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

TCR Friday Notes

...returns after a one week break.

- There was a brief discussion in the comments about who should be the Cubs All-Stars. I think the deserving candidates are Carlos Zambrano (leads NL pitchers in VORP), Carlos Marmol (leads NL relievers in WPA), Geovany Soto (leads NL catchers in VORP) and Aramis Ramirez as a backup at third base to Chipper Jones. Ramirez is just a few notches behind Garrett Atkins in VORP for the backup spot, but he has a slight edge in home runs, RBI's and huge lead in OBP...and the Rockie kind of suck right now.

On the outside looking in, are Kosuke Fukudome(12th among all NL outfielders), Ryan Dempster (12th in VORP) and Derrek Lee (4th in VORP). And don't be surprised if Soriano gets himself back into the mix before too long.

- I noticed today that you can view Iowa Cubs highlights from their home page. Neat.

- Speaking of our minor leaguers, Alex Eisenberg has done some writing for The Hardball Times and runs his own website, Baseball-Intellect. He recently ran a nice analysis of Tyler Colvin that includes a nifty little breakdown of his swing.

- The June amatuer draft is fast approaching and the Cubs have the 19th pick in the first round. Details of whom the Cubs might be pursuing have been sparse so far, but Baseball America posted their first mock draft today.

19. CUBS. Chicago is the first team that has been linked to Cole, though it's always possible that another club is lying in the weeds. The Cubs have no pressing needs and scouting director Tim Wilken loves athletes, so they could take a long-term project like Hewitt. Wilken's Gulf Coast ties also could lead him to Kelly, who shows equal promise as a pitcher and a shortstop.

Projected Pick: CASEY KELLY.

Cole is California prep righthander Gerrit Cole, Hewitt is Connecticut high school outfielder/shortstop Anthony Hewitt, and Casey Kelly is Florida high school righthander/shortstop/quarterback Casey Kelly. If this story is true, Kelly has actually committed to quarterback for the Tennesse Volunteers, so it's going to take a big bonus to talk him out of that. Good that we have practice in that (See Samardzija, Jeff).Similarly, Cole was named the top high school prospect by one website, but has a verbal committment to UCLA. I haven't found much on Hewitt, except this page which just has a picture and some combine-like numbers.

- The 2008 run differential leaderboard:

Cubs +71
Diamondbacks +52
Athletics +34
Indians +31
Astros +25

- A couple shout-outs to some Cubs sites. There's The Cubs Brickyard and Cubbie Nation. Cubbie Nation is a new addition to the Cubs Blog Army and The Cubs Brickyard was the former Bricks and Ivy Radio. Stop by and say hello.

- You may have noticed some new advertising on the site. Some of that is just ad rotations, but we do like to give a mention to those that directly advertise with us. Seatrocket.com, as the owner described it, is a more "organized craigslist". You'll see some other ticket service ads in the ad services we use, but seatrocket.com is a free service. And the last time I checked over there, I saw some tickets being offered at face value, which is always a good thing.

- We are undergoing just a few minor site tweaks, which have included so far, reducing the header on the top of the page so you can see more content when you first load the page. It's subtle, but helps a bit. We added that top banner ad on the upper right and fixed the headline size for those that use Internet Explorer 7. A few more should be done by next week.

Comments

The Cubs currently have no pressing needs? Really? Tell that to the writers at BA, please.

[ ]

In reply to by Dmac

well, theyre just not desperate anywhere and they have immediate youth in the pipeline. granted, some of it is yet to prove they're MLB ready, but they got decent coverage even if it's lacking in "sure-thing" top guys. SS/2nd is always in need and the cubs are no different...probably their biggest need, but hard to draft for. so many end up having to give up 2nd/SS on a pro level and their bats tend to be weaker than draft peers in the higher rounds (the ones that actually stay middle IF'rs anyway). still...there's a nice crop of kids currently contributing in smaller roles (aside from soto) coming of age. the pen and starting has a decent amount of arms in the pipeline. would be nice to have some better corner OF prospects in the pipeline, but then again the cubs won't have to worry about that for a while...in the mean time tyler colvin's trying to prove he's the guy who should be the post-fuku (if necessary) guy in the OF.

