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

2014 Cubs Extended Spring Training - Final Stats

 

2014 Cubs Cactus League Extended Spring Training - Final Stats

NOTE: Does NOT include intrasquad & sim games

There is no Official Scorer at Cactus League Extended Spring Training games, so all stats are unofficial

2014 CUBS CACTUS LEAGUE EXST RECORD: 24-27-6


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POSITION PLAYERS


* bats left
# bats both

"SLASH-LINE" below POSITION PLAYERS names = AVG/OBP/SLG

NOTE: POSITION PLAYERS ARE SORTED BY PLATE APPEARANCES (PA)


GLEYBER TORRES (SS) - Age 17 - 2013 IFA (Venezuela) 
311/402/396
123 PA (31 GAMES)
33-106 - 5 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 13 RBI, 15 R, 14 BB, 21 K, 2 HBP, 1 SH, 1 GIDP, 4 SB (2 CS), 3 PO
ERRORS: 14  

* RASHAD CRAWFORD (CF-RF) - Age 20 - 2012 11th round draft pick (Mundy's Mill HS - Clayton, GA)
176/324/306
106 PA (29 GAMES)
15-85 - 1 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 21 R, 15 BB, 29 K, 4 HBP, 1 SH, 1 SF, 1 GIDP, 11 SB (2 CS), 1 PO 
OUTFIELD ASSISTS: 1 

JEFFREY BAEZ (RF-CF) - Age 20 - 2010 IFA (Venezuela)
322/408/511 
103 PA (27 GAMES)
29-90 - 3 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 10 RBI, 18 R, 12 BB, 15 K, 1 HBP, 1 GIDP, 14 SB (0 CS), 1 PO 
ERRORS: 1
OUTFIELD ASSISTS: 2

CHARCER BURKS (LF-CF) - Age 19 - 2013 9th round draft pick (William B, Travis HS - Richmond, TX)
140/242/221
99 PA (28 GAMES)
12-86 - 3 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 9 RBI, 14 R, 9 BB, 18 K, 3 HBP, 1 SF, 1 GIDP, 8 SB (1 CS)
ERRORS: 1 
OUTFIELD ASSISTS: 2 

KEVIN BROWN (LF-RF-1B-3B) - Age 23 - 2013 22nd round draft pick (Bryant U.)
325/423/538
LAST 10 GAMES: 406/459/625
97 PA (28 GAMES)
26-80 - 4 2B, 3 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 20 R, 13 BB, 14 K, 2 HBP, 2 SF, 2 SB (2 CS), 1 PO
ERRORS: 1 (E-3)
OUTFIELD ASSISTS: 1 (LF)

ELOY JIMENEZ (RF-CF) - Age 17 - 2013 IFA (Dominican Republic)
261/289/402
LAST 10 GAMES: 297/324/778
97 PA (26 GAMES)
24-92 - 5 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 8 R, 4 BB, 23 K, 1 SF, 1 SB (3 CS)

JESSE HODGES (3B) - Age 20 - 2012 NDFA (Canadian Junior National Team)
280/366/402
LAST 10 GAMES: 303/455/378
93 PA (27 GAMES)
23-82 - 6 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 10 RBI, 9 R, 7 BB, 22 K, 4 HBP, 3 GIDP, 0 SB (2 CS)
ERRORS: 9 

# VARONEX CUEVAS (3B-2B-SS) - Age 21 - 2011 IFA (Dominican Republic)
288/416/493
LAST 15 GAMES: 357/426/690
89 PA (24 GAMES)
21-73 - 3 2B, 3 3B, 2 HR, 11 RBI, 14 R, 16 BB, 20 K, 1 GIDP, 2 SB (4 CS) 
ERRORS: 4 (two E-6 & two E-5)

SHAMIL UBIERA (LF-RF-CF) - Age 21 - 2012 IFA (Dominican Republic)
305/333/463
87 PA (25 GAMES) 
25-82 - 9 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 10 R, 4 BB, 7 K, 1 SF, 5 GIDP, 2 SB (0 CS)
ERRORS: 1
OUTFIELD ASSISTS: 2

# RONEY ALCALA (1B-3B) - Age 20 - 2011 IFA (Venezuela)  
275/318/400
85 PA (26 GAMES)
22-80 - 8 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 12 RBI, 11 R, 4 BB, 11 K, 3 GIDP, 3 SB (0 CS)  
ERRORS: 4 (three E-5 & one E-3) 

RONY RODRIGUEZ (1B-RF-LF) - Age 24 - 2013 NDFA (U. of Miami)
222/351/333
77 PA (23 GAMES)
14-63 - 4 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 12 R, 11 BB, 18 K, 2 HBP, 1 SF, 1 GIDP, 5 SB (0 CS)
ERRORS: 1 (E-3)
NOTE: Was released on 6/4

ADONIS PAULA (3B) - Age 19 - 2011 IFA (Dominican Republic)
171/227/243
75 PA (22 GAMES)
12-70 - 3 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 15 R, 4 BB, 18 K, 1 HBP, 1 GIDP, 0 SB (1 CS), 1 PO 
ERRORS: 5

* BRYANT FLETE (2B-SS) - Age 21 - 2012 IFA (Venezuela)
305/438/356
LAST 10 GAMES: 345/457/448
74 PA (23 GAMES)
18-59 - 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 9 R, 13 BB, 10 K, 1 HBP, 1 SH, 1 GIDP, 3 SB (2 CS)  
ERRORS: 6 (four E-4 & two E-6)

* RICARDO MARCANO (LF-RF-1B) - Age 19 - 2011 IFA (Venezuela)
190/300/207 
70 PA (22 GAMES)
11-58 - 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 8 RBI, 6 R, 10 BB, 13 K, 2 SF, 0 SB (0 CS) 

ELLIOT SOTO (SS-2B) - Age 24 - 2010 15th round draft pick (Creighton)
333/397/417
68 PA (18 GAMES)
20-60 - 1 2B, 2 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 12 R, 6 BB, 9 K, 1 HBP, 1 SF, 3 SB (0 CS)
ERRORS: 1 (SS)
NOTE: Was at EXST while serving 50-game "Drug of Abuse" suspension - moved up to AA Tennessee 5/29

TYLER ALAMO (C-1B) - Age 19 - 2013 24th round draft pick (Cypress HS - Cypress, CA)
214/333/321
66 PA (21 GAMES)
12-56 - 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 9 RBI, 6 R, 6 BB, 10 K, 4 HBP, 1 GIDP, 0 SB (0 CS)
CATCHERS DEFENSE: 4-16 CS (25%), 2 PO, 2 PB, 2 ERRORS

ARNALDO CALERO (LF-RF) - Age 20 - 2011 IFA (Venezuela)
232/308/357 
65 PA (22 GAMES)
13-56 - 4 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 12 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB, 15 K, 2 HBP, 2 SF, 1 GIDP, 0 SB (0 CS)
ERRORS: 2
OUTFIELD  ASSISTS: 3  

