5 Cubs who stood out in Spring Training

This story was excerpted from Jordan Bastian’s Cubs Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

MESA, Ariz. -- The Cubs already have a pair of official games in the books from the Tokyo Series against the Dodgers, but now the true regular season begins. The disjointed nature of the last few weeks for the North Siders has made the arrival of the domestic opener against the D-backs much welcomed.

“There’s a little bit of getting excited to get into the routine of the season,” Cubs manager Craig Counsell said. “Maybe Opening Day will be a little different, but just getting into the everyday nature of the season, I’m excited about that.”

With this second Opening Day at hand for the North Siders -- a team hoping to claim the National League Central crown and make a deep run in October -- let’s take a look at some players who stood out during the preseason.

1. CF Pete Crow-Armstrong
Crow-Armstrong has a foundation of elite defense and speed, but if the 23-year-old center fielder can also be the type of hitter he was down the stretch last year (.803 OPS over the final two months), that could reshape the look of Chicago’s offense. This spring in Arizona, Crow-Armstrong hit .500 (17-for-34) with three homers, four doubles, 11 RBIs and a 1.368 OPS. Oh, and the budding star heard “P-C-A!” chants in the Tokyo Dome in Japan.

2. INF Gage Workman
The Cubs took a chance on Workman in the Rule 5 Draft in December, plucking him from the Tigers’ system after a standout season at Double-A. This spring, the versatile Workman impressed Chicago, showing he can play second, short and third, as well as the outfield, if needed. He also displayed left-handed pop in the batter’s box, hitting .364/.420/.705 with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 20 preseason games.

3. RHP Brad Keller
Keller had a solid showing in preseason action (13 strikeouts against two walks with a 3.86 ERA in 11 2/3 innings), but the non-roster invitee stood out beyond the box score. The Statcast data available showed his average four-seam fastball at 96.2 mph this spring (topping out at 97.9 mph). It sat at 93.8 mph on average in ‘24 between stints with the White Sox and Red Sox. Keller’s jump in velo and MLB experience helped him win a job in the Cubs’ bullpen.

4. C Miguel Amaya
Like Crow-Armstrong, the 26-year-old Amaya made impressive strides in the final few months last season to solidify his place in the lineup. The Cubs added veteran catcher Carson Kelly over the winter to create a solid tandem, but Amaya looks like the “1A” option in this 1A/1B catching setup. In Spring Training action, Amaya hit .500 with a 1.327 OPS in nine games. He also registered the Cubs’ first official RBI of the ‘25 season with his RBI double in the Tokyo Series opener.

5. C Moises Ballesteros
Let’s round out this list with one of the Cubs’ seven Top 100 prospects. It is well documented that the 21-year-old Ballesteros (Pipeline’s No. 4 Cubs prospect and No. 68 overall) is one of the best hitters in Chicago’s system. His bat is what should carry him to the big leagues from Triple-A Iowa at some point this summer. In his 10 games with the Cubs this spring, Ballesteros did his thing in the batter’s box, hitting .350/.409/.650 with two homers.