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

Baseball America's Top 10 Cubs Prospects for 2011

BA put out it's top 10 Cubs' prospects today. I usually put together the compilation of all the major lists, but don't quite have the time today. I'll try put together something later this week. To the rankings...

  1. Chris Archer
  2. Brett Jackson
  3. Trey McNutt
  4. Hak-Ju Lee
  5. Josh Vitters
  6. Chris Carpenter
  7. Matt Szczur
  8. Hayden Simpson
  9. Rafael Dolis
  10. Brandon Guyer

I am amused that they don't think Alfonso Soriano will be with the team in 2014, but Carlos Zambrano will.

I'm more curious where guys like Archer, Jackson and McNutt will end up in the top 100 overall list, because you know, every team has to have a #1 prospect no matter how good or bad the system is.

Past lists can be found at Wiklified.

Comments

Marvin Lewis somehow keeps his job with Cincy, he's the Jim Hendry of football at this point. Broncos want a 2nd round pick for Orton, my daughters want a pony. We'll see who blinks first.

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In reply to by Rob G.

To be fair to Marvin, that's a pretty crappy situation he's in. Bad ownership, no scouting department, and your franchise QB not playing up to par. Add in two aging WR's that don't provide good chemistry, and it's tough. I think the Broncos might get a 2nd for Orton. This is an overrated QB class. Blaine Gabbert is being talked about in the early-mid first, and I like Gabbert, but not that high. Mallett has a lot more work, and Jake Locker needs to go on the Aaron Rodgers plan. Cam Newton probably goes in the first on "hype/excitement", but he's a work in progress. Orton was very solid this year. I consider him more of a plus game manager, but that's still good enough. If you are a team that needs a vet QB ... a first on a QB or fill another need and grab Orton, who isn't old? For example, let's say ... the Cardinals. Grab Orton and fill a need with the first makes a ton of sense. The Niners make some sense as well (and they have an extra 4th to fill a need). Even the Vikings make some sense, although it sounds like a lot of FA's are preparing to bolt.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Teams give a lot for QB's. Remember the Matt Schaub trade? Swap of 8 and 10, plus 2nd rounders in 07 and 08. Each team calculates future value of picks slightly differently (mostly to rationalize a deal), but that was late first-early 2nd round value for a 25 year old QB with minimal experience (161 regular season attempts before the trade). I don't love Orton, but he's coming off two back to back years of 3500+ yards and has shown a lot more improvement from 2005. Put him in an offense that maximizes his skills (ability to read defenses and make the intermediate throws) and he can excel. With the way the spread offense is en vogue these days, that's a lot of teams where he could potentially fit. Taking a step back and looking at the teams that might be looking for QB's - Niners - A lot of decisions to be made, but they have a decent-solid offensive line (when healthy), a good RB, and good, albeit, prima donna-ish, WR options. A good QB plugged in there could get things churning. Defensively, a lot more issues (do they stick with the 3-4 ... if so, Manusky rotated his rush backers, but at some point, you need an elite guy. If not, then they need a top edge guy). The understated thing about the upcoming draft is that, while it is DL heavy, there are few guys that project as elite pass rushers at the top right now (Bowers, Quinn (but he missed this year)). Vikings - Comes down to what happens with a lot of the veterans. A lot of defensive voids to fill, but say they manage to bring back most of the guys, sans Pat Williams, and the CB's get healthy. Then, they could be a good QB away from being competitivve again. That said, my gut feeling is that Cam Newton's floor is Minnesota. Just a feel on that one. Cardinals - Their offensive playcalling and OL has to improve, but Larry Fitz is about to hit FA soon. The best way to keep him around would be to improve the QB spot ASAP. I think Panthers are going Luck if he comes out. If not, I think they give Clausen another twirl. Best QB (Luck that is) prospect in the past decade, IMO. I think it's quite possible that they'll garner high 2nd value. It might not come in a straight high 2nd pick swap (though I wouldn't rule it out), and may depend more on how "value", though. Broncos are an interesting spot for any new HC. on the one hand, there's Elway hanging over, and you might have to go with Tebow, Moreno, Thomas as your key offensive skill guys, all with enough questions, along with big questions defensively. On the other hand, there's a decent OL, you potentially have two solid edge guys, and if you can net an pick or two for Orton, you could potentially have 4 picks in the first 2 rounds to rebuild with (2nd from Miami for B. Marshall).

