Monday, March 05, 2012

Figuring Out the 25 Man Roster...

With only a couple of games under the Cubs belt I am going to do my 25 man roster prediction. This year is going to be more difficult than most for the bullpen and bench because of the amount of young players and invitees there are. All predictions are subjected to change in case of an injury or baseball transaction.

Position Players-
1. Geovany Soto
2. Jason Jaramillo
3. Jeff Baker
4. Darwin Barney
5. Adrian Cardenas
6. Starlin Castro
7. Bryan LaHair
8. Ian Stewart
9. Marlon Byrd
10. Tony Campana
11. David DeJesus
12. Reed Johnson
13. Alfonso Soriano

Pitchers-
1. Matt Garza
2. Ryan Dempster
3. Travis Wood
4. Chris Volstad
5. Paul Maholm
6. Kerry Wood
7. Carlos Marmol
8. Jeff Samardzija
9. James Russel
l10. Jeff Beliveau
11. Casey Weathers
12. Trever Miller

Out of this 25 man-roster I have the following lineup, bench, rotation, and bullpen.

Lineup-

1. David DeJesus RF
2. Marlon Byrd CF
3. Starlin Castro SS
4. Bryan LaHair 1st
5. Alfonso Soriano LF
6.Ian Stewart 3rd
7. Geovany Soto C
8. Adrian Cardenas 2b

Bench-

Jason Jaramillo C
Jeff Baker IF/OF
Darwin Barney MIF
Reed Johnson OF
Tony Campana OF

Rotation-

1. Matt Garza
2. Ryan Dempster
3. Paul Maholm
4. Chris Volstad
5.Travis Wood

Bullpen-

Carlos Marmol-Closer
Kerry Wood-Set-up
Jeff Samardzija-Set-up/ Long Right Reliever
Jeff Beliveau –Lefty Set-up
James Russell -Lefty Specialist/Long Lefty Reliever
Casey Weathers -RHP Middle Reliever
Trever Miller –LHP Middle Reliever

Some notes and questions answered on whats above-

- Adrian Cardenas over Darwin Barney this Spring? Cardenas is younger, has more upside, and hits from the left side. There is already talk about Jaramillo and Adrian working together that has shown an increase in bat speed and power. Plus the Cubs need a backup SS which Barney can fill from the bench.

- I thought Shark would start? NOPE! Jeff Samardzija will not be too happy because Chris Volstad will beat him out for a spot in the rotation. The other two “open” spot are not open, they are reserved for Maholm and Wood. The Cubs already said they want to go with 2 lefties in the rotation to start the season. This means Shark will end up in the pen.

- Where is Wells? If could be worst Jeff you could end up in Iowa or traded like Randy Wells will be before Opening Day. I just don’t see him securing a spot with Volstad making the rotation and Shark moving to the pen.

- Casey Weathers, Jeff Beliveau, and Trever Miller make the team??? Yes, they do because Weathers has a great arm and will show it off in Spring securing his spot in the pen. Beliveau will get his control under wraps and net himself the big lefty in the pen. Miller will also land a spot because of his veteran leadership and the fact Sveum wants three lefties in the pen. Gaub, Rusein, and Maine I just do not see making the team. If the Cubs back off the demand for three lefties then you could see a guy like Randy Wells, Manny Corpas, Rafael Dolis, Casey Coleman, or Andy Sonnanstein make the team by way of the pen. Otherwise this is how I see the bullpen shaping out.

- Volstad makes the rotation?? Yes he does! He finally lives up to his potential in Spring Training thus winning him a spot in the rotation.

- Why no Castillo or Clevenger? You will hear a familiar tone come out of Cubs camp for this one. “Both need regular Ab’s and playing time in the minors.” Which means the Cubs don’t want either as a back-up to Soto; so Jaramillo wins by default.

- Campana over Sappelt? My hardest decision by far. I think Sappelt offers more but Campana gets the nod for his speed and what he brings off the bench.

Other Thoughts...

- If Byrd is traded it means the Cubs are ready for Brett Jackson to take over CF in Chicago

- If you start seeing LaHair get time in the OF then they may have Rizzo start the year in Chicago not Iowa. Until Next Time…

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is one of your more cogent posts (not saying a lot). But a couple things:

1) I truly doubt Trever Miller makes this team.

2) Marlon Byrd will not hit second. But Barney, Cardenas or Ian Stewart might. Byrd hacks away too often to hit in that spot.

3) If Wells doesn't make the team, he'll probably be in Iowa. TheoJed want a lot of options for the rotation.

4) Your bench is awfully right handed. If Cardenas wins the starting job, and Barney is the backup MI -- both good possibilities -- I wouldn't be shocked if DeWitt beats out Baker.

5) Rizzo won't start the season in Chicago (unless LaHair gets hurt). Jed will be extremely careful with him, seeing as Jed has talked about mistakenly rushing Rizzo in SD last year.

6) Campana beats Sappelt because he's left-handed under the scenario you've outlined, but Cardenas (or DeWitt) on the bench would give Sappelt a better chance to make the team.

7) Flip TWood and Maholm in the rotation order.

Cubfan said...

I think Barney is the starting 2b with DeWitt winning the backup job over Cardenas. I also see Wells winning a starting job with Volstad in the bullpen bumping Miller. I also think Mateo & Maine are in the pen over Weathers and Beliveau. I have Castillo as the backup cather

cubsfan09 said...

I disagree with Barney being a backup. I want to see him win the job. I like the way he plays the game. He can still be the backup SS when Castro needs day off just simply plug Cardenas in at 2nd. I also think Wells should be in rotation.