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

Three-Finger Hill Makes the Team

The Cubs trimmed their roster by two more today, releasing Gabor Bako and LHP Mike Stanton. Congrats to Koyie Hill and his bionic hand. The roster now stands at 28 and the position players and bench are set for Opening Day. The spring roster with just a week left in camp.

CATCHERS - Soto, Hill

INFIELDERS - Lee, Theriot, Miles, Fontenot, Ramirez, Hoffpauir

OUTFIELDERS - Soriano, Fukudome, Johnson, Bradley, Gathright

STARTING PITCHING: Zambrano, Dempster, Lilly, Harden, Marshall

RELIEF PITCHING:  Gregg, Marmol, Heilman, Vizcaino, Cotts, Gaudin, Patton, Guzman, Fox, Samardzija

 

I think the first 5 bullpen spots are locked down, leaving Gaudin, Patton, Guzman, Fox and Samardzija for the final two spots and I don't see why they'd keep Samardzija in the majors with the relatively poor spring he has had and the fact that he has options left. And it's quite possible that Rich Harden will see the disabled list to start the season and the Cubs will then just have to move one of the four left  - Gaudin, Patton, Guzman or Fox (Large cartoon blinking arrow pointing at Chad Gaudin's name).

 

Comments

They made the right call on these two; so glad we don't have to live through the Gabor Bako Era, Part II. Next up: Release Chad Gaudin.

Wow, the remaining RP cuts are going to be tough to judge... it's too bad one of the 4 amongst Patton, Fox, Guzman and Gaudin isn't a lefty. Based on spring performance, Patton and Fox should be in. To me, Fox is too much of an injury risk so I think he will be the one to go next. I think they will go with Harden on the DL to start the season, put Samardzija in the minors to work on starting, and then see who falters in the early part of the season. I think Patton has pitched himself into a job (for now, at least)... I think Gaudin will get it figured out in the pen. At least we know for sure he wasn't 5th starter material!

[ ]

In reply to by Ahone Ahtwo Ahthree

Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think the probability of injury should preclude him from breaking camp with the team. If Fox gets injured, you just DL-him and call someone else up. And at this point I think the risk of a Fox injury is overblown. I think we all just expect it because we practically watched him snap his arm off at the elbow on live TV a few years ago. If he was so fragile that an injury was a matter of when, not if, then I don't think he would be pitching. I'm not saying he's a low injury risk, I think it's just overblown. Maybe I'm wrong on both points and maybe I'll regret this entire comment. Who knows.

[ ]

In reply to by Jace

"Unless it means having to pare other people from the organization in order to make it so." This is my fear--since including Fox likely means losing Gaudin or Guzman without getting much in return. Fox can't be used as a long-reliever or spot starter the way those guys might, nor does he have the upside of Guzman (though they have injury concerns in common). [Edit: Momentarily forgot about Patton. But Andrew does a better job explaining below anyway.]

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

I'd agree, unless the possibility of calling someone else up isn't a possibility. For example, if the Cubs choose to open the season with Harden active, then choosing Fox over any of the other three (Patton, Gaudin, Guzman) means they lose the other three - Patton goes back to CO and Gaudin and Guzman would get claimed off waivers. Those guys can't just be called up at a later point if Fox gets hurt. As, for his injury chances, I have to think they're pretty real. He hasn't had any surgical procedures since his problems in the past, and those weren't slow-developing. He felt a pop and couldn't throw at all. He's more of a time bomb than anything else. Thus, in my mind, the only way they can justify keeping Fox is if A) they really feel that Gaudin is totally useless and/or cutting him is a cost-saving move and B) if Harden starts on the DL, which would allow them to carry Guzman, Patton, and Fox. I'd personally much rather have Guzman or Patton around than Fox, simply because we can't get them back if we lose them.

If Harden doesn't flip out about it, I think starting him on the DL is probably a good idea. Let the weather warm up a bit, let him continue to get stretched out, and use the time to deal with your bullpen. I gotta think Patton's going to make the roster -- he's done as well as he could do and why would the Cubs keep him around so long or acquire him at all if he didn't have a real shot. And I gotta think Guzman will get tapped before Gaudin if it comes down to those two. If the Cubs let Gaudin go now, will they still save some money?