[ ]

In reply to by toonsterwu

Orton was in the best offense he'll ever get to play for with Denver. I think they throw the ball 99.5% of the time (unofficial numbers) and as shitty as McDaniels was a player evaluator and head coach, he can scheme offense. I don't doubt Orton will have some demand, I doubt it will be of 2nd round value, especially not high 2nd round value without the Broncos having to throw in a pick of their own. Schaub being unproven was an asset for the Falcons at the time, he was well regarded as someone that deserved a starting job and could put up big numbers. For the most part, he's proven them right. Orton is regarded as guy to keep the spot warm or compete with other guys for the job. I do think Cardinals would be a decent fit for him though.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

if you take a step back and look at McD's offense, though, it's base principles run with a lot of what other NFL teams are doing - spreading it out, finding mismatches. I don't think Orton is limited to only having success in McD's offense - his basic template for success (Orton that is) is to find a situation where he's allowed to read the field and deliver. He's basically Matt Cassel. I think you might have a case that he won't get a straight 2nd round pick (I do think it's possible, but I think there's a better case that they won't get a straight pick), but I definitely think he'll garner 2nd round value. He'll be the 2nd most highly sought after veteran QB this offseason (Kolb being first). Only time will tell.

[ ]

In reply to by The Real Neal

Yup. As a UVA fan, it pains me to say it, but yeah, his arm isn't top notch (and yet, most consider him an elite QB - I believe he was on John Clayton's elite QB list). But if you watch Houston games, they scheme very well to hide his deficiencies. He struggles occasionally on the deep balls and the hard 15 yard out type stuff. I mean, Schaub's arm is still above average for NFL standards, but nothing special. Personally, I think Schaub is a plus game manager as well, except that he's in a great offense with top personnel. Add in a strong run game, and the QB looks that much better.

I was impressed by the concluding line in the summary: "One pro scout who covered the Cubs opined that they had more future big leaguers than any other organization." I realize that a future big leaguer is not necessarily a budding star, but big-league position players is just what the Cubs have been uniquely bad at producing. Things will change for the better once the Cubs have built their own talent infrastructure. Also, someone tell Matt Szczur that he projects as the starting CF in 2014--get his mind off of football.

Best Power Hitter Brett Jackson Praise for Jackson or slam on the system? I seem to remember Jim Callis saying in a chat or on the radio that he thought Hak-Ju Lee would finish just outside the top 100 overall (101-110 range).

[ ]

In reply to by QuietMan

Submitted by QuietMan on Tue, 01/04/2011 - 5:04pm. Best Power Hitter Brett Jackson Praise for Jackson or slam on the system? I seem to remember Jim Callis saying in a chat or on the radio that he thought Hak-Ju Lee would finish just outside the top 100 overall (101-110 range). =========================================== Q-MAN: In his afternoon chat, BA's Jim Caliis says Josh Vitters and Reggie Golden probably have more raw power than Brett Jackson, but that B. Jackson has the most "usable" power (meaning he is more-likely to hit HR in MLB, because he is more-likely to succeed at the big league level). I would agree with that. Also, during the course of the chat Callis mentioned that Alberto Cabrera is #11, Robinson Chirinos is #16, Welington Castillo is #17, Reggie Golden is #20, Logan Watkins is #21, and Ryan Flaherty is #22. Also, by deduction it's clear that Robinson Lopez, Jay Jackson, and D. J. Lemahieu are each rated somewhere in the Top 20, Brooks Raley is in the Top 30 (but Austin Kirk, Chris Rusin, Jeffry Antigua, Cam Greathouse, and Ben Wells are not), and Matt Cerda is #31. So therefore there are three more unknowns in the Top 20, three more #23-25, and four more in the Top 30. Also, John Gaub and Kyler Burke dropped out of the Top 30 (Burke was #11 last year), although Burke is still rated as having the "Best Outfield Arm" in the system. Callis says the Cubs farm system is presently ranked #8 (overall) by BA because of its depth, is at the top of the N. L. Central with the Reds, and if Castro and Cashner still qualified as prospects the Cubs system would probably be ranked #2 (overall) behind only Kansas City.

http://joeposnanski.si.com/2011/01/04/innocent-until-proven-guilty/
I don’t think the Hall of Fame is a court. I don’t think a non-vote for the Hall of Fame is declaring guilt either. Ed is exactly right, when he says the Hall of Fame is an honor not a right. But you know what this part of the Baseball Hall of Fame really is? It’s a room in the baseball museum in Cooperstown where they put the plaques of the greatest players in baseball history. It’s a tourist attraction. It’s a place where fans go and remember their childhood, reminisce about the game, consider their connections. It’s so easy to get high and mighty about this thing, so easy to lose the whole point. I’m not sure how the Hall of Fame became about innocent and guilty in the first place. It’s a room overflowing with cheaters and liars and gamblers and fools. It’s a room overflowing with heroes and devoted fathers and good neighbors and nice men. But, really, it’s a room with the greatest baseball players ever along with some very good players along with some good players who had powerful lobbyists.

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In reply to by Rob G.

I wish one writer would bring up that Bagwell never bothered to champion the cause of testing for PED's. This "it wasn't my fault that other players used them" excuse is just lame. It was your fault, as well as the fault of all the players who didn't. You had 15 years to fix the problem, and never bothered because you thought you were making more money from it, so enjoy the consequences.