MARK MALAVE (C-1B) - Age 19 - 2011 IFA (Venezuela)
220/277/288
LAST 15 GAMES: 267/306/356
65 PA (20 GAMES)
13-59 - 2 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 8 R, 5 BB, 14 K, 1 SF, 0 SB (1 CS)
CATCHERS DEFENSE: 4-10 CS (40%), 1 PO, 4 PB, 2 ERRORS
NOTE: Malave was formerly a switch-hitter, now hits only RH    
 
* ZAK BLAIR (2B) - Age 24 - 2013 20th round draft pick (Mercyhurst U.)
255/359/364
64 PA (18 GAMES)
14-55 - 1 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 10 RBI, 6 R, 8 BB, 9 K, 1 HBP, 0 SB (0 CS), 1 PO 
ERRORS: 6

* JUSTIN MARRA (C-1B) - Age 21 - 2011 15th round draft pick (Canadian Junior National Team)
226/317/340
60 PA (19 GAMES)
12-53 - 4 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 7 BB, 15 K, 1 GIDP, 1 SB (0 CS)
CATCHERS DEFENSE: 5-14 CS (36%), 0 PO, 1 PB, 3 ERRORS

# OLIVER ZAPATA (RF-CF-LF) - Age 21 - 2009 IFA (Dominican Republic)
265/351/469
57 PA (18 GAMES)
13-49 - 4 2B, 3 3B, 0 HR, 11 RBI, 5 R, 7 BB, 12 K, 1 SF, 1 GIDP, 5 SB (1 CS), 1 PO
OUTFIELD ASSISTS: 2  
NOTE: Assigned to EXST from Daytona 4/27

* ALBERTO MINEO (C-1B) - Age 19 - 2010 IFA (Italy)
283/400/370
55 PA (17 GAMES)
13-46 - 4 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 4 RBI, 7 R, 9 BB, 15 K, 1 GIDP, 1 SB (2 CS)   
CATCHERS DEFENSE: 0-6 CS (0%)

# DALFIS ORTIZ (2B-3B) - Age 22 - 2012 IFA (Dominican Republic)
170/245/234
54 PA (18 GAMES)
8-47 - 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 1 R, 5 BB, 13 K, 1 SH, 1 SF, 3 SB (0 CS), 3 PO 
ERRORS: 3 (all E-4)

ANTONIO VALERIO (C) - Age 23 - 2011 IFA (Dominican Republic)
214/313/262
48 PA (15 GAMES)
9-42 - 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 6 R, 5 BB, 7 K, 1 HBP, 2 GIDP, 0 SB (0 CS)
CATCHERS DEFENSE: 6-13 CS (46%)
NOTE: Was moved up to Kane County 6/7

# ERICK CASTILLO (C) - Age 21 - 2010 IFA (Venezuela)
268/318/463
44 PA (15 GAMES)  
11-41 - 2 2B, 0 3B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 4 R, 3 BB, 7 K, 0 SB (0 CS)
CATCHERS DEFENSE: 6-26 CS (23%), 1 PO, 1 PB, 1 ERROR

MATT SCIOSCIA (1B) - Age 25 - Acquired from LAA for 1B Trevor Gretzky (March 2014)
348/423/391
26 PA (7 GAMES)
8-23 - 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K, 0 SB (0 CS) 
ERRORS: 1  
NOTE: Was released on 5/1

JORGE SOLER
(RF) - Age 22 - 2012 IFA (Cuba)
182/269/227
26 PA (5 GAMES)
4-22 - 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 3 RBI, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K, 3 HBP, 1 SF, 1 SB (0 CS)
NOTE: INJURY REHAB 4/28 - 5/6

GIUSEPPE PAPACCIO
(2B-SS-3B) - Age 23 - 2013 18th round draft pick (Seton Hall) 
000/040/000
25 PA (7 GAMES)
0-24 - 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 GIDP, 0 SB (0 CS)
ERRORS: 2 (one E-4 & one E-5)
NOTE: Assigned to EXST from Daytona 5/28

CASPER WELLS (RF) -  Age 29 - 2014 minor league FA
238/320/333
25 PA (6 GAMES)
5-21 - 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 5 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K, 1 HBP, 1 SF, 0 SB (0 CS)
NOTE: INJURY REHAB 5/5 - 5/19  

EUFRAN VARGAS (C) - Age 19 - 2012 IFA (Venezuela)
167/318/222
22 PA (9 GAMES)
3-18 - 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 5 K, 2 GIDP, 0 SB (0 CS)  
CATCHERS DEFENSE: 3-9 CS (33%), 0 PO, 2 PB

* DANNY CANELA (1B) - Age 23 - 2013 NDFA (Lee University)
333/368/444
19 PA (5 GAMES)
6-18 - 2 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 SB (0 CS) 
NOTE: Assigned to EXST from Kane County 5/28

JUSTIN RUGGIANO (RF)  - Age 32 - Acquired from MIA for OF Brian Bogusevic (December 2013)
154/214/231
14 PA (4 GAMES)
2-13 - 1 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB, 3 K, 0 SB (1 CS)
ERRORS: 1
NOTE: INJURY REHAB 5/12 - 5/18   

MANNY RAMIREZ (DH) - Age 42 - 2014 minor league FA
250/333/625
9 PA (2 GAMES)
2-8 - 0 2B, 0 3B, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 2 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 GIDP, 0 SB (0 CS)
NOTE: Assigned to EXST 6/1

* RYAN SWEENEY (CF) - Age 29 - 2013 minor league FA
167/375/167
8 PA (2 GAMES)
1-6 - 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 0 SB (0 CS)
NOTE: INJURY REHAB beginning on 6/4   

TIM SAUNDERS (2B) - Age 24 - 2012 32nd round draft pick (Marietta College)
333/400/333
5 PA (1 GAME)
1-3 - 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 2 RBI, 0 BB, 1 K, 1 HBP, 1 SF, 1 SB (0 CS)
NOTE: Assigned to EXST from Daytona 6/4

JAE-HOON HA (CF) - Age 23 - 2008 IFA (South Korea)
333/500/333
4 PA (1 GAME)
1-3 - 0 2B, 0 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 SB (0 CS)
NOTE INJURY REHAB - was moved up to AA Tennessee 4/13



++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



PITCHERS


* throws left

NOTE: PITCHERS ARE SORTED BY INNINGS PITCHED (IP)


ERICK LEAL - Age 19 - Acquired from AZ for OF Tony Campana (February 2013)
5.35 ERA - 1.50 WHIP - .278 OppBA
35.1 IP, 37 H, 24 R (21 ER), 16 BB, 29 K, 3 HBP, 2 HR, 5 WP, 2 PO, 1 BALK, 5 GIDP, 43/29 GO/FO, 63% strikes, 15.6 PITCHES-PER-INNING 
11 GAMES (3 GS)

