SHAW IN THE SHOW
Former South Bend shortstop Matt Shaw now mans the hot corner at Wrigley Field.
By: Tyler Reidy
AMajor League debut marks a momentous occasion for any baseball player. The debutant realizes a lifelong dream, begins a new journey at the peak of his profession, and can celebrate with family, friends, and mentors.
All of that was true for Matt Shaw’s first appearance in the bigs. At the same time, however, it was a debut unlike any other.
Shaw, the Chicago Cubs’ 13th overall pick in the 2021 draft and the top Cubs prospect at the time, joined The Show on March 18 of this year in Tokyo, Japan. In any environment, his debut would have made headlines. In Tokyo, however, it fueled a raging fire of excitement as the Cubs faced the reigning world champion Dodgers in the very first two games of the regular season.
“It feels like forever ago, but it was a pretty crazy experience,” Shaw said of the Tokyo Series. “So much [was] going on, being in a different country and being in different time zones, so it was really exciting. It’s something I'll definitely look back to and have a great memory of.”
The Tokyo series began a 2025 season
that has seen Shaw play a regular third base for the World Series-contending Chicago Cubs. And while a career playing ball on the Northside gives Shaw plenty of excitement, he doesn’t lose sight of where his professional journey began.
In August 2023, after he had swung his way into the record books at the University of Maryland and spent a few post-draft games in the Arizona Complex League, Shaw made his first full pro stop in South Bend. He made a mockery of the High-A level, hitting .393 with four home runs before earning a promotion to Tennessee after only 20 games. And while he never made a South Bend start at his current position of third base, Shaw took plenty of reps at shortstop and second base.
Matt Shaw looks to make a play at shortstop after snagging a ground ball against the Cedar Rapids Kernels at Four Winds Field. (August 22, 2023)
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“I was able to spend some time working on defense, working on a lot of different things,” Shaw said. “I'd just been drafted, so there was still a lot I had to learn. Being able to be in South Bend, get some games, learn from some good coaches, it's definitely helped.”
Matt Shaw running to 1st base after agetting a hit against the Cedar Rapid Kernels. (August 25, 2023)
With South Bend less than a year removed from a Midwest League title at the time of his Midwest League stint, Shaw experienced the best of Four Winds Field and its environment. In his final three High-A home games, he gave Cubs fans plenty to cheer about, going 8 for 14 with a double, a triple, two home runs, and eight runs batted in.
“I thought the crowd was pretty amazing, even from the beginning when I got there,” Shaw recalled. “I thought there were always a lot of people that showed up for the team, and really it was probably one of the bigger crowds I had ever played in front of.”
Shaw says he hasn’t changed a whole lot since coming through South Bend. He’s become a better defender, a married man, a puppy owner, and an everyday contributor to one of the best teams in Major League Baseball.
In Chicago, Shaw shares the Friendly Confines with several more South Bend Cubs of years past. Nico Hoerner (2018) is with him on the infield dirt all the time at second base. Pete CrowArmstrong (2022) has played at an MVP level in center field. Ian Happ (2016) continues to carve out an impressive, nine-year career in MLB. On the pitching side, Daniel Palencia (2022) has saved double-digit games, and Cade Horton (2023) has delivered on the hype of being the organization’s top pitching prospect.
“It's been a lot of fun. We get along really well,” Shaw said of the 2025 Chicago Cubs. “We enjoy being here together, and a lot of us are really becoming friends more than teammates, which is cool as the season goes on.”
Though it’s been a can’t-miss season at Wrigley Field, Shaw hasn’t seen all of
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it. He struggled through the early part of April, hitting .172 in 18 games. Less than a month after making his Major League debut across the Pacific, Shaw headed west again, this time on an assignment to Triple-A Iowa.
Under the microscope of hopeful Cubs fans, Shaw hadn’t delivered on his lofty expectations. But that wasn’t the end of his time in Chicago. He went back to Des Moines and raked, hitting .286 with six homers and more walks than strikeouts across a month of play. By Memorial Day, Shaw called Wrigley home once more.
