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 Invite 21 to Camp; Sign Michael Wuertz

The Cubs signed Michael Wuertz for $1.1M today, thus avoiding any ghastly arbitration cases with any of their players. Not including auto-renewals - which Arizona Phil on the right sidebar estimates at around $3.5M total -  the Cubs payroll for 2009 is at $134.1M, so they still have a few million in wiggle room.

They also released their NRI list for spring training.

Catchers

Welington Castillo, Steve Clevenger, Mark Johnson

Infielders

Darwin Barney, Andres Blanco, Bobby Scales, Luis Rivas

Outfielders

Doug Deeds, Jason Dubois, So Taguchi

Pitchers (* indicates a lefty)

*Ed Campusano, *J.R. Mathes, *Matt Smith, *Mike Stanton, *Jason Waddell, *Bill White, Esmailin Caridad, Andrew Cashner, Chad Fox, Ken Kadokura, Rocky Roquet.

Yeah, that's right...Jason Dubois!!!!!!! I look forward to the Hollandsworth vs. Dubois debates rekindling.

Comments

on January 21st, these Type A free agents are still out there... Bobby Abreu*, Orlando Cabrera, Juan Cruz, Adam Dunn*, Orlando Hudson, Oliver Perez, Andy Petitte*, Manny Ramirez, Ben Sheets, Russ Springer*, Jason Varitek * means they were NOT offered arbitration for those that were, that's some great advice they got from their agents to not take it.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

Interesting post, I looked up their salaries last year to see how stupid they were (IIRC, if you offer a player arbirtration, you MUST offer at least 80% of last year's pay) Cabrera: $9 mil (he won't get that) Hudson: $6.25 mil (Maybe not per year, but he can get more) Varitek: $10 mil (uh, no) Juan Cruz: $1.8 mil (He'll get more than that) Ben Sheets: $10 mil (one year flier?) Manny: $20 mil (shouldn't have torn up those options) Oliver Perez figures to get a multi-year deal from the Mets or similar. So, I would only really say Varitek will pay for this, and Cabrera, Manny, Sheets may pay.

[ ]

In reply to by Q-Ball

you're going by a faulty premise that they would have lost or taken a paycut if they accepted arbitration...

considering they were all Type A free agents, and assuming the figure they put in for the arbitration case was reasonable, every one (except maybe Varitek) would win their cases. At the very least, they'd make the same as last year, but I would guess that each one of them would get a raise if it went to arbitration.

the only team that is going to sign Juan Cruz is the DBacks, no one wants to give up draft picks for him. Maybe the Yanks will if they have the room or $$ since they already gave up most of their draft picks.

Only the catchers have an outside chance to make the team, since the Cubs are still deciding on a backup, and the competition is Koyie Hill and Paul Bako. Bako's lifetime BA is .231, which looks good only next to Henry Blanco's .227 and Mark Johnson's .218. The Cubs seem to like Clevenger's (lefty) bat, although it hasn't produced much in the way of doubles and HRs yet. Even without pop, he gets to play a fair amount of first base and DH when he's not catching. A .306 hitter over three seasons, he hit .302 in the AFL; but he hasn't established himself at the AA level yet, so he's quite a long shot, although an interesting one.

Aardvark traded to Seattle for a single-A pitcher named (Fabian) Williamson with even worse stats than our Hank (Williamson, 20, had a 4.10 ERA and a 67/27 K/BB ratio in 52 2/3 innings in the Appy League last year)

Submitted by Q-Ball on Tue, 01/20/2009 - 5:22pm.

Interesting post, I looked up their salaries last year to see how stupid they were (IIRC, if you offer a player arbirtration, you MUST offer at least 80% of last year's pay) Cabrera: $9 mil (he won't get that) Hudson: $6.25 mil (Maybe not per year, but he can get more) Varitek: $10 mil (uh, no) Juan Cruz: $1.8 mil (He'll get more than that) Ben Sheets: $10 mil (one year flier?) Manny: $20 mil (shouldn't have torn up those options) Oliver Perez figures to get a multi-year deal from the Mets or similar. So, I would only really say Varitek will pay for this, and Cabrera, Manny, Sheets may pay.

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

Q-BALL: The minimum 80% of previous year's salary (and minimum 70% of salary from two seasons ago) rule does NOT apply to Article XX MLB free-agents who accept 12/1 arbitration offers, and it also does not apply to an arbitration-eligible player who received a contract the previous year through the arbitratioin process (went to a hearing) where the player received more than a 50% raise. For these players, the club must offer at least the MLB minimum salary ($400K), but otherwise there are no resrictions.

Auto-renewal players players must receive a salary which is at least the MLB minimum ($400K in 2009) and must be at least 80% of their previous year's salary, and their minor league "split" salary (which is what they get if they are optioned to the minors) must be at least 60% of what the player was actually paid the previous season. So last year, the minor league split for Rich Hill and Matt Murton was about $250K, because both spent the entire 2007 season in the big leagues and so both actually were paid somewhere around $400K (of which $240K is 60%) in 2007.

