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

Cubs to Add Second AZL Team in 2018

The Cubs will be adding a second team in the Arizona League (AZL) in 2018, which effectively means the Cubs will be able to add 35 additional minor league roster slots (minor league reserve list slots). So they will now have 320 minor league roster slots available in the organization instead of 285.

Former Cubs Player Development Director Oneri Fleita had proposed adding a second Cubs team to the AZL about seven or eight years ago, but it didn't go anywhere at the time.  

So the Cubs two AZL affiliates will match their two Dominican Summer League (DSL) affiliates, allowing young Latin players to be promoted from the DSL to the AZL with ease and then be retained for more years than has previously been the case. It will also allow the Cubs to sign more non-drafted free agents (NDFA) after the June draft, and it will also make it easier to get more innings for rehabbing pitchers and more reps for rehabbing position players in AZL games. And if the Cubs were to (let's say) sign two young hotshot shortstops who aren't ready for Eugene, they can both get regular playing time in the AZL (one with AZL Cubs #1 and one with AZL Cubs #2).  

The San Diego Padres added a second AZL team last season, the first MLB club to add a second team in the AZL. And along with the Cubs, the Cleveland Indians and San Francisco Giants will be adding a second AZL team in 2018 as well. So the AZL will now have 18 teams, with the Colorado Rockies still the only MLB club with Spring Training in Arizona to not field even one team in the AZL (although the Rockies do operate one team in the short-season Pioneer League and one team in the short-season Northwest League). 

The Detrot Tigers have been operating two teams in the Gulf Coast League (GCL) in Florida for two seasons, and the New York Yankees have had two teams in the GCL for several seasons. So now six MLB organizations (the Cubs, Padres, Giants, Indians, Tigers, and Yankees) will be operating two teams in short-season rookie complex leagues (the rookie leagues that are based at Florida and Arizona Spring Training facilities). 

The Cubs are also now one of six MLB clubs with nine minor league affiliates (AZ, HOU, NYM, NYY, and TB are the others). Twelve MLB clubs have eight minor league affiliates, and twelve MLB clubs have seven.  
 
Here are the preliminary 2018 Cubs minor league field staff assignments (some assignments still TBA):

 
CUBS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER DEVELOPMENT FIELD STAFF (last updated 1-18-2018)
FIELD COORDINATOR & CATCHING COORDINATOR: Tim Cossins 
PITCHING COORDINATOR: Brendan Sagara
ASSISTANT PITCHING COORDINATORS: Mike Mason (full season clubs) and Steve Merriman (EXST & short-season clubs)
HITTING COORDINATOR: Jacob Cruz  
ASSISTANT HITTING COORDINATOR: Tom Beyers 
INFIELD COORDINATOR: Jeremy Farrell
OUTFIELD & BASERUNNING COORDINATOR: Doug Dascenzo 
BASERUNNING INSTRUCTOR: Mike Roberts 
LATIN AMERICAN FIELD COORDINATOR: Dave Keller 
MENTAL SKILLS PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Josh Lifrak 
MENTAL SKILLS PROGRAM COORDINATOR: Darnell McDonald
MENTAL SKILLS COORDINATOR: John Baker 
LATIN AMERICAN MENTAL SKILLS COORDINATOR: Raymond Fuentes 
IOWA: Marty Pevey (Manager), Rod Nichols (Pitching Coach), Desi Wilson (Hitting Coach), and Chris Valaika (Assistant Coach) 
TENNESSEE: Mark Johnson (Manager), Terry Clark (Pitching Coach), Jesus Feliciano (Hitting Coach), and Ben Carhart (Assistant Coach) 
MYRTLE BEACH: Buddy Bailey (Manager), Anderson Tavarez (Pitching Coach), Ty Wright (Hitting Coach), and Carlos Rojas (Assistant Coach) 
SOUTH BEND: Jimmy Gonzalez (Manager), Brian Lawrence (Pitching Coach), Ricardo Medina (Hitting Coach), and Paul McAnulty (Assistant Coach) 
EUGENE: Steve Lerud (Manager), Armando Gabino (Pitching Coach), Osmin Melendez (Hitting Coach), and Jacob Rogers (Assistant Coach) 
AZL CUBS #1: Carmelo Martinez (Manager), TBA (Pitching Coach), TBA (Hitting Coach), and Leo Perez (Assistant Coach) 
AZL CUBS #2: Jonathan Mota (Manager), TBA (Pitching Coach), Claudio Almonte (Hitting Coach), and TBA (Assistant Coach)
MESA REHAB: Ron Villone (Rehab Pitching Coordinator) and TBA (Rehab Coach)
DSL CUBS #1: Lance Rymel (Manager), Eduardo Villacis (Pitching Coach), TBA (Hitting Coach), Antonio Valerio (Assistant Coach), and Jose Zapata (Assistant Coach) 
DSL CUBS #2: Pedro Gonzalez (Manager), Jose Cueto  (Pitching Coach), TBA (Hitting Coach), Jovanny Rosario (Assistant Coach), and Carlos Ramirez (Assistant Coach) 
MINOR LEAGUE ATHLETIC TRAINING COORDINATOR: Chuck Baughman
ASSISTANT MINOR LEAGUE TRAINING COORDINATOR (MESA REHAB): Jonathan Fierro 
LATIN AMERICAN TRAINING COORDINATOR: Jose Alvarez 
ATHLETIC TRAINERS: Ed Halbur and Mike McNulty (Iowa), Toby Williams (Tennessee), Logan Severson (Myrtle Beach), James Edwards (South Bend), Sean Folan (Eugene), Ike Ojata (AZL Cubs #1), TBA (AZL Cubs #2), Adrian Pettaway (DSL Cubs #1), and Arnoldo Goite (DSL Cubs #2) 
MINOR LEAGUE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COORDINATOR: Doug Jarrow 
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACHES: Ryan Clausen (Iowa), Jason Moriss (Tennessee), Keegan Knoll (Myrtle Beach), Ryan Nordtvedt (South Bend), Dallas Lopez (Eugene), Mike Megrew (AZL Cubs #1), TBA (AZL Cubs #2), Amaury Gonzalez (DSL Cubs #1), and Manny Estrada (DSL Cubs #2)