JOEL PINEIRO - Age 35 - 2014 minor league FA
5.34 ERA - 1.40 WHIP - .289 OppBA
28.2 IP, 33 H, 19 R (17 ER), 7 BB, 22 K, 1 HR, 4 WP, 1 PO, 5 GIDP, 44/15 GO/FO, 72% strikes, 13.4 PITCHES-PER INNING
6 GAMES (3 GS)
NOTE: Was moved up to AA Tennessee 5/12 

TREVOR CLIFTON - Age 19  - 2013 12th round draft pick (Heritage HS - Maryville, TN)
4.73 ERA - 1.28 WHIP - .232 OppBA
26.2 IP, 23 H, 16 R (14 ER), 11 BB, 34 K, 4 HBP, 2 HR, 6 WP, 2 GIDP, 30/14 GO/FO, 57% strikes, 16.7 PITCHES-PER INNING
ERRORS: 1
9 GAMES (5 GS)

* TYLER IHRIG - Age 22 - 2013 22nd round draft pick (College of Marin)
2.52 ERA - 1.08 WHIP - .220 OppBA
25.0 IP, 20 H, 12 R (7 ER), 7 BB, 26 K, 2 WP, 1 PO, 30/15 GO/FO, 66% strikes, 14.6 PITCHES-PER INNING
ERRORS: 2
8 GAMES (7 GS)
NOTE: Was at Daytona 5/21 - 5/30

* JOSE PAULINO - Age 19 - 2011 IFA (Dominican Republic)
1.11 ERA - 1.03 WHIP - .186 OppBA
24.1 IP, 16 H, 5 R (3 ER), 9 BB, 18 K, 1 WP, 1 GIDP, 27/26 GO/FO, 61% strikes, 15.4 PITCHES-PER INNING
ERRORS: 1
9 GAMES (3 GS)

LUIS HERNANDEZ - Age 19 - 2012 IFA (Dominican Republic)
3.97 ERA - 1.32 WHIP - .253 OppBA
22.2 IP, 21 H, 12 R (10 ER), 9 BB, 18 K, 1 HR, 3 WP, 1 PO, 2 GIDP, 29/17 GO/FO, 60% strikes, 15.6 PITCHES-PER-INNING
ERRORS: 2
9 GAMES (1 GS)

TREY LANG - Age 22 - 2012 6th round draft pick (Gateway CC)
7.91 ERA - 2.43 WHIP - .304 OppBA
19.1 IP, 24 H, 18 R (17 ER), 23 BB, 20 K, 2 HBP, 8 WP, 4 GIDP, 21/14 GO/FO, 51% strikes, 18.4 PITCHES-PER-INNING 
13 GAMES

* ALBERTO DIAZ - Age 22 - 2010 IFA (Venezuela)
3.44 ERA - 2.07 WHIP - .338 OppBA
18.1 IP, 25 H, 8 R (7 ER), 13 BB, 15 K, 4 WP, 3 PO, 1 GIDP, 18/17 GO/FO, 63% strikes, 15.7 PITCHES-PER-INNING
ERRORS: 1
12 GAMES
NOTE: Was moved up to Kane County 6/7

DALLAS BEELER - Age 24 - 2010 41st round draft pick (Oral Roberts U.)
4.50 ERA - 1.39 WHIP - .304 OppBA
18.0 IP, 21 H, 9 R (9 ER), 4 BB, 12 K, 1 PO, 30/6 GO/FO, 71% strikes, 12.9 PITCHES-PER-INNING
4 GAMES (4 GS)
NOTE: INJURY REHAB - reinstated from Iowa DL 5/5 

GREYFER EREGUA - Age 20 - 2012 IFA (Venezuela)
4.00 ERA - 1.22 WHIP - .257 OppBA
18.0 IP, 18 H, 8 R (8 ER), 4 BB, 21 K, 3 HBP, 1 HR, 1 WP, 1 GIDP, 18/14 GO/FO, 67% strikes, 16.5 PITCHES-PER INNING 
11 GAMES

TREVOR GRAHAM - Age 22 - 2013 13th round draft pick (Franklin Pierce U.)
1.59 ERA - 0.89 WHIP - .226 OppBA
17.0 IP, 14 H, 4 R (3 ER), 5 BB, 22 K, 1 HR, 1 WP, 1 GIDP, 15/12 GO/FO, 62% strikes, 15.4 PITCHES-PER INNING
5 GAMES (5 GS)
NOTE: Was at Daytona 5/21 - 6/4 

FRANCISCO CARRILLO - Age 24 - 2012 IFA (Venezuela)
2.70 ERA - 0.90 WHIP - .213 OppBA
16.2 IP, 13 H, 6 R (5 ER), 2 BB, 23 K, 1 HR, 1 GIDP, 13/13 GO/FO, 71% strikes, 14.8 PITCHES-PER-INNING
11 GAMES  

YOMAR MOREL - Age 20 - 2010 IFA (Dominican Republic)
4.41 ERA - 1.35 WHIP - .274 OppBA
16.1 IP, 17 H, 9 R (8 ER), 5 BB, 8 K, 1 WP, 1 GIDP, 15/23 GO/FO, 65% strikes, 15.6 PITCHES-PER-INNING
11 GAMES

ZAK HERMANS - Age 22 - 2013 30th round draft pick (Princeton)
2.25 ERA - 1.00 WHIP - .196 OppBA
16.0 IP, 11 H, 4 R (4 ER), 5 BB, 13 K, 1 HBP, 2 WP, 1 PO, 1 GIDP, 18/15 GO/FO, 67% strikes, 13.9 PITCHES-PER INNING
8 GAMES (1 GS)
NOTE: Was moved up to Kane County 5/19

CARLOS LLANO - Age 22 - 2012 IFA (Dominican Republic)
2.87 ERA - 1.47 WHIP - .208 OppBA
15.2 IP, 11 H, 6 R (5 ER), 12 BB, 9 K, 2 HBP, 2 WP, 2 GIDP, 1 PO, 20/15 GO/FO, 51% strikes, 16.1 PITCHES-PER-INNING
ERRORS: 1
12 GAMES

JEFERSON MEJIA - Age 19 - 2013 IFA (Dominican Republic)
7.80 ERA - 2.07 WHIP - .311 OppBA
15.0 IP, 19 H, 15 R (13 ER), 12 BB, 15 K, 1 HBP, 6 WP, 2 GIDP, 14/15 GO/FO, 56% strikes, 20.2 PITCHES-PER-INNING
8 GAMES (4 GS)

CORBIN  HOFFNER - Age 20 - 2012 14th round draft pick (St. Petersburg College)
1.26 ERA - 0.42 WHIP - .109 OppBA
14.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 9 K, 1 HR, 2 GIDP, 25/9 GO/FO, 73% strikes, 11.3 PITCHES-PER INNING
8 GAMES
NOTE: Was moved up to Kane County 5/19