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/baseball/cubs/3163822-419/cubs-garza-dea…
A major-league source said Tuesday the Cubs were close to trading for the power-pitching right-hander, just as the Rangers were committing a big multiyear deal to third baseman Adrian Beltre and appeared to be pursuing free-agent closer Rafael Soriano.
Kapman says 3 prospects would be involved Levine earlier mentioned Hak-Ju Lee and Chirinos as likely being two of them. I imagine a decent SP would be the other one.

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In reply to by Rob G.

about time this got/gets done... this better not turn into another brian roberts... even though i don't think garza turns the cubs into some powerhouse i feel it at least makes them competitive...plus i like having garza under club control for a few years so it's not just some token move. dumpster/z/garza would at least put a solid 3 up top even if dumpster is the only real #1 type and a lot of clubs are sporting 2 #1 types...some with both guys better than the cubs #1.

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In reply to by Rob G.

I'm not against that. Ideally, we'd protect Archer or McNutt, but realistically, one of them, probably McNutt, would be wanted. If that's the case, that'd make it tougher to swallow, but ... I don't think I'd be against it. You gotta give up something to get something ... and McNutt/Lee/Chirinos for a solid starting arm ... isn't great, but it isn't bad.

I'm not completely convinced of this system right now? Archer and McNutt both kind of came out of nowhere last year. Jackson seems like a fairly sure Mike Cameron-esque prospect. Then everyone past the top 3 have huge question marks. I wonder how much of the hype is big market hype? Similar to the Yankees and Red Sox prospects always being over hyped.

joining Pat Gillick will be (drumroll) Blyleven(79.7%) and Alomar (90%) 581 ballots were cast.

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In reply to by Paul Noce

I watched that MLB HoF special. It got interesting at one point when they had Gammons, Heyman, and Verducci on with Costas. Costas talked about not considering a player's morality with the steroid issue but instead consider the authenticity of their on-field performance, i.e., Mantle very well might not have been as nice a person as McGwire but you can't argue that his on-field performance wasn't more authentic than McGwire's. But then they talked about Bonds and Clemons, two guys that were going to be HoF'ers until they started using PEDs. Now it's questionable how voters will respond. Heyman said that if they were a Hall of Famer before they took steroids he's still going to vote for them. That got Verducci a little upset, who said if you cheated you should be in the Hall and he's not voting for any of these guys. Gammons didn't say much on the issue other than he liked the idea Costas had about changing the discussion to authenticity of stats. But I swear when Heyman said he would vote for steroid cheaters like Bonds and Clemens, there was a tiny nodding of the head by Gammons. I might be imagining things since he never chimed it. Verducci said that some people say, 'well, there are racists and drunks and other bad apples in the Hall, what makes the steroid user's different?', and he said that the steroid users changed the outcome of games by cheating.

MLB Network has a Hall of Fame special coverage going on now (1PM Central time). Barry Larkin got 62 of the 75 percent needed. Among newcomers, Jeff Bagwell received 42 percent; Rafael Palmeiro, 11.

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In reply to by Paul Noce

Roberto Alomar 523 90.0% Bert Blyleven 463 79.7% Barry Larkin 361 62.1% Jack Morris 311 53.5% Lee Smith 263 45.3% Jeff Bagwell 242 41.7% Tim Raines 218 37.5% Edgar Martinez 191 32.9% Alan Trammell 141 24.3% Larry Walker 118 20.3% Mark McGwire 115 19.8% Fred McGriff 104 17.9% Dave Parker 89 15.3% - was his last chance Don Mattingly 79 13.6% Dale Murphy 73 12.6% Rafael Palmeiro 64 11.0% Juan Gonzalez 30 5.2% ------------------------------- Off of next year's ballot Harold Baines 28 4.8% John Franco 27 4.6% Kevin Brown 12 2.1% Tino Martinez 6 1.0% Marquis Grissom 4 0.7% Al Leiter 4 0.7% John Olerud 4 0.7% B.J. Surhoff 2 0.3% Bret Boone 1 0.2% Benito Santiago 1 0.2% Carlos Baerga 0 0.0% Lenny Harris 0 0.0% Bobby Higginson 0 0.0% Charles Johnson 0 0.0% Raul Mondesi 0 0.0% Kirk Rueter 0 0.0%

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In reply to by The Real Neal

I might buy the first reason. and at his best was a lot better than Palmeiro. if you go by BR's WAR totals, Palmeiro's best season was 7.4, McGwire's was 7.2. So I don't think your statement is as definite as you'd like it to be. Palmeiro has a higher career WAR, RBI's RUNS, BA and passed 500 HR's and 3000 hits. There's a certainly a good argument to be made on who was the best player at the top of their games, there's not much of one for who had the better career. But anyway, obviously both are being penalized for 'roids, just figuring out why Palmeiro is being penalized more at the moment.

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)

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  • 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...