Good debate, but if we end up DFA-ing Chad Fox, isn't there a great chance he will accept a minor league assignment and go to Iowa? It is unlikely another club would give him a roster spot for the reasons above. And you would think that Chad would help us out here on a roster crunch, since Jim Hendry has given him several chances to get his career back. Just saying. I think Chad's career situation is different than the other guys. If they get DFA'ed, they should look for, and get, a major league deal. I don't want to give up on Gaudin, just a few months ago everyone was saying how brilliant it was to get him in the Harden deal. I suppose it was that mysterious late-season injury, he hasn't been the same since. I wonder if that was alcohol related.....

86-92mph in the 2nd inning... threw a lot of change-ups coming in at 81-84mph 2-run HR by Gordon to right-center off a fastball, didn't see the radar gun on it though.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

more high 80's, low 90's fastballs...change-up still fooling everyone.

1-2-3 inning...

http://blogs.suntimes.com/cubs/2009/03/nl_central_watch_march_30.html Berkman's shoulder hurting Hoffmann to the DL with an oblique strain, Villanueva or McClung to close. Jacque Jones taking a minor league assignment with Reds not in the link, but Glaus had to stop baseball activities and might be out longer than originally expected (late April, early May). David Frese is the current leader for the job. Murton optioned to Triple A despite easily out-hitting Podsednik in camp...

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I must confess to some Hoffpauir man-love here, but is Derrek Lee really better? As much as I like DLee I think his D is running on reputation at this point, and he's certainly not the offensive threat he used to be. Hoffpauir clearly has more power, he's as good at getting on base, and from what I can see a little better with the glove. The only thing he doesn't have is a track record. If I'm Lou I give Hoffpauir some serious ABs in the first half of the season, to see if he can sustain his AAA and spring training success.

[ ]

In reply to by garsky

Hoffpauir as just "as good at getting on base" as Lee is a stretch. Lee has been pretty good at taking walks and batting for a high average over the past several years. Hoffpauir, from what I've heard, is a hacker. Maybe he would adjust to pitchers staying out of the zone, or maybe he would chase. Either way, Hoffpauir certainly hasn't had the opportunity to show that he can get on base as well or better than Lee, so the jury is out at best. Hoffpauir also has more pop than 20-homer Lee, but I don't know that it's a big stretch to think Lee could have a good year and muscle 30 over the fence and hit plenty of doubles. I like Hoffpauir a lot, but until he goes on a real hot streak at the plate, he and Lee aren't even close to splitting time at 1st. Heck, he's got a better chance of pushing Kosuke out of a job and creating a terrifying Soriano/Bradley/Hoffpauir outfield.

harden done, gets his last pitch up to 93mph and singled into right by Dejesus to make it 5-3. Heilman K's the next batter to get out of it.

off Soria, Cubs score a total of 3 in the top of the 9th off him to tie the game. Impressive. Bradley 4/4 today...

Submitted by Andrew on Mon, 03/30/2009 - 12:58pm. If the Cubs let Gaudin go now, will they still save some money?

=================================================

ANDREW: Presuming Chad Gaudin signed a non-guaraneed contract (and not being a FA, he almost certainly did), the Cubs have until Wednesday 11 AM (Arizona time) to decide whether to place him on Release Waivers and owe him 45 days termination pay. So if the Cubs want to give Gaudin one more chance, it will have to be tomorrow.

Of course, the Cubs would probably prefer to trade Gaudin rather than release him (they couldn't do that with Bako, BTW, because Bako was an Article XX MLB FA post-2008 so he had an automatic "no trade" through June 15th), and as long as the other club is willing to take on Gaudin's contract (or at least pay $1.5M of the $2M) the Cubs would get the same payroll savings they would get by releasing him, plus, maybe a player back, too. But all this really needs to be decided by Wednesday morning, otherwise Gaudin's 2009 contract becomes 100% guaranteed after that.

If he were to get released by Wednesday, the Cubs would have to pay Gaudin 25% of his 2009 $2M salary as termination pay (that's $500K), and then the Cubs would save $1.5M in payroll.

BTW, by releasing Bako now, the Cubs only had to pay him $180,125 in termination pay, saving about $545K in 2009 payroll, instead of being on the hook for the entire $725K, which would have been the case if they had waited to release him at a later point.

