2017 Cubs Minor League Camp is Underway
Cubs Minor League Camp officially opened today, with pitchers & catchers reporting and some position players also present.
Among the notes from today's workout:
* OF Zach Davis (Cubs 2016 32nd round pick - Texas Tech) is now switch-hitting (he was formerly a RH-hitter only). Davis has plus-speed but a weak bat, so trying switch-hitting probably makes sense.
* OF Eddy Julio Martinez (October 2015 IFA - $3M signing bonus) felt discomfort in his right elbow while playing catch and was shut-down as a precaution.
* The Cubs have signed 28-year old 6'4 225 free-agent RHP Zach Rafferty (Anna Maria College). Rafferty last pitched in 2012 for Worcester (Can-Am league), but he has been getting into pitching shape at High Level Throwing in Lowell, MA (click on his name for recent "live" BP video - command wasn't too sharp, but his fastball sat at 94-95 and topped out at 96).
Minor league players are typically (but not always) initially assigned to Spring Training Minor League Camp squads (groups) one or even two levels above where they are projected to be on Opening Day, and then most players are either moved down to a lower level or released as players are sent down to Minor League Camp from the big league squad during the course of Spring Training.
The Eugene/Mesa squad will be formed once Cactus League minor league games start in mid-March, and that squad becomes the EXTENDED SPRING TRAINING group on Opening Day. Meanwhile, at the start of Minor League Camp the South Bend squad will be "heavier" than the other three.
For players who spent the 2016 season in the DSL (especially players who attended AZ Instructs post-2016) and who were invited to Minor League Camp in 2017, some will remain at the Cubs Dominican Academy and not report to Mesa until the very end of Spring Training or the start of Extended Spring Training.
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