HECTOR PEREZ - Age 20 - 2011 IFA (Dominican Republic)
5.02 ERA - 1.47 WHIP - .218 OppBA
14.1 IP, 12 H, 10 R (8 ER), 9 BB, 12 K, 4 WP, 13/18 GO/FO, 61% strikes, 18.1 PITCHES-PER INNING
8 GAMES (1 GS)

JASVIR RAKKAR - Age 23 - 2012 26th round draft pick (SUNY - Stony Brook)
3.21 ERA - 1.14 WHIP - .245 OppBA
14.0 IP, 13 H, 5 R (5 ER), 3 BB, 12 K, 2 WP, 16/12 GO/FO, 69% strikes, 13.8 PITCHES-PER INNING
ERRORS: 1
9 GAMES
NOTE: Was moved up to Daytona 6/7

ADBERT ALZOLAY - Age 19 - 2012 IFA (Venezuela)
9.00 ERA - 1.92 WHIP - .304 OppBA
13.0 IP, 17 H, 13 R (13 ER), 8 BB, 10 K, 1 HR, 2 WP, 10/19 GO/FO, 59% strikes, 19.5 PITCHES-PER-INNING
ERRORS: 1
8 GAMES (1 GS)

PIERCE JOHNSON - Age 23 - 2012 Supplemental 1st round draft pick (Missouri State)
0.82 ERA - 0.91 WHIP - .205 OppBA
11.0 IP, 8 H, 1 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 16 K, 1 PO, 7/8 GO/FO, 70% strikes, 15.0 PITCHES-PER INNING
3 GAMES (3 GS)
NOTE: INJURY REHAB - reinstated from AA Tennessee 7-day DL 4/25, back to EXST INJURY REHAB 5/29    

DAVID GARNER - Age 21 - 2013 7th round draft pick (Michigan State)
4.22 ERA - 1.41 WHIP - .250 OppBA
10.2 IP, 10 H, 5 R (5 ER), 5 BB, 11 K, 3 HBP, 3 WP, 1 GIDP, 14/6 GO/FO, 56% strikes, 16.5 PITCHES-PER INNING
ERRORS: 1
9 GAMES

JOSH DAVIS - Age 23 - 2013 NDFA (Belmont U.)
1.80 ERA - 1.20 WHIP - .250 OppBA
10.0 IP, 9 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 8 K, 2 GIDP, 14/7 GO/FO, 70% strikes, 15.0 PITCHES-PER INNING
5 GAMES
NOTE: At Kane County 4/12 - 5/2, at Daytona 5/24 - 5/30, then back to KC again on 6/5   

MICHAEL WAGNER - Age 22 - 2013 15th round draft pick (U. of San Diego)
1.92 ERA - 1.07 WHIP - .222 OppBA
9.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R (2 ER), 4 BB, 10 K, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 7/10 GO/FO, 62% strikes, 14.3 PITCHES-PER-INNING
5 GAMES
NOTE: Was moved up to Kane County 5/6  

VICTOR SALAZAR - Age 21 - 2009 IFA (Venezuela)
14.00 ERA - 2.78 WHIP - .278 OppBA
9.0 IP, 10 H, 14 R (14 ER), 15 BB, 6 K, 2 HBP, 1 HR, 4/16 GO/FO, 50% strikes, 24.4 PITCHES-PER-INNING
8 GAMES

* MICHAEL HEESCH - Age 24 - 2012 8th round round draft pick (USCB)
0.00 ERA - 0.79 WHIP - .227 OppBA
6.1 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HBP, 5/4 GO/FO, 70% strikes, 14.9 PITCHES-PER-INNING 
5 GAMES (2 GS)
NOTE: INJURY REHAB - moved up to Kane County 5/24 

KYUJI FUJIKAWA - Age 33 -  2013 IFA (Japan)
1.59 ERA - 0.71 WHIP - .120 OppBA
5.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 4 K, 1 HBP, 1 WP, 6/7 GO/FO, 66% strikes, 15.7 PITCHES-PER INNING
6 GAMES (3 GS)
NOTE: INJURY REHAB 

FRAILYN FIGUEROA - Age 18 - 2011 IFA (Dominican Republic)
5.79 ERA - 2.36 WHIP - .143 OppBA
4.2 IP, 2 H, 4 R (3 ER), 9 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 2 WP, 1 PO, 1 BALK, 3/5 GO/FO, 51% strikes, 21.2 PITCHES-PER INNING  
ERRORS: 1
3 GAMES (2 GS)

JOSH CONWAY - Age 23 - 2012 4th round draft pick (Coastal Carolina)
8.31 ERA - 2.54 WHIP - .450 OppBA
4.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R (4 ER), 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR, 3/4 GO/FO, 63% strikes, 21.2 PITCHES-PER INNING 
3 GAMES (3 GS)
NOTE: INJURY REHAB 

* ANDIN DIAZ - Age 21 - 2012 IFA (Dominican Republic)
2.25 ERA - 1.50 WHIP - .286 OppBA
4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 2 K, 2 WP, 1 PO, 2 GIDP, 6/3 GO/FO, 63% strikes, 15.5 PITCHES-PER-INNING
2 GAMES (1 GS)
NOTE: Was assigned to DSL Cubs 5/31

MATT LOOSEN - Age 25 - 2010 23rd round draft pick (U. of Jacksonville)
7.36 ERA - 2.25 WHIP - .214 OppBA
3.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R (3 ER), 4 BB, 4 K, 2/5 GO/FO, 58% strikes, 19.2 PITCHES-PER-INNING 
1 GAME (1 GS)
NOTE: At EXST while on RESTRICTED LIST 5/22 - 6/3, then back to AA Tennessee

TREY MASEK - Age 22 - 2013 5th round draft pick (Texas Tech)
4.91 ERA - 1.36 WHIP - .273 OppBA
3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, 1 HBP, 1 HR, 1 WP, 2/1 GO/FO, 57% strikes, 18.6 PITCHES-PER-INNING
3 GAMES (1 GS)
NOTE: INJURY REHAB

JESUS CASTILLO - Age 18 - Acquired from AZ for OF Tony Campana (February 2013)
3.00 ERA - 1.67 WHIP - .333 OppBA
3.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R (1 ER), 1 BB, 3 K, 1 WP, 2/3 GO/FO, 56% strikes, 17.3 PITCHES-PER-INNING
2 GAMES 
NOTE: INJURY REHAB  

RYAN McNEIL - Age 20 - 2012 3rd round draft pick (Nipomo HS - Nipomo, CA)
6.75 ERA - 1.50 WHIP - .233 OppBA
2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, 1 BALK, 2/5 GO/FO, 65% strikes, 18.8 PITCHES-PER-INNING  
2 GAMES
NOTE: INJURY REHAB