I see Patton making the team for several reasons-to a non-contender he's a great trading chip. Since the season is long and they can modify the roster, Patton will stay. As for trades, those rumors are mighty suspicious. Who the hell wants Gaudin? There are too many established pitchers out of work that you could sign right now without giving up players. I suppose if you wanted Gary Matthews Jr or some other bad contract in return-but why take that risk? Break camp with him and hope he turrns it around. As for Guzman,tough to read his market value. Maybe some interest from Oakland since Durcherer (sp) is injured?

Submitted by Q-Ball on Mon, 03/30/2009 - 2:36pm. Good debate, but if we end up DFA-ing Chad Fox, isn't there a great chance he will accept a minor league assignment and go to Iowa?

============================

Q-BALL: As ROB G mentioned, Chad Fox is not on the 40-man roster, so he doesn't need to be DFA'd or placed on waivers if he doesn't make the Cubs 25-man Opening Day roster. Technically, he has been on the AAA Iowa Reserve List ever since he signed his contract during the off-season.

However, most veterans who sign minor league contracts to get an NRI to Spring Training have a clause in their contract that lists a deadline by which time they have to get added to the club's MLB 40-man/25-man rosters, or else the player can exercise an opt-out clause that allows the player to request his release. Typically, this deadline is sometime during the last week of Spring Training.

Now, even if C. Fox were to agree to go to Iowa to start the season, he likely has another opt-out clause in his contract that would give him the option to request his release at certain points during the season (like maybe every 30 days) and become a FA.

This happened in 2003 with Rod Beck, who accepted an assignment to Iowa (and lived in an RV parked behind the scoreboard), but had the option to be a FA every 30 days. And in fact he did exercise this option after spending two months with the Iowa Cubs, getting his release from the Cubs at the end of May and signing a major league deal with the Padres, and he eventually became their closer and had a good year in SD (20 saves, 1.78 ERA, 1.02 WHIP). The Cubs might have had some use for him in the NLCS that year, too, BTW.

Submitted by carmenfanzone on Mon, 03/30/2009 - 7:00pm. I see Patton making the team for several reasons-to a non-contender he's a great trading chip. Since the season is long and they can modify the roster, Patton will stay.

===============================

CARMEN F: The problem with a pitcher like David Patton, who has never pitched above "A" ball, is that while he has looked great in Spring Training (so far), what happens once the season starts?

The big difference between Spring Training and the regular season is that in Spring Training, Patton is basicaly pitching for himself, to try and make the team. If he has a poor outing, it just affects him and his chance to make the Opening Day 25-man roster. It doesn't really hurt the team, because winning and losing insn't very important in Spring Training. And the fans are usually forgiving and tend to be quite laid back.

But once the MLB regular eason starts, if Patton makes a bad pitch or has a bad inning, all of a sudden, he blew the game. It's his fault that the Cubs lost. He gets booed as he comes off the field. ("Patton, you bum!...You suck!"). That's a lot to handle if you're not used to it. And he doesn't get to experience that kind of pressure in Spring Training

It's not that unusual for as Rule 5 guy (especially a Rule 5 pitcher) to get an extra couple of weeks in April to show what he can do during the regular season. If he shows he can handle it, that's great. If he can't, you put him on waivers and hope you can finds a way to keep him in the organization.

So I think I would probably be inclined to retain Patton on the 25-man roster into the season, and see how he performs in games that matter in April. If it doesn't work out, I would probably ask Chad Fox to go to Iowa for a month to see how it goes, and turn to him if Patton gets cut. Or else there is always Samardzija or Hart, too.

BTW, back when I was a youngster (1960's), the MLB active roster limit was 28 for the first 30 days of the regular season,and then clubs had to make their final three cuts around the end of April. That gave clubs an extra month to look at Rule 5 guys. I would like to see that again. If you can play with up to 40 players during September, there shouldn't be any reason not play with 28 in April, when pitchers are still rounding into shape.

I also think Patton will pitch in mop-up-games in which the Cubs are behind. Simply to save the rest of the pen for when the games are close. In my opinion, this is the only reason to carry 12 pitchers-otherwise there's not enough innings to go around. Which begs the question, why not carry a player that you might use more-like Jake Fox? Saving the 7th and 8th inning guy is obviously more important.