“I've dealt with failures in my career before, and just staying consistent and really having that belief every day that I could be a contributor for this team, whether I was in Iowa or whether I was here [in Chicago] struggling – I always had that belief,” Shaw said.
Since returning to Chicago, Shaw has found himself in the center of big moments time and time again. On May 27 against the Colorado Rockies, he ended an 11-inning game with his first career walk-off hit. About a month later, he walked off another contest in
the Cubs’ 2016 World Series rematch with the Cleveland Guardians and has homered four times in his first 8 games after the All-Star break.
Most importantly for his development, and regardless of his results, Shaw has learned. He’s learned about what it takes to reach the big leagues, play winning baseball for a team with World Series aspirations, and be the best version of himself each day at the highest level of the game.
“It definitely takes a lot of work and a lot of time and a lot of effort,” he described. “It takes a certain belief in yourself, and it takes a certain perspective. This is a unique lifestyle, but just remembering who you are through it all to help you stay consistent on and off the field is important.”
Consistency will remain one of the most significant keys to Matt Shaw’s continuing rookie year in Chicago. But make no mistake, if he can level up towards the offensive dynamo he was with South Bend two years ago, get ready for some deep October baseball in the Cubs organization.
Matt Shaw charges toward third base against the Wisconsin Tumber Rattlers. (August 1, 2023)
Matt Shaw signing autographs for a few fans before a game at Four Winds Field. (August 26, 2023)
The 2026 season will feature six new VIP spaces to host your family, friends, and co-workers. These premium spaces will feature upgraded amenities and some of the best views of the ballpark. Most include access to private restrooms and exclusive menu options. Minimum tickets required. Talk to a South Bend Cubs Account Executive for more details.
A BIRDIE ON 18
Chicago Cubs top pitching prospect Brandon Birdsell goes back to roots with South Bend Cubs rehab assignment
By: Brendan King
The 2025 season has been a learning experience for top Chicago Cubs pitching prospect
Brandon Birdsell. That’s both on the mound, and off of it. Originally a 2023 South Bend Cub, after being selected out of Texas Tech University in the 5th-round of the 2022 MLB Draft, Birdsell has battled injuries all season long. It’s the first time in his pro career that Birdsell has faced the adversity of missing months at a time. But it’s also the first time in his life that he’s taken on a big deal of a moniker, as a brand-new Dad.
Birdsell and his wife, EmileeAnn, welcomed their new son Decker into the world on July 3, 2024. As is the grind of baseball, Birdsell celebrated Decker’s first birthday, but virtually. Making his return to the South Bend Cubs on a rehab assignment in July, Birdsell was pitching for South Bend against the Peoria Chiefs on his son’s 1st birthday, which is where the roles of pitcher vs dad have melded the most for Birdsell.
“The day he was born in 2024, I had just gotten promoted the night before
to Iowa,” Birdsell said. “I had to figure out how to be a dad, along with having the most important starts of my career. But it was a blessing in disguise. Babies are funny because they bring you back down to Earth really quickly. If you have a terrible start, they don’t care. You walk into the family room and he’s smiling and that makes any worries from baseball go away.”
It was a quick dine-and-dash stay for Birdsell with the South Bend Cubs in 2025, working back from an injury that had kept him out for nearly all of Spring Training and the first half of the campaign.
"It definitely wasn't as we intended with the injury,” Birdsell explained. "I tore my lat on the first day of camp. Then once that was good to go, we started to ramp up. I had a couple of setbacks, but we’re pitching now and I’m feeling good.”
With Birdsell making his first starts in a South Bend Cubs uniform since 2023, it was also the first time that Cubs fans could see the freshly named number one
Brandon Birdsell pitching against the West Michigan Whitecaps. (July 21, 2023)
Cubs pitching prospect back in action at a full-season affiliate. Birdsell made two starts on his rehab stint, with both coming on the road. And thanks to the promotions of guys like Matt Shaw, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Cade Horton, and others to the Chicago Cubs, Birdsell is now ranked in the top five of the Cubs top-30 prospects list, as the highest pitcher on the slate.