* ZAC ROSSCUP - Age 25 - Acquired from TB in multi-player trade (January 2011)
0.00 ERA - 0.00 WHIP - .000 OppBA
2.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K, 2/3 GO/FO, 67% strikes, 11.5 PITCHES-PER INNING
2 GAMES
NOTE: INJURY REHAB 6/2 - 6/8  

PEDRO STROP - Age 28 - Acquired from BAL in multi-player trade (July 2013)
0.00 ERA - 0.50 WHIP - .000 OppBA
2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, 1 WP, 2/0 GO/FO, 70% strikes, 15.0 PITCHES-PER-INNING  
2 GAMES (1 GS)
NOTE: INJURY REHAB 5/7 - 5/30 

BEN WELLS - Age 21 - 2010 7th round draft pick (Bryant HS - Bryant, AR)
31.50 ERA - 4.50 WHIP -  .462 OppBA
2.0 IP, 6 H, 7 R (7 ER), 3 BB, 2 K, 1 WP, 4/1 GO/FO, 53% strikes, 25.5 PITCHES-PER-INNING
1 GAME (1 GS)
NOTE: Was assigned to EXST from Daytona 5/24

EDUARDO FIGUEROA - Age 25 - 2007 IFA (Venezuela)
0.00 ERA - 0.00 WHIP - .000 OppBA
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 2/0 GO/FO, 63% strikes, 19 PITCHES-PER INNING  
1 GAME (1 GS)
NOTE: Was moved up to AAA Iowa 4/13

SCOTT FRAZIER - Age 20 - 2013 8th round draft pick (Pepperdine)
0.00 ERA - 2.00 WHIP - .000 OppBA
1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K, 1/1 GO/FO, 42% strikes, 24 PITCHES-PER-INNING 
1 GAME



Comments

Both Torres and Jimenez look to have distinguished themselves pretty well. Jimenez after a slow start out of the gate. I wonder if he is named after the quiet race in the Time Machine.

Olt out of the lineup again. I know the dude's not been hitting the last few games, but my God. Send him to Iowa for some ABs if you're not gonna play him.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

I'm just speculating.....but I believe Epstoyer (and certainly, Ricky) have (or in process) soured on Olt. Len Kasper said on WSCR last week that 'he doesn't make enough contact'. I've got to believe the braintrust sees the same thing. I look for Olt to move in an upcoming trade or certainly be moved to AAA. With Baez, Bryant, Christian Villanueva, and now Schwarber, they appear to have plenty of 3B options and will be deciding who becomes starting outfielders and bench options.

[ ]

In reply to by George Altman

None of this makes sense. He has never had consistent playing time except in S.T. When he plays he often has the pitcher or Barney behind him. How can anyone evaluate him? Moreso this regime's way has been to PLAY people when they are trying to peddle them. Ricky pinch hitting for him in the 8th inning of a 5-2 game when he hasn't had many at bats AND had a web gem early in the game even baffled JD in the booth. It's really frickin weird.

[ ]

In reply to by George Altman

that seems like a pretty good assessment, but that's a lot of power to leave on the table and not develop or at least see if he could have turned it on the MLB club. He was here, and the only people stopping him were journeymen. It was a perfect opportunity to play him every day to see if he can hit. Playing him intermittently was just stupid.

i know this team is a lot of crap vs moderate crap when it comes to putting people in the lineup, but how much more of j.lake in the 2 spot are we going to see? he's got a sub-280 ob% and K's 1/3rd of his PAs...it's not even like he's a contact guy that is going to move runners at the expense of a better pitch...he's a wild swinger. also...it's past-due time to see less boni as an everyday player. -edit- and of course boni gets a leadoff single and lake makes contact to move him safely to 2nd...because baseball.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

What is everybody's preferred lineup?

Frankly with this shit sandwich I don't thing much matters, but I'd probably prefer this on most days with an eye towards what they should be hitting vs what they're actually hitting this year. I mean Sureouts has been crap, but he's much better than that as we've seen over the last week.

Valbuena, Castro, Schierholtz/Ruggiano platoon, Rizzo, Castillo, Olt, Lake, Sweeney

current wOBA

Rizzo .395, Valbuena .359, Ruggiano .336, Castro .327, Lake .315, Castillo .298, Bonifacio .293, Kalish .280, Coghlan .279, Olt .269, Schierholtz .264, Barney .242, Sweeney .231

vs. 2014 projections

Rizzo .347, Schierholtz .330, Ruggiano .324, Castro .320, Sweeney .320, Castillo .316, Valbuena .311, Olt .301, Lake .297

with today's current personal I'd probably go

Valbuena, Castro, Schierholtz, Rizzo, it really doesn't fucking matter

okay fine, make me fill it out

Valbuena, Castro, Schierholtz, Rizzo, Lake, Olt, Coghlan, Baker

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I don't have a preferred lineup - I just think they are wasting an opportunity to try out Olt here in a real way. The fantasy that every player has to have a certain makeup at the plate is not gonna play out. There are too many good pitchers in this league. Even if Olt hits low in the order and can get up to 250 or so and a decent OBP, he's a nice bat to have around at third base. Everyone says the Cubs are stacked at 3b. Nobody is stacked at third. Everyone out there is still a prospect, and Bryant sounds like he's headed for the outfield. If Olt isn't a Theo type player, why did they pick him up in the first place? Surely they knew what they were getting. EDIT: Did I mention that if he stays in the lineup every day he looks like he's going to be a very good fielder? Defense is important, too. The way they are handling this is stupid, and I don't claim to be an armchair GM. That's how stupid it is, though. An idiot like me knows that Olt should be in there every day over a guy like Valbuena, and yes, I know Valbuena can work the plate a little bit.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

i don't think it should be Valbuena sitting at this point, Barney's glove and all is awesome but not that awesome.

just curious what others want to see, don't think there are great options to be honest. I'm all for playing Olt especially coming out of spring training, but he's missing fastballs right down the middle at this point, doesn't have much to do with sitting.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

It's not so much Valbuena sitting as it is Olt hitting. And you'd be missing fastballs too if you didn't play every day. That's what I want to know. If he can't hit, fine, no big deal, the trade was pretty good as it was and if he doesn't pan out, not the end of the world. F'ing find out already by giving him a couple months playing time, straight up, no days off. And yeah, Valbuena at second. Barney shouldn't even be on a major league team right now.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

Yes yes and yes. That's what's so infuriating, I'm not even goofy about bunting and batting order. I just know this is not how you do things with a (formerly?) elite prospect. In fact is like to see any example of a top 20 MLB prospect indoctrinated this way? Also it's worth noting despite his struggles he has 3x more HR than Valbuena and twice as many RBI. Something REALLY odd is going on because we see Rentaria pull him a lot in late innings for no reason and that doesn't even make sense in the context of some sort of front office strategy. It feels like Ricky has. A weird ass obsession with controlling Olt in a way I'm not sure I've ever seen before.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

Put Olt in LF and give him 2 weeks of ABs and see what happens. I mean, really, what is the point of Chris Coughlin? At least the other fill-in guys have some major-league skills -- Valbuena gets on base and Benefacio can run and occasionally hit. Coughlin? He offers nothing. Poor kid -- won ROY a few years back, probably thought he would sign a big bucks contract and be set for life -- now, he'll probably be coaching high school baseball in a few years.

in other news, Cubs aiming for 6 in a row and winning again, Schierholtz triple today

fun with K rates

Junior Lake leads the majors at 33.9%, then

Espinosa 33.3, Springer 32.7, Reynolds 32.1, Carter 31.3, Howard 30.7, J. Upton 30.4

Another starting pitcher gets screwed out of a win....lousy few days for the youngsters in the pen -- they have taken turns being bad (Grimm Thursday, Rondon Friday, Schlitter and Strop today).