Comments

Not one but two AZL Cubs teams? John Arguello would have been freakin' thrilled!

AZ Phil, is there a cap to how many minor league reserve list slots an organization can have?

[ ]

In reply to by Sonicwind75

SONICWIND75: Theoretically an MLB club could have 20 or 30 minor league affiliates, but there is a real-world limit based upon the number of minor leagues and the number of clubs in each minor league because adding an additional minor league or expanding the number of clubs in an existing minor league requires the approval of both the MLB Commissioner and the President of Minor League Baseball. 

The basic restriction is no MLB club is permitted to have more than one club in any one "full season" minor league. That's not one minor league classification, that's one minor league. So (for example) the Cubs could operate a team in both the Pacific Coast League and the International League (both AAA leagues), a team in the Eastern League, a team in the Southern League, and a team in the Texas League (all three AA classification), a team in the Carolina League, a team in the California League, and a team in the Florida State League (all three Class "A" - Advanced - AKA - "Hi-A"), and a team in the Midwest League and a team in the South Atlantic League (both Full Season Class "A" - AKA - "Lo-A"), and an infinite number of teams in the NYP League, the Northwest League, the Appalachian League, the Pioneer League, and/or the AZL, GCL, and DSL.

But there are only 30 AAA teams, 30 AA teams, 30 Hi-A teams, and 30 Lo-A teams, with each MLB club operating one (and only one) club in each classification, and the MLB Commissioner and the President of Minor League Baseball would almost certainly not approve expansion of any of the full season leagues unless there was an accompanying expansion at the MLB level.         

As for short-season leagues that include clubs owned in most cases by parties not directly associated with the parent MLB club, there is a certain finite number of teams in each of those leagues, and while it is very possible that affiliations (PDCs) could change from time to time, it is unlikely that the MLB Commissioner and President of Minor League Baseball would approve expansion of those leagues unless there was also expansion at the MLB level or unless some other compelling case could be made to do so.  

But the three rookie "complex" leagues (AZL, GCL, and DSL) are fully owned & operated by MLB clubs and there is no league president or outside ownership groups involved. Still, the MLB Commissioner and the President of Minor League Baseball must approve expansion of the complex leagues, and I would imagine if some MLB club wanted to get real ambitious and add two or three additional affiliates to a complex league (like AZL Cubs #3, AZL Cubs #4, and AZL Cubs #5), that other MLB clubs would object, and then the MLB Commissioner and President of Minor League Baseball would just not give their approval for the expansion. 

