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crunch 4 days 14 hours ago (view)

14 pitches in and sampson gives up a 2nd homer.  classic.

that's his 10th in 13.1ip

crunch 4 days 14 hours ago (view)

11 pitches in and sampson gives up a homer.  classic.

Arizona Phil 4 days ago (view)

Here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Friday's Cubs - Rangers game at Sloan Park: 

MARCUS STROMAN: 
FB: 89-92 
CT: 86-87
SL: 82-85 
CH: 81-84 
COMMENT: Threw 5.2 IP (75 pitches - 51 strikes)... pitches-per-inning were 12-13-14-12-19-5... apparently the plan was for him to throw at least five innings and at least 75 pitches, because as soon as he hit 75 pitches he was removed from the game (even though there were two outs and nobody on base)... he allowed five hits (all singles), one walk, and he struck out five (three swinging and two looking, the three swinging on sliders and the two looking were on a CH and a CT)... he threw 40 FB ("heavy" two-seamers) and the rest were a mix of secondaries, and the FB (2S) was clearly his pitch-to-contact offering (7/3 GO/AO)... got seven swing & miss total (five on SL and two on CH, but none on FB)... only run allowed was an unearned run thanks to a two-base fielding error by third-baseman Nick Madrigal in the top of the 2nd...  allowed one-out singles in the 1st and 2nd innings, retired the side 1-2-3 in the 3rd, and then pitched out of a bases-loaded jam in the 4th (1B, 1B, 1-5-2 FC thanks to a great stop by ex-SS Stroman, another 1B but runners could advance only one base, and an inning-ending L-4 DP with fancy glove work by 2B Luis Vazquez on the catch & throw), and finally a two-out walk in the 5th...  he retired six of the last seven batters he faced... Stroman is clearly ready to start the Cubs opener...   

JAVIER ASSAD: 
FB: 92-95 T-96 
CT: 87-90 
CH: 84-85 
SL: 79-82 
CV: 76 
COMMENT: Relieved Marcus Stroman with two outs in the top of the 6th and immediately struck out the first man he faced on three pitches (all three swinging strikes, including two 94 MPH FB)... top of the seventh was another matter entirely, as he surrendered an opposite field line-drive double fisted into the LF corner by Robbie Grossman on a 2-2 pitch, a walk on a 3-2 pitch after starting the AB 0-2, and then a bunt single to load the bases with no outs 15 pitches into the inning... he then induced an RBI ground ball (6-4 FC, not hit hard enough to turn two), and a K-looking on a CT for the second out... at this point he had thrown 26 pitches in the inning, and so he was (temporarily) relieved by Cam Sanders, who immediately gave up an RBI single on his very first pitch that plated the second run of the inning (run charged to Assad)... Assad came back out in the 8th, and worked the last two innings (25 pitches combined over the final two innings), allowing three hits (all singles, including another bunt single)... for the day Assad pitched 3.0 IP (spread over four frames), throwing 54 pitches (38 strikes)... he allowed two runs (both earned), five hits (including two bunt singles), and a walk, while striking out four (all four swinging) and 3/2 GO/AO... he got a total of ten swing & miss among his 54 pitches (four on a FB, three on a CT, one on a CH, one on a SL, and one on a CV)... off his strong showing with Team Mexico in the WBC, it appears that Assad will either make the Cubs Opening Day 26-man roster as a "Multi-Inning Reliever" (MIR), or be optioned to Iowa where he can be stretched-out as a SP. (he's already up to 54 pitches, so it won't take more than another couple of starts before he will be fully stretched out as a starter if the Cubs choose to go that route with him)... otherwise he is clearly ready to roll as an MIR right now... no question, he definitely has a SP repertoire... 

CAM SANDERS:
FB: 94-95 
CV: 80 
COMMENT: Came over from minor league camp as an extra pitcher... relieved Assad and finished the top of the 7th, allowing an RBI single on his very first pitch (run charged to Assad) before getting the third out on an F-9 (nice running catch by RF Owen Caissie)... 

crunch 4 days 17 hours ago (view)

for those without mlb.tv, it's free for the rest of spring to watch.

crunch 4 days 20 hours ago (view)

split squad for the cubs friday, both games televised.  nice.

Arizona Phil 4 days 23 hours ago (view)

The final Spring Training games for AAA affiliates are on Sunday, with AAA opening Day next Friday, so AAA teams will be leaving Arizona or Florida on Monday or Tuesday. Therefore, the Iowa roster will need to be finalized sooner than the other three full season affiliates.  