Once again Rob G. you have proven to me that you have something against Samardzija. How can you compare his spring against the other one inning pitchers. He played his first four games as a starter facing the best hitters in start of a game. The other guys always came in the end of the game when the minors were in batting. Lets compare apples to apples to bad mouthing cub players. Samardzija did give up a hit in the 8th that scored the go ahead run but he came back in the 9th to strike out 3 starters but you fail to mention any of that.

[ ]

In reply to by jakester

I don't think I gave a recap of today's game, so I'm not sure how I failed to mention anything...I did some updates for part of the game, but didn't get to watch it all.

and I have nothing against Samardzija, I have him as the top Cubs' prospect and was quite excited to see him pitch last year.

http://thecubreporter.com/2009/02/17/cubs-prospect-list-mania-2009

the reality of the situation though is that he's not pitching well enough in spring training and far more importantly he has options left. There's no reason for him to sit at the end of the bullpen gathering dust when he can be pitching in Iowa working on his game. There's a few guys pitching better in camp right now and if they falter or there are injuries you can call Samardzija up if needed.

Oh yeah Rob G. another way I can tell you hate Samardzija is that you always place him at the end of the list when you mention the other bullpen pitchers. I have no idea why you dislike Samardzija so much but every chance you get you drill him. Alot of us Cub fans happen to like Samardzija as a Cub pitcher.

[ ]

In reply to by jakester

Oh yeah Rob G. another way I can tell you hate Samardzija is that you always place him at the end of the list when you mention the other bullpen pitchers. I have no idea why you dislike Samardzija so much but every chance you get you drill him. Alot of us Cub fans happen to like Samardzija as a Cub pitcher.

I put him at the end of the list because he has the least likely chance to make the team at the moment. I'm sorry you're not familiar with how major league rosters work and options.

Geez, what the hell "jakester". Why the chubbie for Samardja? Rob has "proven" to you he hates your boy? Is this a school-boy crush, or are you a Golden Domer just drinking black and gold kool-aid? (I hate ND & Charlie Weis - but like Heilman, Joe Montana - and Old Style)

I bet jakester is really Samardjiza's mom or something. Anyways, I have no doubt Samardjiza will be balls-on good someday, but I don't think this year is the year. Let's let him pitch some AAA ball and see how he reacts to a hitter's league like the PCL. I'd like to see him develop that 2-seamer into something legit as well. That's always a good pitch to have at Wrigley.

Wow...Cubs cut Pawelek, Grant Johnson and Ryan Harvey. Throw in Bobby Brownlie and Hagerty and the Prior to Colvin era of highest Cub draft pick is all departed. Colvin...who knows what we will get this year out of him. Imagine the Cubs if they actually could draft well. More importantly, the poor drafting might be evidence of how well Hendry has done outside of the top draft picks; who would expect a team to be a contender for a 3rd straight division titles without any #1 draft picks from the last 10 years being on the team.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Could you have picked a worse example E-man? Burrell (98), Utley (00) and Hamels (02) were all 1st round picks. Scott Rolen (93) and Jimmy Rollins (96) were second rounders. I'd say they did pretty well with their top picks, no? Edit: and Wes points out that Brett Myers was a 1st rounder too, wow. I'd say the Phillies have been awesome in the draft. The Cubs have a huge crutch to fall back on--a big market team's fat wallet. Lousy drafts haven't hurt them because they have the $$ to just get proven FAs instead. For the alternative, look at some lousy, small market franchises that have drafted poorly--the woeful Nats and Pirates, the slightly-less woeful Royals as three obvious examples. They've drafted just as bad as the Cubs, but do not have the money to make up for those mistakes.

[ ]