“I really feel like I have commanded the fastball really well in my return to both sides of the plate up and down,” Birdsell said. “Whenever I can do that, and play my off-speed stuff off of that, then that usually works out pretty well for me. Everything is going well in bullpens, but it’s a matter of transitioning that to the mound in live games.”
Birdsell's first appearance, after a short stay in the Arizona Complex League, came in Peoria on July 3.
Following a FaceTime call with his family, and a live look into Decker’s first birthday party, it was time to go to work. Of course, this start at Dozer Park in Peoria was a little different than his previous two outings at Sloan Park in Arizona, where after those games, he walks 100 yards down a rocky trail back to the Complex and goes home.
This was the full road trip experience. Hotel wake up, breakfast, bus ride to the field, game on.
“What was on my mind coming back to the Midwest League was sticking to my plan of how this rehab process is going to go,” Birdsell said. “The main thing is feeling good but also continuing to work on things that I have to, but also trying to get guys out and help the team win.”
Birdsell’s first win of the season did indeed come in a South Bend uniform, in a rehab vs rehab battle at Neuroscience ... continued from previous page.
Brandon Birdsell delivering a pitch against the Dayton Dragons. (May 27, 2023)
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Group Field in Appleton, Wisconsin. Pitching against the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, Birdsell's second and final rehab start of 2025 with South Bend featured a longtime Big Leaguer on the other side, lefty Nestor Cortes. The southpaw Cortes was making a rehab appearance with Wisconsin, in his first season with the Milwaukee Brewers. In the 2024 World Series, Cortes pitched for the New York Yankees, giving up the walk-off grand slam to Freddie Freeman in Game 1 of last year’s Fall Classic, the first walk-off slam in World Series history.
Birdsell may have not been a fellow Big Leaguer like Cortes yet, but the match-up felt like an MLB duel. Backand-forth they went with quick half-innings, Birdsell and Cortes forced one another to quickly get back on the mound each half-inning, with little rest for either guy. Birdsell came out on top, as the winning pitcher that night in five innings two-run baseball with three strikeouts.
“It was definitely cool to pitch against him,” Birdsell said. “Warming up in the outfield and seeing a guy like that as a competitor, it fired me up before my start. That was a cool experience.”
Talking to Birdsell in the dugout in Appleton, you could see it was a reflection type moment for the big right-hander. Sure, at Triple-A Iowa last season, Birdsell faced guys who had at one point been in the Major Leagues. But this was a mano-a-mano meeting of an MLB veteran and former All-Star, against an up-and-coming future MLB arm. From his first start with the South Bend Cubs on Easter Sunday 2023 in his pro debut, to the last one of the all-rehab game in Appleton, it’s been quite the journey.
“I remember that first professional start in Quad Cities,” Birdsell reflected. “I
remember I couldn’t command the ball very well. Coming from college at the time, if you don’t go seven innings there with 10 strikeouts, you're wondering why you didn’t have a good day. Adjusting to pro ball and looking back, it was a good debut.”
A good debut, indeed. Three hitless and scoreless innings, a couple of walks, and four strikeouts. At Texas Tech, Birdsell was the guy in that Red Raider rotation. Now he's the guy at the top of pitching depth chart in the Cubs organization in two short years of being a professional.
“What I thought I knew then in that first start compared to what I know now is what comes to mind thinking about it all," Birdsell said. “It’s all about sticking to the day-to-day. Don’t get caught up in being promoted. I've always had the mindset, that you're three to four great starts away from getting the chance of a lifetime at the highest level.”
Brandon Birdsell talks with catcher Ethan Hearn between batters on the mound in his Four Winds Field debut. (April 15, 2023)
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2025 SOUTH BEND CUBS COACHING STAFF
Nick Lovullo - Manager
Nick Lovullo returns for his second season as Manager. A former Boston Red Sox prospect, the 30-year-old was drafted in the 20th round of the 2016 MLB Draft by Boston, after a collegiate career at Holy Cross. He grew up and played his high school baseball in Thousand Oaks, California. In his first pro season, Lovullo was promoted as high as Double-A Portland. His professional career concluded in 2021, in a stop with the Miami Marlins organization, as well as independent baseball. The son of Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo, Nick became the Double-A Tennessee Smokies bench coach in 2022 and managed the Arizona Complex League Cubs in 2023.