Otherwise the minor league split minimum in 2009 is $32,500 for players who are on a 40-man roster for the first time (Atkins, Berg, Mateo, Stevens, and Patton), and it's a $65K minimum for all others. 

Luis Rivas signed to minor league deal and NRI'd to spring training. He convinced Lou and Hendry that he could be the slugging switch hitter they need on May 25th, 2008, when he hit two homeruns. The stout second baseman took Ted Lilly deep in the first and third innings, both solo shots. Rumor has Lou Piniella considering him as a leadoff hitter, which is where the biggest slugger in the lineup belongs. Said Jim Hendry of the 29-year-old middle infielder, "We like the kid. We think he can hit, and we think he can play short. We're gonna give him a good long look." Ryan Theriot and Mike Fontenot have been looking into apartments in the Baltimore area.

Ken Kadokura pitched for the Yokohama Baystars from 04 to 06 and then went to the Yomiuri Giants as an FA in 07 and remained in 08. in 05 he was 11-8, 3.37, 197IP (177K/76BB) in 06 he was 10-9, 4.84, 154IP (114K/51BB) an FA after the 06 season he tried to negotiate for more money over several years, but yokohama being cheap as they are let him walk. it turned out to be the wise choice for them... in 07 he was 1-5, 5.97, 31IP (26/14) in 08 he was 0-2, 3.55, 12IP (16/6) what the hell he's doing with an NRI to cubs camp i have no fucking idea.

[ ]

In reply to by CUBBY

Because he figures he can beat out Mike Stanton? Hendry said on the radio last week that they would invite more players than usual to camp because of the WBC. If I'm not mistaken the Cubs are playing more exhibition games (outside WBC) than they ever have before. Someone has to throw all those innings I guess. I know that some of the free agents who were offered arb (like Cabrera) will cost their prospective new employers a draft pick. Does anyone know if there is a limitation on this? Could Dunn, for example, sign after the season starts and not cost a pick? Maybe a stupid question, but I wonder if it's just possible that a guy would not get signed at all during a season because he's not worth that first or second rounder.

Submitted by VirginiaPhil on Tue, 01/20/2009 - 5:06pm.

Only the catchers have an outside chance to make the team, since the Cubs are still deciding on a backup, and the competition is Koyie Hill and Paul Bako. Bako's lifetime BA is .231, which looks good only next to Henry Blanco's .227 and Mark Johnson's .218.

The Cubs seem to like Clevenger's (lefty) bat, although it hasn't produced much in the way of doubles and HRs yet. Even without pop, he gets to play a fair amount of first base and DH when he's not catching. A .306 hitter over three seasons, he hit .302 in the AFL; but he hasn't established himself at the AA level yet, so he's quite a long shot, although an interesting one.

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

VA PHIL: Steve Clevenger played SS in college and 2B his first year in the minors, but he is kind of "bottom-heavy" for a middle infielder. The Cubs moved Clevenger to catcher a couple of years ago, and from his first day as a catcher at Fitch Park, you could tell he was made for the position. (Oneri Fleita can spot a catcher a mile away, even if the guy plays another position).,

Clev is a tireless worker, and the young pitchers love to throw to him because he has a high baseball IQ and he really understands the game, so he really knows how to work hitters. He will probably be a manager some day.

I don't know that Clevenger will ever be a good mechanical catcher (Mark Reed is a better all-around defensive catcher and Blake Lalli has a better arm), but he should be at least good enough to be a back-up C-1B-LHPH in MLB.

Clevenger is a pesky line-drive hitter with a controlled stroke (he tries to "hit 'em where they ain't" a la Wee Willy Keeler) who doesn't strike out much (he watches the ball into the catcher's glove), but then he doesn't have any HR power, either, because his stroke doesn't lend itself to driving the ball for distance.

Submitted by Charlie on Tue, 01/20/2009 - 7:24pm.

Can he play 3rd? Does he have enough speed to play some corner outfield? I would think those things could make him even more valuable as a bench player. Cool info on Clevenger, who I rarely hear much about except that he's a catcher converted from ss.

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

CHARLIE: As a former SS-2B, Clevenger SHOULD be able to play 3B, although he plays 1B when he doesn't catch.

The Cubs want all of their minor league catchers to learn to play 1B. In fact, Geovany Soto played a lot of 1B at Iowa the year he was the PCL MVP, and so he could play 1B on days when he's not catching, although that would take D-Lee's bat out of the lineup and replace it with somebody like a Koyie Hill.