In reply to by Jim Hickmans Bat

Some other winners from the last ten years (1st rounders only): Rangers: Carlos Pena (98), Mark Teixeira (01), John Danks (03) Orioles: Brian Roberts (99), Mike Fontenot (01), Nick Markakis (03) Mets: David Wright (01), Aaron Heilman (01), Scott Kazmir (02) Marlins: Josh Beckett (99), Adrian Gonzalez (00), Jeremy Hermida (02) Dodgers: James Loney (02), Chad Billingsley (03), Clayton Kershaw (06) Devil Rays: Josh Hamilton (99), Rocco Baldelli (00), BJ Upton (02), Delmon Young (03), Evan Longoria (06), David Price (07) Diamondbacks: Carlos Quentin (03), Conor Jackson (03), Stephen Drew (04), Justin Upton (05), Max Scherzer (06) Brewers: Ben Sheets (99), Prince Fielder (02), Rickie Weeks (03), Ryan Braun (05) Athletics: Mark Mulder (98), Barry Zito (99), Jeremy Bonderman (01), Nick Swisher (02), Mark Teahan (02), Huston Street (04) And stepping back a few years, how about the Mariners picks from 91 through 96? In successive years, they drafted Shawn Estes, Ron Villone, Alex Rodriguez, Jason Varitek, Jose Cruz Jr., and Gil Meche; all solid major league contributors.

[ ]

In reply to by The E-Man

Not sure your point is accurate. Phils top picks: 1999: Brett Myers 2000: Chase Utley 2001: Gavin Floyd (terrible trade for Freddy Garcia, but still more productive in 2009 than any Cub pick) 2002: Cole Hamels 2003: Tim Moss (out of baseball) 2004: Greg Golson (up for cup of coffee last year, traded to Rangers for prospect John Mayberry Jr.) 2005: Mike Costanzo (part of trade for Brad Lidge) 2006-8: Kyle Drabek, Joe Savery and Anthony Hewitt (#5, 20 and 14 in BA's Phils top 30). Other than the fact that Hamels (their best pitcher), Utley (one of the best hitters in baseball) and Myers are 1st round picks and that Costanzo was used as part of the Lidge deal, I think you miss the point. The difference is that 1st round draft picks, in general, perform much better than any other round (as you would expect). So a team that produces good players from their top picks would have an easier time being successful than a top that does not. Or, more exactly, a team that fails with every top draft pick would not be expected to be good. Thus, I am saying that Hendry's work is impressive that we are good when the drafting has been so terrible.

"Could you have picked a worse example E-man?" Terrible example, I admit. ok, there have to be other examples of recent success stories without top draft choices or minor league blue-chips...

I've heard that if C. Fox makes it through camp healthy and feeling good, he gets a roster spot. His pitching this Spring has proven he can still get people out. The guy has a wicked slider. You can pitch him in Houston the opening series because the weather will be warm. I'd limit his innings in the chill of Chicago as long as I could. Also hear he's a good clubhouse guy, and likes working with the young pitchers. I look for him to have a roving instructor/scouting gig with the Cubbies when his playing days are over.

[ ]

In reply to by majcne

Again, the only way I think this is smart is if Harden starts the year on the DL. Otherwise, you're giving up on two of Patton, Guzman, and Gaudin with virtually zero possibility of getting them back. I agree that Fox has had a good spring and he can clearly get hitters out when healthy. But the fact that he's SUCH a risk to have a season-ending injury at any time, it's just not prudent at all to kick two of Patton, Guzman, and Gaudin to the curb just so Fox can pitch for, in all likelihood, a couple months at most.

[ ]

In reply to by The Joe

Good call. What happened to her? Also, I noticed there were suddenly 87 comments on this thread, and my first thought was someone had to be stirring shit up. Sure enough, Rob apparently hates Samardzija. Here's a potentially interesting tidbit from Samardzija's blog (http://www.jeff-samardzija.com/blog.asp) that might give us some insight into who "jakester" really is: "One last sweet piece of information, my new video game alias I'm hearing is Jake Sampson. I haven't played the game yet because we're on the road, but the new MLB 2K8 has me in it with the Cubs. My buddies are saying I'm in the minors, and have good quicks on the base paths. I like what I'm hearing. Though the hairstyle is up for debate at this point people are telling me. Guess the name Jeff Samardzija isn't too appealing these days to gamers. Jake Sampson does have a nice ring to it..." So, is "jakester" really Jeff Samardzija himself, using his video game alias? My guess is he's just a 14-year old who took a break from tweeting and found TCR, but it's an interesting idea...

My company just switched to Webwasher and TCR is now blocked. Anyone know of a good proxy or other method for getting around it?

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    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 
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    FRANKIE SCALZO JR
    FB: 94-95
    CH: 88 
    SL: 83
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    MICHAEL ARIAS
    FB: 94-96
    CH: 87-89
    SL: 82-83
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    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.