So basically, Rafael Lopez is considered organizational fodder, and will never get a shot even as a backup? That's the only reason I can see bringing up Eli Whiteside iinstead of him.

Let me reiterate that I agree with you guys, just let Olt play every day and see what happens. But as noted in an earlier thread, he has had stretches of fairly regular ABs. And since that stretch where he homered in four out of six games, he's gone something like 4 for 47. So it's understandable sitting a guy when he does that.

[ ]

In reply to by Tito

I'm gonna repost this because I posted it on an old thread. Olt's at bats have never been regular this year and he is often not even allowed to finish games. Note below that he was benched the day after homering for the 4th time in 6 days. Sat down. He homered a few days later. Seated the next day again. There has ALWAYS been a quick hook over his head for some reason. Those last 46 at bats have been pretty sporadic AND he walks and gets shit to swing at because he bats 7 & 8. There have been two wild pitches in the last week or so where runs have scored while he is at bat because pitchers pitch around him with men on base: Olt batted around .278 in spring training with 5 HR and seemed confident and in a groove. Granted it WAS spring training. That said in April he was allowed 3 magical stretches of being able to play 2 days in a row and 1 three day stretch in the final week of the month. (He had 1 HR and 3 RBI over those three days.) In May 2014 Olt was allowed an almost unheard of 6 days in a row starting at 3B. From May 7-12 he of course hit 4 HR had 8 RBI and 7 K's. The last day of this stretch he hit his team leading 8th HR and tied for the team lead in RBI. He was benched the next day. The next time he started 2 days in a row was the 17th and 18th ... he homered on the 18th and was benched the next day. On May 20-23 he was allowed 4 precious starts in 4 days. He had 4 RBI against the Yankees (3 in the victory against Tanaka). Two ofers against SD and he was benched. The 27th and 28th he started back to back against SF and has been riding the pine since even when Bonofacio started at 3B when Valbuena was injured. The above constitutes all instances where Olt played back to back days or more. It seems to me that the numbers DO kind of lie. I can't see where this kid was allowed to get into a rhythm and he was arguably benched on 5/13 when he was the hottest he's ever been ... Certainly at the MLB level.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

I will repost this from an earlier post: "From May 17-June 1 Olt started and played 9 innings in 11 of 14 games. He responded with a .114/.195/.257 line and struck out in nearly half of his PAs (19/41)." Did he play every inning of every game? No. But that's a two-week stretch in which he played almost every game and he wasn't pulled early from the games. I agree that they probably could have and still could play him more consistently to see what happens, but at some point he has to show something to warrant it as well. That line is abysmal, and the manager and front office are probably thinking it could hurt his development to keep sending him out there and having him struggle like this (he has looked pretty frustrated to me at the plate after some of this Ks), and so you give him a day off to clear his head, try to play match-ups to get him some success that he can build on, perhaps he is doing extra work in the cage on some off days, etc. We don't know the entire story.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

Can you think of another instance in the history of baseball where a player had 4HR and 8RBI IN A 6 game stretch (including a HR on the 6th day mind you so he wasn't cooling off) and he was seated the next day?? Then 5 days later he gets two games in a row, homers on the 2nd day and is seated? Baseball is a streaky game and I don't know many professionals at any experience level who would respond to this pattern. It's basically unheard of ... Can you find another player with high ceiling, who was ever brought up and seated to find good match ups? If it's as you say he should be in AAA batting every day. What are we learning about our future watching Barney and Boni? Are they doing anything that effects a potential playoff run in coming years? Olt could and I've never seen this before. Send him down - Villanueva isn't really doing anything at AAA.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

"Can you think of another instance in the history of baseball where a player had 4HR and 8RBI IN A 6 game stretch (including a HR on the 6th day mind you so he wasn't cooling off) and he was seated the next day??" LOL. Sorry, I don't have all 18,000+ players' game logs memorized. And it's certainly possible that no one else fits that exact, random pattern. But seriously, you think every young prospect in the history of baseball was brought up and played every single day, and Olt is the first one with infrequent playing time? How about Josh Donaldson? He started 2012 with the A's and played in about 2/3rds of the games through mid-June and was batting .153. He was then demoted to AAA, tore up the league (1.000 OPS), and was promoted in August. He hit .290 after the call-up, and then has been awesome in 2013 and 2014.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

Sorry for my incoherence. He's a first round pick, not a guy out of nowhere. That should be taken accounted for, send him to AAA to hit and play. But to benched for Barney is a joke.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

Jesus Christ. Really? This is a LAST PLACE team in massive rebuilding with a team full of journeymen and Rizzo and Castro. Possibly Wellington. The Oakland A's of 2012 won the AL West and won 94 games. My point wasn't that you needed to know the history of recorded statistics, it's that his playing pattern is bizarre. No player outside of a veteran catcher gets benched after lighting it up for 6 games to the tune of 4HR/8RBI. Few players are promoted to the level where the game is this difficult and thrown in randomly while taking BP. To adjust to the MLB quality of play you don't watch it, and the best players need to be in every day. Shall we talk small sample sizes? I mean I get it, you don't agree fine. But this isn't normal and I would bet a good deal of money that we find out someday that either Theo/Jed and Ricky are warring over this OR that Olt did something to exacerbate the situation like challenging Renteria or pissing him off somehow. Because this is a top 50 pick in the draft who at one point was a top 50 prospect and player of the year for a great system. The fact that he can't even get 4 AB in a game these days is just ridiculous. You disagree fine.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

I guess my main point is that sitting a day is not "getting benched" and I think you could find many examples of young players having a few good games and then sitting for a day. And I think it is easy from our perspective when we are thinking about the Cubs years down the road, but a manager has to try to win each day (even with a shit team), has to keep bench players sharp, looks at match-ups, needs to keep the clubhouse happy, etc. I am not reading anywhere else besides a Cubs blog with dedicated fans about how the Cubs are killing Olt's development and will rue the day, etc. He will probably go to AAA soon, the Cubs will trade some players in 6-8 weeks, and if he does well down there he'll come back for the last two months and hopefully perform well leading into next year. If he goes down and struggles in AAA like he is struggling now, then this might be the real Mike Olt.