George Thanopoulos - Pitching Coach
George Thanopoulos who was an assistant coach in 2021, returns to South Bend as the pitching coach. Between 2021 and 2025, Thanopoulos spent time working at the Cubs Complex in Mesa, Arizona, before taking the Myrtle Beach Pelicans pitching coach job in 2024. Thanopoulos oversaw a Pelicans pitching staff that finished with 1178 strikeouts in 2024, and the Birds posted the second lowest opposing team batting average in the Carolina League at just .223. A former pitcher with the Colorado Rockies organization, Thanopoulos was a part of both the 2016 and 2017 teams with the Boise Hawks in the Northwest League.
Nate Spears - Hitting Coach
Nate Spears returns for his second season with the South Bend Cubs as the hitting coach. Spears began his playing career with the Baltimore Orioles, after they selected him in the fifth-round of the 2003 MLB Draft. The Fort Myers, Fla. native was traded by the Orioles to the Northsiders in the Corey Patterson deal in 2006. Spears played for former South Bend manager Buddy Bailey in 2008 with Double-A Tennessee, and made it to Triple-A Iowa. His career then took him to the Boston Red Sox, where he made his MLB debut. Spears played for Boston in 2011 and 2012. As a coach, he stayed with the Red Sox, and woundup coaching Nick Lovullo while he was a Red Sox prospect.
Daniel Wasinger Bench Coach
Nick Roberts Athletic Trainer
Allen Cooper Strength and Conditioning Coach
Collin Andrews Development Coach
Jose Zapata Assistant Pitching Coach
CATCHERS
PITCHERS
Staying The Course
After a slow start, Edgar Alvarez has become one of the Cubs’ most consistent bats
By Tyler Reidy
When second-year South Bend Cub Edgar Alvarez steps to the plate during the final month of the season, take a look up at his numbers on the videoboard in right field. You’ll see more than 20 extra-base hits, plus a batting average and OPS equal to or better than the Midwest League average. For a hitter like Alvarez, who is in his first full season as a pro, there’s a lot to like about those metrics. But they don’t tell the full story of the work he’s done to make the best of this 2025 campaign. Edgar Alvarez started the year without a hit in his first 24 at bats. That slump, combined with the pitcher-friendly temperatures of April in the Midwest, would have been enough to sink an entire season for many hitters. Not Alvarez, though. He’s far too advanced of a hitter to let a cold streak pull him under, and the Chicago Cubs knew that when they called his name last summer.
Alvarez had high hopes entering draft week last year. In his final college season at Nicholls State, he had become the program’s first Southland Conference Player of the Year, setting single-season team records in total bases, runs batted in, and runs scored. A selection on day
two (rounds 3-10) was certainly on the table, but plans began to shift as the afternoon grew late.
“I remember getting a phone call from my agent saying it's probably gonna be day 3 and thinking, ‘Okay, let's move on to day 3,’ and letting everyone know I'm okay, like it's not a big deal,” Alvarez recalled. “And then five minutes later [my agent] saying, ‘Oh hey, never mind. The Cubs just called. They're gonna take you right here.’”
In the eighth round, Alvarez found his home.
“That was a bit of a swing of emotions for sure, but it was awesome.”
With Alvarez, a 23-year-old at the time, having torn up college baseball while leading Nicholls to consecutive NCAA Tournaments for just the second time in program history, the Cubs felt no need to see him with Single-A Myrtle Beach. Straight he went to South Bend, where he hit a respectable .245 in 27 games last August and September. His first professional home run was a grand slam in Fort Wayne.