Kadokura was drafted 2nd by the Chunici Dragons in 1995 where he remained until the end of the 1999 season (traded to Kintetsu Buffaloes). Fukudome chose to sign with Chunichi in 1998, so they were indeed teammates for 2 years in Nagoya. I can't seem to find anything that mentions they were particularly friendly though. I did read that the Cubs were impressed by his showing at a tryout. Maybe he served sushi in the bullpen.

NSBB runs on the concept of post counts. The more post counts you have the more valid your opinion is even if your a complete idiot. You may be totally correct but NSBB will then turn around and ban you for disrupting the message board because you dare challenge one of their gods. Al Yellon runs his site on the same concept, banning people who don't follow group think. In the end the gene pool gets filtered down until you get a bunch of "yes" men Cubs fans who can't think for themselves. A very depressing place which is why i don't visit those sites anymore.

[ ]

In reply to by MikeC

Yellon probably means well, anyone that goes to that many games for that many years has my respect to a degree--if for no other reason that he has a job that is apparently so lenient in terms of, you know, doing actual work. But yeah, he's a douche--and many of the posts there are either are from children, blabbering morons, or both. I feel dumber every time I look at that site. Alone among the Cubs blogs, his site DOES at times have some sweet photos, I do appreciate that at least. NSBB is a total waste of time, good gawd. Just awful, everything about it. Thank you for TCR, our discussions here mirror the kind of Cubs talk I have with my buddies. I'd like to think we're pretty informed fans and all of us were players at one time. And AZ Phil is priceless.

I'd definitely take another shot at Cruz, particularly at the expense of Wuertz. Glad to see Harden skip the Team Canada invite - assuming no Jake Peavy deal the Cubs must have two starters in line in case Harden or Z falters. Marshall should be one, now we need a fifth starter and somebody to wait in the wings.

[ ]

In reply to by ddp33

Fact is, Baseball scouts as a whole were never "super high" on Felix Pie to begin with. If Felix hadn't been fed into the Andy McFail hype machine like a certain other 5-tool CF phenom. Then most people would care less that he just got dealt. True Story: I watched an Iowa game in Memphis against the Redbirds AAA. People sitting around me (who weren't aware of who Pie was) commented about how ugly his swing was. Thing is, they were absolutely right. Not fluid, choppy, low contact, struck out on a face high fastball AND a splitter in the dirt. He just wasn't/isn't a good baseball player. And I have yet to see anyone praise him for actual baseball exploits. It's always that. 1. He's fast 2. He's young 3. He's got lots of tools

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

When did Alfonso Soriano demonstrate more power than Pie has so far? Not until 2001, his age 25 season, when he hit 18 homeruns in 574 ABs with the yankees. Then in 2002 he turned into the hitter that excited some people: he hit 39 homeruns in 696 ABs (while also striking out 157 times and walking only 23 times). That was his age 26 season. How old is Pie? 24. So, what about before 2001. 1996, Hiroshima: 0 homeruns, 131 ABs. 20 years old. 1997, Hiroshima: 8 homeruns, 257 ABs. 21 years old. 1998 I haven't been able to find any stats for. Sorry. 1999, 1 Rookie League homerun, 15 AA homeruns, 2 AAA homeruns, and one Big League homerun. That's 19 in a total of 470 ABs. Arguably more power than Pie has shown, but not significantly. 23 years old. 2000, 12 AAA homeruns, 2 MLB homeruns, total of 509 ABs. 24 years old. And now we are all caught up. How are they not comparable? They both have unconventional swings, high strikeout totals, low walk totals, and lots of speed. Pie was never a SS or 2B prospect, but he is now a great defensive center fielder while Soriano is an average-ish defensive left fielder. You know what Pie has that Soriano doesn't? A track record of high batting averages before the age of 24 (but he played in different leagues, so maybe that doesn't compare well). So I think we can say he has a similar ceiling to what Soriano had. That says little about his probability of reaching that ceiling, though.

[ ]

In reply to by Charlie

and they both swing a bat so damn fast through the zone it makes you go "damn" just like being able to run really f'n fast or being able to hit 450ft. towering shots in BP...it's stuff like that people were looking at for both soriano and pie when they were being courted. a personal handicapper of talent may care less that someone is fast, but that doesn't take away it's a unique part of the person's game that can be used as an advantage if it develops properly. that goes for almost any unique talent. a guy with pie's frame that can swing a bat that hard/fast...a scout is seeing him with those tools 20+lbs. of muscle and a growing spurt later... nothing's a sure thing...if it was we'd see a lot more drafted players coming up from minors to majors quicker than we do. as it is, we barely see 1/2 the 1st/2nd round kids even get a taste, much less playing for a living.