The AAA and AA regular season active list roster limit is 28, and the Hi-A and Lo-A regular active list roster limit is 30 (there is no active list roster limit at Extended Spring Training or in the ACL).

In addition, up to five additional players can be carried on the AAA Taxi Squad (at least one must be a catcher), unless the special CoViD Taxi Squad rule is revoked by the MLB Commissioner prior to Opening Day (TBD).  

Also, the minor league Domestic Reserve list limit is 190 until AAA Opening Day this coming Friday, at which point it will be reduced to 180.    

The TCR Cubs organizational depth chart (see link below) reflects the current MLB and minor league camp rosters, and is being updated daily. 

https://www.thecubreporter.com/cubs-organizational-depth-chart

Arizona Phil 5 days 13 hours ago (view)

The Cubs have sold the contract of minor league 2B Esteban Quiroz to the Philadelphia Phillies. 

Arizona Phil 5 days 13 hours ago (view)

For anyone interested, here are the Cubs pitchers reports from Thursday's Cubs - D'backs game at Sloan Park: 

HUNTER WESNESKI: 
FB: 92-95 T-96-97
SL/CT: 88-90 
CH: 86-88 
CV: 78-84 (slurve)  
COMMENT: Worked five innings (81 pitches - 53 strikes) and allowed one unearned run (thanks to a throwing error by Wesneski himself)... surrendered a two-out single in the top of the 1st inning, retired the side 1-2-3 in the 2nd, issued a two-out four pitch walk in the 3rd (all four pitches were 92-93 MPH FB), gave up consecutive two out singles in the 4th, and allowed a two-out triple to Corbin Carroll on a CH followed by a walk on a 3-1 pitch with two outs in the 5th... then, for some unknown reason, Wesneski thought it would be a great idea to try a pick-off attempt at 1st base, which ended up in the dirt and Hosmer could not corral it before Carroll (probably the fastest player in MLB) raced home from 3rd with the D'backs lone run...  Wesneski then got a K-swinging on his 81st pitch of the game (84 MPH slurve) to end the inning and complete his outing... pitches-per-inning were 10-19-12-20-20, as he seemed to begin to labor a bit in the 4th & 5th... the one 96 MPH FB was at the end of the 2nd and the one 97 MPH FB was the last pitch of the 4th, as he was clearly trying to throw the 4SFB as hard as he could to try and close out the inning... he mixed his pitches very well, beginning the game with a slew of off-speed pitches... FB was definitely his least-effective pitch as he had difficulty throwing the pitch for strikes... got five strikeouts (three swinging & two looking)...  got ten swing & miss total (four on slurve, three on CH, three on SL/CT, and none on FB)... mainly he just needs to refine his FB command (which is a bit spotty)...  

KEEGAN THOMPSON:
FB: 91-92 
SL/CT: 86-88 
CV: 79-83 
COMMENT: Hurled two shutout innings (18 pitches - 14 strikes), six up & six down (a 5-3 GO, a F-9, and a three-pitch K-swinging on a CV in his 1st inning of work, then a 6-3 GO, another K-swinging on a CV, and a 3-1 GO)... got three swing & miss total (one on FB and two on CV)... faced six batters and had no three-ball counts... while the FB velo is still not where it was in 2022, his pitch efficiency and ability to throw strikes with his lower velo FB is excellent...  

TYLER DUFFEY: 
FB: 90-92  
CV: 79-80 
COMMENT: Pitched the top of the 8th inning (11 pitches - 8 strikes)... allowed a lead-off ground single through the 5.5 hole to open the inning and then easily retired the next three batters (6-4 FC, F-8, 5-3 GO)... once again he did not get any swing & miss, but he throws a LOT of strikes (no three-ball counts)...  

VINNY NITTOLI: 
FB: 91-93 
SL: 80-82 
COMMENT: Pitched a 1-2-3 9th (K-looking, P-5, 4-3 GO)... threw 13 pitches (8 strikes), including NINE sliders... one swing & miss (SL, naturally)... if the Cubs want a slider first and slider last reliever, Nittoli is their guy... he really, really loves his slider...    

Cubster 5 days 16 hours ago (view)

New roster cuts. Bote, Mervis, Velázquez, Sanders and a few more. 

crunch 5 days 19 hours ago (view)

either someone missed a hit/run play or tucker barnhart has some things to do after the game.  dude hasn't even attempted a SB since 2019, and only once in 2019.  he tried it 4 times in 2018, 0-4.