“I thought it was super nice learning the day to day, what it's gonna look like for a full year, kind of getting prepared
Edgar Alvarez at bat against the Lake County Captains. (June 20, 2025)
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for it,” Alvarez described of his first five weeks with South Bend. “Just your preparation for every game down to lifts, when you're gonna eat, when you're gonna wake up, even what bus to get on, stuff like that – treatments, everything like that.”
Alvarez has felt welcomed by all in the Cubs organization, whether it’s those who drafted him or Nate Spears, his first full-time hitting coach in the pros. A four-year Minor League Cub, Spears has held the hitting coach role in South Bend since the 2024 season began. It didn’t take long for him to strike a chord with Alvarez, a fellow native of Florida.
“Spears has been freaking awesome,” Alvarez said. “I love working with him. It seems like he really gets it. He understands the player side of everything.”
Both Alvarez and Spears returned to South Bend for the 2025 season, during which their relationship has become even more vital. When the slugger was in his O-fer, Spears helped him mentally remain in the right place.
“He would talk to me and make sure
my head's on straight every single day,” Alvarez remembered. “And then some of it goes back to my coaching from Nicholls, [head] coach Mike Silva, he'd always ingrained into us that each day is a new day and every at bat is different and they're not all created equal, and you have to take your victories within each at bat and learn from your bat at bats.”
Baseball naturally isn’t a fair game, and Alvarez experienced plenty of hard luck during his hitless stretch. His hard-hit ground balls found the gloves of infielders. During the April 12 doubleheader against Peoria, he launched a bases-loaded fly ball that would have hit the wall or cleared it in summer conditions, but it landed on the warning track for an out.
“I thought my first 10 at bats were great,” Alvarez said. “I thought I hit a few balls hard, and then the next 14 weren't as well, but just moving on, treating each day like a new day and each at bat like a new at bat and another day for another opportunity.”
“Just trying to do that each and every
Edgar Alvarez smiles towards the Cubs dugout after driving in a run against the Lake County Captains. (June 20, 2025)
day, I felt it got me through it. But then at some point it does turn into like, ‘Hey, let's get the one, and then once you get the one we'll get rolling,’ and it seems like that's how it went.”
“The one” finally arrived on April 19 at West Michigan. Alvarez hooked a ball into the right-field corner and had extra bases on his mind. However, as he turned first, Alvarez injured himself severely enough to force his exit from the game. Just as the hitless drought ended, an absence from the field began.
Fortunately, Alvarez returned to the lineup within a week, bringing a rejuvenated bat with him. He hit .284 in May, then .304 in June. In his eyes, the home runs he pulled to the right-center alley on May 7 against Fort Wayne and May 23 against Wisconsin signaled the arrival of Edgar Alvarez at his best.
“They were short, they were tight,” Alvarez described. “It was easy, it was flowing… where you're not really thinking anything and it just happens, and it's the lowest amount of effort possible and the ball would just fly.”
Regardless of his status in the batter’s box, Alvarez has helped the Cubs with
his positional versatility. He’s one of only a few players to start games on the infield dirt and outfield grass for South Bend this season, a challenge he’s able to fulfill thanks to his pregame reps.
For a Cubs team that has played winning baseball since the start of June and is gaining new pieces from both Myrtle Beach and the draft, Alvarez is excited to see what the home stretch has in store.
“It seems like we're playing better baseball,” Alvarez mentioned. “We're playing our brand of baseball now, pitching it really well, running the bases on an elite level, and then playing good defense… Offensively, [we’re] just trying to compete every at bat, every pitch, and just trying to win pitch by pitch.”
Regardless of the outcome, if the Cubs can remain in postseason contention throughout the second half, they’ll have a season marked by development and resilience in the face of early obstacles. No individual player’s year embodies those characteristics better than that of Edgar Alvarez.
“I think at the end of the year we'll look back, and we'll see the growth that we've made as a team,” Alvarez said. “We’ll look back on the first half and kind of forget about it but learn from it and see the team we're going to be at the end of the year.”