[ ]

In reply to by big_lowitzki

Good points Dave, Maybe Felix turns into a star at some point. I wish him the best of luck. I'm not really trying to argue. I just think some people have/had unrealistic expectations of what Felix CAN become. If not for the McFail/McDoughough hype about him. I don't think anyone would think much of him. I could be wrong, but I doubt it. Tyler Colvin is another guy with a similar skillset. He is another guy who I don't think will pan out. Guys that cannot control the zone, just don't sustain success at the MLB level. Maybe Felix can refine his game to the point that he can have some Corey Patterson level success. But to think he turns into Fonzie Soriano is akin to planning on winning the lottery. Obviously just my opinion.

[ ]

In reply to by Dr. aaron b

To an extent, I agree. Pie has been so far both a beneficiary and a victim to all the hype he received at a young age. I'm really not sure why he was talked about so much, except that he was drafted by Jose Serra, who also drafted Sosa. I think that was a big part of it--young, toolsy guy with a big smile who seems to love playing baseball. They wanted him to be in the Ernie Banks, Sammy Sosa mold--flashy and sunny--and they wanted to make him out to be that sort of offensive performer. The Pie : Soriano comparison works I think, but only up to age 24. Does that mean Pie will follow in Soriano's statistical footprints? No. The Pie : Corey comparison works too, to a degree. I think Pie has actually shown more plate discipline to this point than Patterson did, but he does not show the base stealing ability. The Pie : Colvin comparison doesn't work as well as the others. Pie has better speed and defense than Colvin, and actually has shown more willingness to walk to--Colvin really, really hasn't been able to take a walk. Colvin took more walks in the first half of this season and his batting average was uncharacteristically low. Then his batting average went up, but, guess what, he stopped walking--Colvin is very Jacque Jones-esque. Pie has proven nothing at the major league level, neither that he is a bust nor that he is a superstar. But, like the Dude has been saying, he's got some tools that make your eyes pop. Players have succeeded with stranger swings. For Pie we got Garrett Olson. Who brings what to the table? Pie brought great defense, great speed, and offensive upside, but no options. Olson brings terrible MLB performance, pretty impressive minor league numbers, moderate upside (from everything I've read), and two options. Fair trade? The options are the only thing that make it close in my mind--but I guess they have to be considered.

please vote in the fantasy league about a draft time... carry on

says he introduced him to 'roids. http://deadspin.com/5136177/mark-mcgwires-one+eyed-baby-brother-reveals… "Mark is a man I think most would like to forgive because his reason wasn’t nefarious—it was for survival. My bringing the truth to surface about Mark is out of love. I want Mark to live in truth to see the light, to come to repentance so he can live in freedom—which is the only way to live. " Mark would you prefer that you love him by shutting the fuck up.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

I don't know that McGwire ever gets in the hall of fame, he was such a one-dimensional player. Yeah, the HR totals are impressive, but nothing else. The steroids cloud just makes it that much easier to ignore him in the voting. Prediction: he never gets in with the regular voting, but with the passing of time, the Veterans Committee eventually lets him in. Sammy I'm not so sure, he's an easier choice to vote in based on baseball performance, and he has never been linked as strongly to roids as others. But man, that corked bat is his downfall. Deal killer for many.

[ ]

In reply to by Rob G.

What a douche. People like him give Christians a bad name. Calling someone to account out of love means doing so privately and asking him to come out with the truth. You don't do it for him, you ass. "My bringing the truth to surface about Mark is out of love."...oh yeah, and to make money off a book deal.

I understand that Pie failed in his brief chance in MLB with the Cubs. Wan't Pie rated the Cubs top prospect by BaseballAmerica? Corey Patterson gets 1500 at bats...Pie gets 260..so he's the same? Pie produced at every minor league level. After struggling at Iowa after his demotion, he ended up in 85 games with .287/.336/.466, with 10 HR and 55 RBIs, 20 doubles, 5 triples. It's not like he hit .220 at every level and was brought up for no reason. His career numbers in the minors are .299/.355/.470...Patterson's were .284/.340/.499..not too far off, except Patterson's best season was in single A Lansing. His first go around at AAA was .253/.308/.387. They are not the same player.

Felix Pie was just another so-called five tool player with a swing like a windmill. I can't understand why our scouts missed that with both he and Patterson - we should have given up on both of them earlier when they had more trade potential.

McGwire couldn't stay healthy, and had a perenially low batting average, and he walked a bunch of times. He won a Gold glove in 1990. Magically, at age 32, instead of hitting 30-40 HR's, he hit 52, 58, 70, and 65 HR's. He went from walking 80-115 times a season, to walking162 in 1998, and 133 in 1999. Becasuse generally, injury-prone players hit age 31, and suddenly hit for more power than ever, and walks 30% more than usual. Magically...like Bonds...Sosa...yep...

BWWAHAAAAA-HAAHAHAHA!!!!

The cubs can trade wuertz for a bag of batting practice balls and some photos of the detroit skyline in my view he is one player i would not miss and i think lou would probally agree.

Recent comments

  • 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...

  • 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.