MINOR LEAGUE AFFILIATES PER MLB CLUB:

NINE: (6)
CUBS
AZ
HOU
NYM
NYY
TB

EIGHT: (12)
CIN
CLE
DET
KC
LAD
PHI
PIT
SD
SF
STL
TEX
TOR

SEVEN: (12)
ATL
BAL
BOS
CHW
COL
LAA
MIA
MIL
MIN
OAK
SEA
WAS

PHIL: How can you possibly cover all this action, man?! Is there a AZ PHIL, JR.? Or, can you sign someone off the TCR roster? Thanks for the update on this. Very exciting. Wondering what your impressions are of Mike Minor so far? Thanks.

PHIL- I know I have asked this a couple months ago, but have you heard who's coming going and going in the Wilson/Avilia, Pena, and Monterero deals. I know you gave the Answer to the Martin/Hannemann trade. I believe before that you said stuff gets sorted out usually after the Rule 5 draft or has it all turned into "cash considerations"? I didn't know if all of sudden you saw some new random new faces showing up in AZ and not knowing why etc.

[ ]

In reply to by cubbies.4ever

CUBBIES-4-EVER: The Cubs paid the Tigers cash (at least $50,000) to complete the Wilson/Avila trade and the Cubs received cash (at least $50,000) from the Blue Jays to complete the Montero trade. As far as I know, the Pena trade is still pending (must be completed by April 9th), so it is possible that the Cubs will acquire a player from the Angels to complete that trade. Otherwise they'll get cash. Clubs have up to six months to agree on a player in any deal when a player on an MLB 40-man roster is traded for a PTBNL or cash, otherwise the club receives cash (minimum $50,000) in lieu of a player. The exact cash amount to be paid to a club in lieu of the club receiving a player must be stated clearly in the terms of the trade when it is officially filed with the MLB office.

TIM: Good call. Carlos Perez would be an - EXCELLENT - PTBNL in the Felix Pena trade. And Perez is out of minor league options, too, and there is no way he gets through waivers (and the Angels almost certainly must know that). The Angels might want to wait and make sure Martin Maldonado and Ruben Rivera make it through Spring Training in one piece before they jettison Perez, but at least the Cubs have until April 9th (after the conclusion of Spring Training) to complete the Felix Pena trade. The Angels also have a third catcher (Juan Graterol) on the 40 and he does have minor league options left, so the Angels can just send him to AAA to provide depth behind Maldonado and Rivera if they find they can't keep Perez. No wonder Curt Casali wanted out!

Jan 20th... aside from s.ohtani and w.davis (or z.cosart if you're into that) none of the "top" FA class has signed jd martinez, darvish, arrieta, cobb, hosmer, moosetacos, cain, lynn...waiting hell, the only SP of note to sign so far (aside from ohtani) is ancient-ass sabathia and the cubs very own high risk gamble of chatwood...if chatwood is worth noting.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Carlos Santana signed too. Bruce got a pretty decent deal for what he is. Basically the relief pitchers are getting paid because teams are wanting to build deep pens. At this point, Darvish and Arrieta are holding out for top dollar, but with the Yankees and Dodgers unwilling to exceed the LT their market is limited and the rest of the FA class is simply not that appealing. JD Martinez is the best hitter on the market, but he’s a DH and not too many teams have a burning need for his services. He reportedly has a very good offer from the Red Sox which, if true, he should be all over. Lorenzo Cain is a good player who is 32 and will cost a draft pick. Hosmer and Moustakas alternate between replacement level and above average every other year and will cost a draft pick. Nobody wants to sign Cobb or Lynn, and give up a draft pick, while Darvish and Arrieta are out there.

[ ]

In reply to by bradsbeard

im just waiting for the pieces to fall. i wouldn't complain about any of them, but i kinda hope arrieta goes elsewhere solely for the draft pick "bonus" coming to the cubs. the minor league system is hurting and any pickups now are generally expected to be the types that will pay off when need is expected years from now.

[ ]

In reply to by bradsbeard

Darvish, Lester, Hendricks, and Quintana is a competitive post-season rotation. Lester, Hendricks, Q, and Chatwood isn't, at least to my eye. Cubs need to either sign a #1/#2 SP now, or at the trade deadline. Do it now, it costs money. Do it later, it costs less money and some players. How I piece it together. I'm for now.