Edgar Alvarez playing third base against the Beloit Sky Carp. (April 26, 2025)
Edgar Alvarez up to bat against the Beloit Sky Carp. (April 26, 2025)
Pictured: Paul & Jessica Madonia at 2024 Community’s Choice Awards Gala
Becoming A Leader
South Bend Cubs Development Coach Collin Andrews relishes opportunity to both learn and teach the game.
By Brendan King
Shortly following the COVID-19 Pandemic, South Bend Cubs
Assistant Hitting Coach and Development Coach, Collin Andrews, was ready to press the reset button on where his life currently stood. A new challenge, something that he could be happy and proud of doing every day. He didn’t know it at the time, but in order to accomplish this goal, he would have to leave the country.
Andrews, a Chicago native, and a graduate of St. Ignatius College Prep located on the corner of Roosevelt Road and Blue Island Avenue on the Lower West Side, went on to play Division III baseball at Wesleyan University.
“After playing in college I worked for two years just kind of trying to figure out my life,” Andrews said. “I was a fulltime writer, I worked in a grocery store, I was a tutor, I worked in the Cook County Sheriff’s Office for a while helping out kids. Then I really decided I had to turn my life around and find something I was passionate about. I started coaching kids, and in 2022, the Chicago Cubs approached me with a job offer.”
The Chicago Cubs indeed recruited Andrews to join the organization as a coach, but it wasn’t a job in Chicago. If Andrews wanted to join the coaching world of professional baseball, he
Andrews walks through the dugout prior to the game against the Beloit Sky Carp (April 25, 2025)
would need to move to the Dominican Republic, to assist the Cubs Dominican Summer League facilities. This is where the youngest Cubs international prospects go to play, shortly after signing.
Not only is ‘The D.R.’ a brand-new environment, but a complete culture change. Andrews’ Spanish speaking skills were adequate, but not yet at the level where he could go coach young 15-17 year olds in their native cultures.
“I was so grateful to have had that experience,” Andrews said. “I studied Spanish my whole life, but I had no idea what the kids were saying when I got there. It’s a totally different Spanish. I got thrown right into the fire too. When you’re sitting in coaches meetings, they’re all speaking Spanish right at you. The more you practice and try it with the players and coaches, they respect you. After living there for six months, I got a hang of it.”
Andrews now speaks Spanish fluently, which allows him to connect and build relationships with any Chicago Cubs minor league player that he works with now Stateside at the Cubs Spring
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meets the umpires and opposing manager at home plate before the game against the Quad Cities River Bandits. (April 26, 2024)
Training Complex in Arizona, or at Four Winds Field in South Bend.
In his second season with the South Bend Cubs as the team’s assistant hitting coach and development coach, Andrews gets to work just over an hour away from his hometown each summer, which allows him to spend time with his family and friends. The time spent in the Cubs organization has provided an opportunity as well to work with the same players year-to-year, progressing by the level.
With Andrews’ first season with the Cubs being in 2022, it was as well for one of the organization’s top prospects, Jefferson Rojas.
Rojas and Cristian Hernandez not only grew up together playing at the same baseball academy in the Dominican Republic, but also played together to start their Cubs careers in
the DSL. For much of this season, Rojas and Hernandez combined as the middle infield for the South Bend Cubs.
“I have to give a shoutout to all the coaches in the Dominican who helped Jefferson and Cristian because they were around them nearly all day everyday,” Andrews said. “Cristian has the power that very few people have, and Jefferson has the preciseness that also very few people have. It’s something that goes unseen, because sometimes as a young baseball player, you’re jealous if someone else has success. But these guys really care about each other’s success. It’s neat to see Jefferson’s quiet demeanor, and Cristian’s excited mannerisms blend together, and they never clash. It’s special.”
Andrews’ relationships made with the players is built on trust. Since joining
Andrews
Andrews poses for a photo before the game vs. the Beloit Sky Carp. (July 19, 2025)
the Cubs in 2022 onward, Andrews committed to assisting players any way he can, whether that’s in the batting cage, practicing defense, or helping the South Bend media relations staff translate interviews with latin players.