[ ]

In reply to by crunch

Everybody wants the next Ryne Sandberg or Jeff Kent - a MI who'll hit for avg and power. Hey 3 MI's with BA in the .280-.315 range who don't make many errors are fine with me these days. But I guess of all the Cubs "ML-ready" minor leaguers, MI is lacking more than a couple tools(yes, I'm counting E-Pat as "lacking"). Heck - I haven't seen anyone mention the Cubs home numbers this season (knock on wood, no pun intended) but compared to last year, the Cubs are raking at home.. finally. That's the key to getting many games above .500.

I would think Fukky would need to pump up the power a bit for A/S consideration. Great avg. and OBP, but for a middle-of-the lineup RF (not his fault, but still) -- very few HR and RBIs. If the game were today -- Soto, Marmol, Z and Dempster would get my votes. Each has been terrific and pretty consistent. Lee has really cooled off, and has a surprising number of errors.

Top Caught Stealing (MLB)... 1. R Theriot, CHC, 7 CS (9-way tie for second place) 2. C Figgins, LAA, 4 CS R Freel, CIN, 4 CS M Mora, BAL, 4 CS H Ramirez, FLA, 4 CS J Reyes, NYM, 4 CS B Roberts, BAL, 4 CS B Upton, TB, 4 CS E Velez, SF, 4 CS D Wright, NYM, 4 CS

Dodger catcher has the yips. Yikes Ruined Macky Sassers career. Fbomb may make All Star game due to pub. Cubs needs-one more starting pitcher. Please.

I saw an advertisement for DykeFinder.com on TCR today. I think the target demographic for that banner might've been a little off...

Off topic, but how about that Josh Hamilton fella? Still clean and sober (at least as I type this), hitting .314 with 10 HRs and 49 RsBI for Texas. Trading him for cash to the Reds 17 months ago didn't seem crazy at the time, but with the benefit of hindsight.....man. Do I even want to know how little cash the Cubs got for him? Nobody really saw Hamilton's bustout coming, but this causes pain and sadness for me. Felix Reedmonds isn't a total disaster in CF, but Hamilton (and his $400K salary) would be a monster out there.

Top 10 offensive numbers for Cubs minor league position players over their last ten games:

* bats left
# bats both

(BA/OBP/SLG)

AT IOWA:
* Micah Hoffpauir, 1B-OF - 324/343/676
Matt Murton, LF - 316/366/421

AT TENNESSEE:
* Tyler Colvin, CF - 289/373/500
* Nate Spears, 2B - 303/378/424

AT DAYTONA:
Josh Lansford, 3B - 351/351/514
* Mark Reed, C - 310/412/394 (also 59% CS)

AT PEORIA
Jovan Rosa, 1B-3B - 362/475/643
* Cliff Andersen, CF - 405/500/538
* Dylan Johnston, RF - 351/400/567
Elvis Lara, LF - 389/444/472

Agreed that Marmol is deserving, but how many setup men go to the all star game? Seems like it's all starters and closers. Pressing needs in the minors? A few more position players who can hit would be nice. - Peoria ranks 10th (of 14 teams) in the Midwest League at .239. - Tennessee ranks 10th (of 10) in the Southern League at .231 - Daytona ranks 3rd (of 12) in the Florida State League at .268 - Iowa ranks 11th (of 16) in the Pacific Coast League at .269

[ ]

In reply to by Timmer

how many setup men go to the all star game? Seems like it's all starters and closers. aaron b listed these in a previous thread: Okajima Justin Duchscherer Tom Gordon And those are just the most recent ones.

Timmer, broad measures are about quantity but it's quality that matters.

Recent comments

  • 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.

  • crunch (view)

    dbacks are signing j.montgomery to a 1/25m with a vesting 20m player option.

    i dunno when the ink officially dries, but i believe if he signs once the season begins he can't be offered a QO...and i'm not sure if that thing with SD/LAD in korea was the season beginning, either.

  • crunch (view)

    sut says imanaga getting the home opener at wrigley (game 4 of the season).

  • crunch (view)

    cubs rolling out the who's who of "who the hell is this guy?" in the last spring game.

  • videographer (view)

    AZ Phil, speaking of Jordan Wicks having better command when he tires a bit, I remember reading about Dennis Lamp 40 years ago and his sinker that was better after 3 or 4 innings when he would tire a bit and get more sink with a little less speed on the pitch.  The key for Lamp was getting to the 4th inning.