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

A Review of the Cubs 2013 Draft

Following on my Friday post on the 2012 draft, here is an overview of the Cubs 2013 draft and where the players are now. Here again it only shows those draft picks who signed with the Cubs and lists their draft number, current age, position, current organizational level, and a brief snapshot of their 2014 performance. Bryant is the headliner here; beyond him it was a pitching-heavy draft and many are moving steadily through the system with three reaching A+ by the end of the year, though one of those (Godley) was sent to the Diamonbacks in the Montero trade.

Round Player Position Current Age Current Level 2014 Comments
1 Kris Bryant 3B 22 AAA 325/438/661 combined in AA and AAA
2 Rob Zastryzny LHP 22 A+ 4.66 ERA in 23 GS at A+
3 Jacob Hannemann OF 23 A+ 251/315/368 combined in A and A+
4 Tyler Skulina RHP 22 A+ 3.21 ERA in 18 GS for A before late promotion to A+
5 Trey Masek RHP 22 A- Only pitched 3 innings before seaason-ending injury
6 Scott Frazier RHP 22 RK 14 ER in just 1.1 IP in the season
7 David Garner RHP 21 A 3.82 ERA and 10.6 SO/9 combined in A- and A
8 Sam Wilson LHP 22 A- 3.62 ERA and 11.1 SO/9 in 32 IP
9 Charcer Burks OF 19 A- 311/393/409 combined in RK and A-
10 Zack Godley RHP 21 A+ 1.80 ERA in 15 G at A before being promoted, 3.57 ERA and 11.6 SO/9 in 40 IP at A+, traded to Diamondbacks for Miguel Montero
11 Jordan Hankins 3B 22 A+ 322/361/461 at A before being promoted, 218/323/318 in A+ after
12 Trevor Clifton RHP 19 A- 3.69 ERA in 13 GS
13 Trevor Graham RHP 22 A- 5.58 ERA in 50 IP
15 Michael Wagner RHP 22 A 3.23 ERA in 61 IP
16 Cael Brockmeyer C 22 A 297/366/461 in A
17 Kelvin Freeman 1B 23   Released in March 2014
18 Giuseppe Papaccio SS 23   196/271/244 in 209 ABs before being released 
20 Zak Blair 2B 24   Just 37 ABs before being released
22 Kevin Brown OF 23 A- 261/322/416 between A-, A, and filling in at AA
23 Tyler Ihrig LHP 22 A 4.44 ERA in 8 GS at A- then 2.30 ERA in 27 IP at A
24 Tyler Alamo C 19 RK 215/267/237 in 93 ABs
28 Brad Renner RHP 23 DL Missed all of 2014 due to TJS
30 Zak Hermans RHP 23 A 3.92 ERA in 39 IP

Comments

Does anyone know if the Cubs minor league affiliates, including new ones in South Bend, Oregon and Myrtle Beach have PITCHf/x installed? Do they have it at Iowa or Tennessee?

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

technically it is a sign of improvement...but he's also playing in one of the minor winter leagues in PR. it used to be a more powerful winter league, but it's not what it once was. DR and VEN carry a better quality of players these days. 2hr and 2 doubles out of those 9 hits is nice, though. that said, sample size blah blah blah etc. baez may be compared to g.sheffield a lot, but mid-late-20s s.sosa seems to be a more realistic ceiling (except for the 60+ HR part) for statistical outcome vs player makeup... speaking of minor-impact winter leagues (easily weaker than PR), c.villanueva has crushed 9HR in 151ab in mexico this winter.

Cubs sent INF Logan Watkins outright to Triple-A Iowa. Cubs sent RHP Donn Roach outright to Triple-A Iowa. A note from AZ Phil from a few days ago: Because he is an MLB Rule 55 player not eligible to elect free-agency if outrighted, Watkins can be traded or released, but he cannot beb sent outright to the minors after 5 PM (Eastern) on the 5th day following the conclusion of the World Series unless & until he has either signed a major league contract for the next season (contracts were tendered on 12/2), or had his previous season's contract unilaterally renewed by the club (which can't happen until the first week of March), or agrees (in advance) to sign a minor league contract for the next season (not likely). BTW, same goes for Junior Lake, Ryan Lavarnway, Joe Ortiz, Shane Peterson, and Neil Ramirez.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Normally the MLB office is closed on weekends (and Saturday and Sunday are not considered "business days") beginning with the conclusion of the World Series up until the start of Spring Training, so players who were Designated for Assignment last Friday could not have been placed on Ouright Assignment Waivers until 2 PM (Eastern) today and the Waiver Claiming Period would not have concluded until 1 PM (Eastern) on Wednesday. 

However, thb MLB office remained open this past Saturday and Sunday and will instead be closed Wednesday through Sunday of this week, so the Cubs were able to place Watkins and Roach on waivers on Saturday, with the 47-hour Waiver Claiming Period for both players ending at 1 PM (Eastern) today. 

It's possible that some of the MLB clubs did not staff their offices over the weekend and thus might not have been aware that Roach and Watkins were on waivers.

 

got to agree that not much to be impressed by Baez so far in winter leagues, still swinging from his ass apparently

Alcantara on the other hand...

.324 w/4 HRs, 3 SB and a .939 OPS in the Dominican Republic. (per Phil Rogers tweet)

Junior Lake leading DWL in walks, strikeouts, and stolen bases, 2nd in runs scored, 5th in OBP. 

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

30 walks for Lake in 140 ABs. That's not the Junior Lake we all know and love. Doesn't matter what league it is, he's taking pitches, and a lot of them. At the end of the year last year, even tho he didn't do much, I saw him put together a few interesting at bats where he was showing a lot more patience and not swinging from the heels so much. I've always had a hard time giving up on that guy.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

The walks are a good sign, as are the 21 SBs in 23 attempts, but he's also hitting just .243 and slugging just .343, which aren't good signs. And he has 51 Ks in just 140 ABs. So when he doesn't walk he strikes out 36% of the time and isn't hitting the ball with much authority. Perhaps the picthers in this league are a bit wild and walk prone in general? Or perhaps he is taking too many pitches in an attempt to be selective and in turn taking called strikes as well as balls? I don't know. But the performance overall doesn't give me any higher hopes for him going into the season.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

If there's one thing I've learned from following Cubs players' winter league performances, its to not put much stock in those numbers one way or the other. Small samples, different competition, etc. I vaguely remember some winters that Felix Pie put up big numbers, and I clearly remember 2007 AFL MVP Sam Fuld.

Motte gets his incentives only if he's closer for nearly the entire season it looks like

 @JonHeymanCBS · jason motte: $4.5M base. 250K for 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59 gf. 250K 60 games, 65 games. $2.5M bonus max

Rondon only 44 games finished last year, Kimbrel had 54, Holland had 60

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

Rangers, DBacks (although you figure they would have worked that out in the Montero trade) make sense as well. But yeah, White Sox could use some offensive help there or at least someone to pair with Tyler Flowers.

Red Sox are pretty stacked at catcher (Vazquez, Hanigan, Swihart) and some dude named Dan Butler.... not sure where that came from.

sorry the site was down, now it's not. Rejoice!

Lavernway claimed on waivers by Orioles, Peterson by Brewers. Cubs pick up LHP Mike Kickham aka Cheap Travis Wood off waivers from Giants.

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.