[ ]

In reply to by John Beasley

That'll partially depend on if Lester can return to form but also it's not just pitching quality but length the Cubs need. They killed their bullpen with all the starting pitcher quick hooks (some warranted some not) and they need a guy who can go deep in games and depending on either Chatwood or Montgomery for that is asking a lot.

[ ]

In reply to by johann

counting on chatwood to be more than a 5-6 inning pitcher would be generous pending some kind of amazing turn around. he's got the stuff and variety of pitches to be awesome, but he's not a guy handing the ball to the setup guy or closer very often. i hope this gamble doesn't end up on par with the edwin jackson deal. relying on chatwood+montgomery back to back doesn't seem to be wise. that said, it does seem like another starter is very likely to be added with the cubs not saying anything about the roster being complete. even the 40-man roster currently sits at 39.

[ ]

In reply to by johann

I mean, the Cubs are 100% going to sign another starting pitcher before Opening Day. They're a player at the top of the market, but if they don't get the terms they want, I'm sure they have down-market backups. So there are more innings coming. I was specifically addressing a playoff rotation. Truth about Lester.

cubs winter league stats for those that care...haven't seen much discussion this off-season http://mlb.mlb.com/milb/stats/org.jsp?id=chc nothing really of note outside of some decent AFL showings that's already been hashed over. AA'r carlos penalver (SS) getting some heavy work. stephen perakslis is also working hard trying to make himself into a starter (mostly a reliever for the cubs), but having a very poor showing of numbers while doing it.

[ ]

In reply to by Lester's rattl…

everyone seems to be waiting on him or arrieta to set the market, so more power to them. we got like 22-23 days (or something like that) til pitchers and catchers report. there's not just the bigger SP out there still waiting, but a decent slew of middle-rotation talent options out there still waiting.

"Cubs signed C Chris Gimenez to a minor league contract with an invitation to spring training."

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Hopefully it's a Lester/Ross thing, with the timing reversed. Just for fun, I looked up Ross' numbers with the Cubs, and it was as I remembered -- he was god-awful the first year (.176 BA, .518 OPS) before riding off into the sunset as a WS Game 7 hero after homering off Andrew Miller and becoming a national celebrity. Amazing.

The following ten Cubs minor leaguers who spent all or part of the 2017 season with a Cubs DSL affiliate have used up their Foreign Rookie League eligibility, and so it is "AZL or Bust" for them in 2018: Yan de la Cruz, RHP Miguel Estevez, RHP Jean Garcia, RHP Junior Marte, RHP Fidel Matos, 1B Ivan Medina, RHP Henrry Pedra, INF Aneuris Rosario, RHP Franklin Tineo, INF Luis Ubiera, OF In previous seasons these players would have been candidates to get released (and one or more still might be released this year), but by establishing a second AZL team in 2018, the Cubs can (if they wish) retain these players for at least one more year before their roster slots (reserve list slots) will be needed for younger Latin players moving up from the DSL.

Still in the range of 30 signings for the 2017/8 cycle? Almost amazing, considering being "in jail".

By the way, it's my campaign only for now, but I'm calling DSL 1 the Cachorros (Cubs in Espanol) and DSL 2 the Potros (Colts, which was a former Cubs name.)

The Cubs have added two more minor league coaches and both have been or will likely be assigned to one of the two AZL Cubs squads. Steve Janssen was hired by the Cubs as a minor league pitching coach and he will likely be the pitching coach for either AZL Cubs #1 or AZL Cubs #2. Janssen was born in The Netherlands and played professionally in Belgium for several seasons before becoming Director of the Belgian Baseball Federation. Janssen has been Pitching Coach for the Dutch National Team for the past 15 years and he was bullpen coach for Team Netherlands in the WBC, so he has worked extensively with players (especially pitchers) from Curacao and Aruba (perhaps soon to join Mexico as a Cubs international gold mine?). Mike Carter has been hired by the Cubs as hitting coach for AZL Cubs #1. Carter was the 3rd round pick of the Milwaukee Brewers out of the U. of West Alabama in the 1990 draft, and he played 13 seasons in the minors, including three seasons (1994-96) at AA and AAA in the Cubs organization. Carter has spent the past 15 years as a professional hitting instructor (Michael Carter Hitting Technics) in Phoenix (sort of like what Kris Bryant's father Mike does in Las Vegas). Carter is the father of Angels OF prospect Michael Hermosillo and Scottsdale Community College OF Antoine Mistico (drafted by Detroit Tigers out of Chandler Hamilton HS in 2017 but did not sign).