[ ]

In reply to by Carlito

The Hoyer quotes in the second ESPN link were what I figured their view was, but hadn't read it before. Anyway, I hope he eventually figures it out, does well, and gets regular at-bats, and this will all be a moot point.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

I think what a lot of us were pissed off about was how he sat after having a huge few days as Carlito pointed out. It's a little odd, no matter how you try to reason it out, for a team still built around a journeymen core. The other thing the #freemikeolt crowd would like to see is just a few weeks in the lineup every single day. If he embarasses himself at the plate, that's the way it goes. Maybe he's not gonna be any good. Even with his strikeouts , they're leaving an Adam Dunn type bat on the bench, on a team that doesn't score runs. It's maddening. If they can't play him every day, they really ought to just send him down to get the ABs he needs.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I fully agree he's hard to watch right now. He needs to play every day or go to AAA. There's a part of me that wants him to find his way to the Cardinals so captain happy can face him for a few years ...

[ ]

In reply to by Rob Richardson

"How did they win their respective jobs? They don't give out many free passes. It's the first rule of a late-inning reliever, especially on the Cubs who don't blow teams out very often. If they're going to win there's a good chance it's going to be a close game and walking the opposition is the kiss of death." It's also extremely eff-ing annoying.

[ ]

In reply to by Ryno

Renteria has done a nice job there. He has no tolerance for late inning walks, which I like. With all the moaning about how he has handled Olt (including a lot by me), overall I think Capt Happy has done ok. People hate his lineup but I bet he does, too.

[ ]

In reply to by Old and Blue

Nice to hear someone defend Renteria. I think he does a good job (when he's not talking). Hitting Castro fourth was a stroke of luck or genius. Castro "got it" immediately: you can't take slappy swings at outside pitches when you're the cleanup hitter. So he stopped taking those swings and got serious. Throwing Veras overboard and then making Rondon his closer, while saying, no, he's not the closer, it's just for this week--I thought that was great. Renteria would have made that whole drawn-out Marmol melodrama much briefer. His big assignment, though, was getting Rizzo and Castro into all-star form. He did it with Castro, and while I think Rizzo righted his own ship, it happened on Renteria's watch. As far as his lineups are concerned, he has a boss (actually two bosses) and I think he's been told to play Valbuena and Barney. His bosses do like to accumulate assets heading into July. Look at Valbuena's slash line--.266/.379/.429(/.808)--easily his career best.

[ ]

In reply to by VirginiaPhil

From what I have heard from three different sources, Renteria does not makes decisions about playing time. He manages the game (PH, pitching changes, etc) and does what he can to help the players be the most they can be, but who plays where and how much they play is not his decision. He is just following orders.

Renteria was hired to take the Cubs from Point "A" to Point "B" (something Dale Sveum was unable to do). Once the Cubs get to Point "B" (the prospects have arrived and have settled-in and the club starts signing free-agents and making trades for veteran big leaguers), Renteria will probably be replaced as manager (although he could remain with the Cubs in a different capacity). 

So Rich Renteria is essentially Sgt. Hulka.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

I assume it only applies while they are sellers. Once they feel they have a competitive team I would be very upset if the suits did it. If this whole mess is to try and have one last sell off I can live with it. But honestly what do they expect to get for Barney and Sureholdz, or Valbuena. The pitchers should yield some parts.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Yeah, I would highly doubt that the front office is telling him how to fill out the lineup each day. That would be rather unprecedented. Most likely, they are giving him general directives like "please make sure player X gets consistent at-bats so we can build is trade value."

[ ]

In reply to by Arizona Phil

That's interesting. I bet the Theo boys thought they lost a year with Sveum. I look at Renteria this way: Overall, the positives outweigh the negatives, especially regarding Castro and Rizzo and Renteria's dislike of walks. Based on how he's treating Olt (pinch hitting him for Valbuena), he doesn't like guys giving away at bats like Olt did in Olt's prior AB. I just hope that after the dust settles, and they work out whatever trades they can manage, that they get Olt in there for 30 days in a row to see what he's got. It would be the ultimate in Cubbery to see him go somewhere else and thrive. And, I hope when trading Shark, they find themselves a good young outfielder. Easier said than done, and unlike the human encyclopedias on this site, no name will come to mind for me. But somebody major league ready or close. I think Lake has some potential as a CF - he seems to at least be trying to work on having better at bats and he can be fun to watch. But this team needs a good power outfielder.

from that awesome Cubs draft website someone posted earlier...

http://ccdt.webs.com/

22nd round pick Joey Martrano, the Boise St. Linebacker... his Dad said the ideal situation would be for the Cubs to draft him so he can play this summer at Boise St.

4th Round Pick Carson Sands told someone that he "really looks forwad to signing" and there's an article indicating that he's already made up his mind.

http://www.tallahassee.com/story/sports/college/fsu/baseball/2014/06/06…

13th round pick Kevonte Mitchell told someone he's planning to pass on his scholarship and sign with Cubs. His would-be coach tweeted it out as well.

12th round pick Tanner Griggs looks like he's agreed to sign according to his twitter.

23rd round pick Isiah Gilliam will likely not sign, McLeod calling it more a draft and follow and trying to build a relationship.

If they can get 6th round pick Cease along with Sands and Mitchell that would be neat. I think 30th round pick Michael Cantu (C) is considered a tough sign as well (Texas commitment).

 

 

Cubs back on the road where they are proud owners of the worst record still in that regard (10-21 vs 15-14 at home). See if the hot streak can improve upon that or will they move back to contending for #1 pick (3rd worst record btw behind Rays and Phillies, two teams that are "trying" as some like to put it).

interview with McLeod, worth a listen (about 19 minutes)

http://thegamechicago.com/2014/06/08/jason-mcleod-discusses-cubs-draft-…

Schwarber - talks up character and leadership, not ruling out catching quite yet, but taken for his bat, will be moved around

Stinnett - durable, throws strikes, liked his slider - was getting a little nervous over his pitch count on Saturday that coach would send him out for 130 (he didn't).

Zagunis - primarliy going to be a catcher, played some CF in college, very athletic

Bryant - no immediate plan to move him up although they've talked about it in recent weeks, Bryant understands he has something to work on everyday. Plan to keep him at 3b, but could move to OF easily.

Baez - "swings at every pitch like he wants to hit it 500 feet"..."at his age, it's about trying to find some consistency"

Soler -  taking it slow, hopefully be back in AA in couple of weeks (hurt left hamstring and then right hamstring for those that need a refresher)

Almora - first time struggling

McLeod sees about 75 players before the draft, mostly top 3 round talent

definitely an emphasis on volume when it comes to pitching

ejax continues his 2014 sucking vs the pirates...and his 2014 away-game sucking. sigh.

[ ]

In reply to by WISCGRAD

Guess the plan is to leave him at AA so he can break the season record for HRs and win the Triple Crown, then maybe...maybe...think about moving him to AAA next year. Meanwhile -- more Chris Coughlan. I'm beginning to think Theo really doesn't like Cub fans, and took this job just to spite us.

