This is the trickiest sneak peek I’ve ever done. The Mesa Cubs do not begin play until the first week of June. That’s a full five months away. Trying to predict in January who’s going to be in their rotation, outfield, or infield, or let alone their bullpen, is sort of a fool’s errand. Who knows what kind of development will take place for mostly 18 to 21-year olds over the next 5 months.
For the Mesa Cubs, some of their pitching staff from last year will return and do what has become known as doubling up, which is where a player repeats a level in the lower part of the system. It’s become quite common in the wake of the removal of Short Season Class-A. That means guys that would’ve gone to Eugene, and are not quite ready for Myrtle Beach, they stay in extended spring training and begin a second year in Mesa.
Along with those players, there will be some guys heading north from the Dominican that pitched very well last summer in Boca Chica.
The Returnees
Let’s start with some guys who could possibly be returning to Mesa for a second year.
At the top of the list is righty Alfredo Romero, who began last year in the Dominican and finished up in Mesa. He had a 2.25 ERA in 10 games in the Dominican and then threw in two games in Arizona. Romero is only 20-years-old and should be one of the most intriguing players to watch.
Yenrri Rojas is another 20-year-old pitcher who will be in his third professional season. He’s pitched one year in the Dominican and one year in Mesa. Last year he was in 10 games and started eight with a 6+ ERA. For him, he is said to have good stuff and it is just a matter of control. That pretty much sums up most minor league pitchers.
For Carlos Garcia and Freilyn Silverio, both pitchers had a disastrous year that could not have gone much worse as both had ERAs well over 10. For Garcia, he missed all of 2022 with a PED suspension. Perhaps, better nutrition and strength training will help get Garcia ready for pitching stateside.
Meanwhile Silverio was just completely overmatched on a daily basis. Hopefully an off-season in the throwing program as well as nutrition and strength training will also help the young 18-year-old out of the Dominican. There’s still a lot to work with here as he has a pretty good frame at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds.
As for Wilson Cunningham, the University of Chicago math whiz will be back next summer and this should be his final year in Mesa as the huge lefty still has one year left of college to go. He actually got in 11 innings last year after going just 2 the year before.
Heading North
The main strength of both squads in the Dominican last year was starting pitching. Most of them were 18 or 19-years-old, but the Cubs did have one 16-year-old showing off what he could do. Not all of them are going to come north to the US to play in Mesa this summer, but some will. Whether the Cubs put them in the rotation or the bullpen is still up in the air.
Miguel Cruz signed last January as an international free agent. He’s a big kid and a late bloomer but he has some pretty good stuff as he struck out 35 in 36 innings in his first season as a pro. He’s likely to head to Mesa and extended spring training. Whether he’s a piggyback starter or a rotation piece, the Cubs have a lot to build on here. He is a lefty at 6-foot-4 and already 200 pounds.
Juan Archbold and Zhiorman Imbriano are two guys who flashed at times last year and still need to be consistent. While they did have good strikeout numbers, their performances varied month-to-month in terms of ERA. And that’s not uncommon in the Dominican.
For 16-year-old Emannoel Madeira, he survived in the DSL. A native of Brazil, playing in the DSL was a huge jump in competition. He had an ERA just above four and struck out a batter per inning. He’s a big kid already at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds.
Ronny Lopez might be the name to watch as the former infielder converted to pitching and already throws in the mid 90s. He only started 4 games last year after beginning the year in the bullpen,
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