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

Here are the Cubs Minor League Field Staff assignments (updated 3/2). The two newest coaches are Wes Long (AZL Cubs #1 Hitting Coach) and Jamie Vermilyea (AZL Cubs #2 Pitching Coach).

CUBS MINOR LEAGUE PLAYER DEVELOPMENT FIELD STAFF
FIELD COORDINATOR & CATCHING COORDINATOR: Tim Cossins
PITCHING COORDINATOR: Brendan Sagara
ASSISTANT PITCHING COORDINATORS: Mike Mason (full season clubs) and Steve Merriman (EXST & short-season clubs)
HITTING COORDINATOR Jacob Cruz

ASSISTANT HITTING COORDINATOR: Tom Beyers
INFIELD COORDINATOR: Jeremy Farrell
OUTFIELD & BASERUNNING COORDINATOR: Doug Dascenzo
LATIN AMERICAN FIELD COORDINATOR: Dave Keller
MENTAL SKILLS PROGRAM DIRECTOR: Josh Lifrak
MENTAL SKILLS PROGRAM COORDINATOR: John Baker
LATIN AMERICAN MENTAL SKILLS COORDINATOR: Raymond Fuentes
IOWA: Marty Pevey (Manager), Rod Nichols (Pitching Coach), Desi Wilson (Hitting Coach), and Chris Valaika (Assistant Coach)
TENNESSEE: Mark Johnson (Manager), Terry Clark (Pitching Coach), Jesus Feliciano (Hitting Coach), and Ben Carhart (Assistant Coach)
MYRTLE BEACH: Buddy Bailey (Manager), Anderson Tavarez (Pitching Coach), Ty Wright (Hitting Coach), and Carlos Rojas (Assistant Coach)
SOUTH BEND: Jimmy Gonzalez (Manager), Brian Lawrence (Pitching Coach), Ricardo Medina (Hitting Coach), and Paul McAnulty (Assistant Coach)
EUGENE: Steve Lerud (Manager), Armando Gabino (Pitching Coach), Osmin Melendez (Hitting Coach), and Jacob Rogers (Assistant Coach)
AZL CUBS #1: Carmelo Martinez (Manager), Steve Janssen (Pitching Coach), Wes Long (Hitting Coach), and Leo Perez (Assistant Coach)
AZL CUBS #2: Jonathan Mota (Manager), Jamie Vermilyea (Pitching Coach), Claudio Almonte (Hitting Coach), and Steve Carter (Assistant Coach)
MESA REHAB: Ron Villone (Rehab Pitching Coordinator) and TBA (Rehab Coach)
DSL CUBS #1: Lance Rymel (Manager), Eduardo Villacis (Pitching Coach), TBA (Hitting Coach), Antonio Valerio (Assistant Coach), and Jose Zapata (Assistant Pitching Coach)
DSL CUBS #2: Pedro Gonzalez (Manager), Jose Cueto (Pitching Coach), TBA (Hitting Coach), Jovanny Rosario (Assistant Coach), and Carlos Ramirez (Assistant Pitching Coach)
MINOR LEAGUE ATHLETIC TRAINING COORDINATOR: Chuck Baughman
ASSISTANT MINOR LEAGUE TRAINING COORDINATOR (MESA REHAB): Jonathan Fierro
ATHLETIC TRAINERS: Ed Halbur and Mike McNulty (Iowa), Toby Williams (Tennessee), Logan Severson (Myrtle Beach), James Edwards (South Bend), Sean Folan (Eugene), Ike Ojata (AZL Cubs #1), Matthew Hussey (AZL Cubs #2), Brennan Connelly and German Suncin (DSL Cubs #1), and Arnoldo Goite (DSL Cubs #2)
MINOR LEAGUE STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COORDINATOR: Doug Jarrow
STRENGTH & CONDITIONING COACHES: Ryan Clausen (Iowa), Jason Moriss (Tennessee), Keegan Knoll (Myrtle Beach), Ryan Nordtvedt (South Bend), Dallas Lopez (Eugene), Mike Megrew (AZL Cubs #1), TBA (AZL Cubs #2), Tomas Sanchez and Amaury Gonzalez (DSL Cubs #1), and Manny Estrada (DSL Cubs #2)

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)

    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...