks ago we were asking "Who is this guy?", and now he is close to ML-ready? WELLINGTON CASTILLO: The line on him was "good glove, no hit". Now he is hitting. Fluke, or the next Geo Soto? JOSE CEDA: Maybe the Cubs know what they are doing. He goes from so-so as a starter working on pitches, to Marmol-esque at AA on promotion. On paper, starting to look ML-Ready. Also, what is the 411 on Marquez Smith? Having a great year, but a little old to be at Peoria.

Thanks for the report on Antigua. Sounds promising...I was going to mention that he sounded advanced/polished like Robert Hernandez did at 18 but I guess he's not that far along. Does Antigua throw hard? As always, thanks for the fantastic reports.

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • crunch (view)

    pablo sandoval played 3rd and got a couple ABs (strikeout, single!) in the OAK@SF "exhibition"

    mlb officially authenticated the ball of the single he hit.  nice.

    he's in surprisingly good shape considering his poor body condition in his last playing seasons.  he's not lean, but he looks healthier.  good for him.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.