Captain Happy with more indecipherable bullshit: "We need to find out who we are and what we’re trying to develop as a team, and it takes a season to see where we’re at," Renteria said of his Cubs

More from WTF central with Captain Crappy: ‘‘We want him to know he shouldn’t be too concerned about anything,’’ Renteria said. ‘‘Things happen. You have hiccups. I know there was a time when he was doing very, very well. Everybody wanted him in there every single day, and so we started putting him in there." Wait so who is 'everyone'? What did *you* want, captain crappy? You threw him out there for a few games because everyone wanted you to? Boy everyone sure is stupid. ‘‘Now we’re going to pull back a little bit. . . . At this point, he’s been playing great defense. He’s still the same kid. So we’re going to just continue to find the matchups that give him the best opportunity to have some success and gain some confidence and keep moving forward.’’ Okay captain so since you've been picking opportunities for him to succeed can we just assume you are failing because he's getting worse? And yeah no pressure 'kid' but when captain puts you out there you should know that he's decided that you have the best chance to succeed. Captain likes to put a blindfold on his younguns, take them out to the highway - and every once in a while pull that blindfold off and watch you dodge some traffic while your eyes adjust to the light. It's called the random unprepared success plan by captain happy. Haha! I hope you enjoy condescension and shit logic too because not only will you be in the 'easy' situations but we'd like the sports reading public to know you're a helpless child who needs coddling. Unlike Barney and SureHolds who just suck. Oh and our 5/6 hitter who's starting ahead of you - yeah he's got a whopping 13 RBI on the year but he's scrappppppy!

Keith Law the naysayer...guess he expects all teams to tow his list-line and no commentary about over-slot vs under-slot strategy:
The Cubs reached significantly for Kyle Schwarber (Round 1), the fourth overall pick in the draft, a bat-first catcher who has maybe a 10 percent chance to stay behind the plate, and a higher chance to end up having to DH in pro ball, which might pose a problem for the Cubs unless they know something we don't about MLB rules. Schwarber does have huge raw power and a very good eye at the plate; his swing is really rotational with good leverage from his legs, but he sets up with a wide base and rolls over his front foot, which can pull him offline and hurt him against left-handed breaking stuff. I had him as more of a back-of-the-first-round talent.
http://insider.espn.go.com/blog/mlb-draft/post?id=2032?ex_cid=InsiderTw…

more...
The Cubs also reached for Mark Zagunis (Round 3), a likely backup catcher who lacks power or patience but does put the ball in play a lot with a short swing after a no-load setup.
overall he liked the pitching selections, with brief discussion of picks #2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 11. Said that picks 4-6 should have been in the first 3 rounds. Saying Cease(6) has the highest upside.
Overall it's a good group of arms to infuse into a system that needs them, even if I didn't love the selections they made of the two college bats up top.

[ ]

In reply to by Cubster

Someone needs to grade the graders. Let's go back to 2009 or 2010 and look at Keith Law's comments on the draft and see how well he did. If it turns out he's a genius and right a lot, I'll pay attention; but my guess is he and others are just as "good" at projecting high schoolers and college players into major leaguers as the teams themselves are.

"I was just taking my pitches and swinging at pitches over the plate," said Baez, who hit third in the Cubs' batting order. "Usually, I'm aggressive from the first pitch. But the game was so wide open, I was taking a first-pitch strike. I try to play this game right, don't try to show up anyone. Things worked out good for me tonight." [ ] "I'm starting to figure out how they're going to pitch to me," Baez said. "They usually don't pitch me inside. So I started hitting the ball to the right side, try to use the whole field. Try to take more pitches, too. "I feel like I'm getting into a groove." http://www.fresnobee.com/2014/06/09/3969935/budding-star-shines-vs-fres…

The pissing and moaning about Olt has gotten old. Sorry, but I'm having trouble caring. He might turn out okay, but for right now, his intermittent playing time isn't really hurting anything.

wow. watching the PIT feed of the chc/pit game (Root Sports). the intro was a nearly 4-minute music video montage of g.polanco in the minors set to a very brocore song called "Big Show." they followed it up with footage of polanco's name being written in the lineup from a dugout cam shot...etc etc... they're really pumping the hype train to full speed right out of the gate.

rizzo #13...off a lefty...5th off a lefty this year. he's showing a whole lot of promise vs lefties this year...practically unsustainable, but lefties have been his weakness rather consistently. it's nice to see sustained success.

final bitch on Olt He's thoroughly fucked now. Taking pitches and looking lost. Send him down and call up ManRam.

[ ]

In reply to by jacos

his 1st ab was cringe-worthy...watched the ball all the way into the glove a few times with what seems like a predetermined conclusion that there's not going to be an offer at the pitch no matter what. he's been doing too much of that lately...when he actually gets a chance to play, that is.

@thekapman

Hoyer on spending in coming winter: “I would say that is likely + definitely possible. We need to add veterans to the kids that are coming."

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

With regard to the Cubs wanting to add veterans to the MLB roster in 2015, 2B Aaron Hill, 3B Martin Prado, and C Miguel Montero (AZ) are probably available, as are LAD outfielders Matt Kemp, Andre Ethier, and/or Carl Crawford.   

The Cubs can afford to take on salary next season, so a trade to acquire a couple of those guys could happen. And since the Cubs would be taking on salary they probably wouldn't have to give up high-level prospects to get a trade done. 

Was just reading a Fangraphs article on Josh Donaldson, and need to remind myself that even though the Cubs have lost some good young players trading for vets recently (Donaldson, Archer), and particularly at positions of need (3B, P), they've also pulled off some deft trades for vets in the past. Just hoping that if/when they trade Samardzija/Hammel they get some Donaldson/Archers in return. Apropo of nothing.

Recent comments

  • Eric S (view)

    With two home runs (so far) and 5 rbi today … clearly Nick Martini is the straw that stirs the Reds drink 😳

  • crunch (view)

    madrigal at 3rd...morel at DH.

    making room for madrigal or/and masterboney to get a significant amount of ABs is a misuse of the roster.  if it needed to get taken care of this offseason, they had tons of time to figure that out.

    morel played almost exclusively at 3rd in winter ball and they had him almost exclusively there all spring when he wasn't DH'ing.

    madrigal doing a good job with the glove for a bit over 2 chances per game...is that worth more than what he brings with the bat 4-5 PA a game?  it's 2024 and we got glenn beckert 2.0 manning 3rd base.

    this is a tauchman or cooper DH situation based on bat, alone.  cooper is 3/7 with a double off eovaldi if you want to play the most successful matchup.

    anyway, i hope this is a temporary thing, not business as usual for the rest of the season.  it will be telling if morel is not used at 3rd when an extreme fly ball pitcher like imanaga is on the mound.

  • 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!!!