Jan. 29--The Chicago Cubs have invited 18 non-roster players to spring training,which starts Feb. 19 in Arizona.
Among those invited is Albert Almora, who had an impressive finish to his second season at Double-A Tennessee.
"Second half numbers are very, very important when you're looking at minor-league players," general manager Jed Hoyer said in August. "Some guys get tired, and you have to think through that. When a guy's kept at a level, does he start to master that level?"
Almora, 21, started the season with Baseball America rating him as the Cubs' seventh top prospect. He hit .345 in 29 at-bats in spring training last year.
"I think he's going to take a big step forward," Jaron Madison, the Cubs' director of player development, said in January.
After his 2015 season at Tennessee, Almora worked out at the University of Miami and built a batting cage near his South Florida home.
"He's been getting after it," Madison said of Almora, the Cubs' first pick in the 2012 draft. "He's in a good place mentally and feels good. I think it will be a good spring training for him."
The following pitchers were also invited: Stephen Fife, Brandon Gomes, Jean Machi, Felix Pena, Jonathan Pettibone, Armando Rivero, Drew Rucinski , Duane Underwood, Luis Cruz and Jack Leathersich.
The infielders are: Jesus Guzman, Munenori Kawasaki and Kristopher Negron.
The outfielders are: Almora, John Andreoli and Juan Perez.
And the Cubs invited two catchers: Taylor Davis and Tim Federowicz.
A full camp roster with updated uniform numbers is attached.