“It’s cool to see the latin players interact with the American players,” Andrews said. “They don’t necessarily speak each other’s language on the field, but they eventually learn how to speak each other’s language in the clubhouse, in the cafeteria, and as a coach, you try to facilitate those relationships by bringing them together.”
From a coaching standpoint, on a day-to-day basis for Andrews, he has a responsibility to set up the Cubs roster for success. From helping hitting coach Nate Spears craft scouting reports on opposing pitchers, to assisting the South Bend outfield during the game on positioning, and so much more behind-thescenes work, naturally, most work that Andrews puts in everyday is not seen by the fans, but it’s part of his goals for the future; Being a figure that others can look up to.
“I want to be a leader,” Andrews said. “You always look forward to greener grass, but everyday here is an opportunity to help change someone’s life. I’m so grateful to have this opportunity.”
While Andrews is consistently teaching the game everyday, he’s also
trying to be a sponge and soak in as much knowledge as possible in the same realm. Learning from Spears, a former Big League player, as to what is the proper way to plan each day, help hitters succeed, and most importantly, win.
After some early season struggles, the Cubs began the second half with a plus .500 record and went into the All-Star Break by winning five of six games at Wisconsin, hitting a single series-high 10 home runs in Appleton.
“I was thinking in the batting cage, I’m really excited for this team to have a chance to compete,” Andrews said. “This team knows what it takes to be good now. When you’re riding an eightgame losing streak, it’s not great, but the coaching staff and players have stuck together to steer the ship.” ...
5, 2025)
Andrew poses with his family after the Independence Day weekend game. (July
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AROUND THE BASES Grant Kipp
What is your favorite pre-game song/artists you're currently listening to?
My current favorite pregame song to listen to is ‘Just What I Am’ by Kid Cudi.
What is your favorite T.V. show to binge watch?
My favorite show I’m currently binging is Severance and really enjoy how different it is from anything I’ve seen before. As for previous shows, I can rewatch I Think You Should Leave or River Monsters anytime.
Who is your favorite baseball player of all time?
There are a lot of baseball players I like and admire but honestly my favorite player is Daisuke Matsuzaka because I watched him help the Red Sox win a World Series and it’s a fun name to say. What is your go to pre-game meal/snack?
My ideal pregame meal is a regular #13 sandwich from Jersey Mike’s, Mike’s way no onions.
Are you superstitous at all?
I’m somewhat superstitious. I don’t think what shoes you wear or the order in which you put on your clothes matters but I do believe in not mentioning a no-hitter or perfect game if one is happening.
Favorite thing to do in the off-season?
I enjoy catching up with my family and friends at home, playing golf with my dad, playing tennis, swimming, hunting, and fishing.
Fun fact that fans might not know about you?
One time I got a concussion while I was wakeboarding. Do you have any hobbies?
My hobbies are basically the same as what I said for what I do in the offseason, but during the season I like to read, compete with friends on Wordle, play video games with teammates and friends from home, and try to find a free class to take online such as Spanish.
If you could travel to one place you've never been to, where would you go?
I would like to travel to the Mediterranean, specifically Greece and Croatia. They just seem like they’d be beautiful places to visit in the summer or fall, plus Game of Thrones was filmed in Croatia so it would be cool to check that out.
What teammate(s) do you enjoy playing with the most?
I’ve enjoyed getting to know a lot of my teammates because baseball brings people together from very different walks of life, but I would say my favorite teammate would be Brody McCullough. We lived together during Instructional League in 2022 and watched Eastbound and Down after going to Myrtle Beach. Season 3 of that show is based in Myrtle Beach and several scenes were shot on that same field. Since living together, I’d say we’ve become good friends and he’s a great human being who I enjoy being around on and off the field.
If you could pick a different position to play, what position would you pick? If I could play a different position, I’d be a catcher. Those guys are the glue of the team. Everyone respects them and they’re the hardest workers on the team. All current and former catchers I’ve met are great people to get to know. Plus, I think the gear they have now looks sick.
AUTOGRAPHS
Infielder Rafael Morel
