Standout Players Cubs Fans Should Know About from Spring Training Opener

Missed the Cubs spring training opener against the Dodgers and you’re wondering if anything of note happened? No worries, we got you covered. The Cubs won 12-4, and while the results ultimately don’t matter there were intriguing performances on the field by a couple of Cubs players that fans should know about.

First, right-handed pitcher Brad Keller tossed 1.2 innings in relief and while his appearance out of the bullpen isn’t necessarily the big story, seeing him throwing 96-98mph was certainly head-turning. Keller, who the Cubs signed to a minor league deal, has primarily been a starting pitcher in his MLB career.

The righty hasn’t had much success in the majors following his first three seasons in the big leagues with the Kansas City Royals and in 2024 Keller had his worst year in MLB. Keller has never been known as a hard-thrower and has not been all that dominant on the mound even when he was getting good results early in his career. Keller has a career 17.1 K% while averaging 94mph with his fastball.

In 2024, Keller’s average fastball clocked in at 93.8mph. Well, in his spring training debut with the Cubs, Keller struck out back-to-back hitters in his second inning of work. Both strikeouts came on 97mph fastballs.

Brad Keller hitting 97mph for a strikeout 👀

Brad Keller with his second strikeout. 97mph again

Keller threw a total of 28 pitches on Thursday, 15 of them were four-seam fastballs and he averaged 96.2mph. That was an increase of 2.4mph from last year. Hey, if the Cubs can get Keller consistently hitting the upper 90s as a reliever, then they might have something cooking with the 29-year-old pitcher.

High velocity in the bullpen is something that the Cubs have been lacking for years, so it would be pretty cool if Keller somehow emerges as a quality relief arm that can blow hitters away with some gas.

On the position side of things, infielder Gage Workman had an outstanding performance on Thursday. The left-handed hitter started at third base, where he looked good defensively. That included a nice double play to end the first inning.

Gage Workman starts a 5-4-3 double play.

Workman also singled against Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto and later on Workman hit an opposite-field home run against a left-handed pitcher.

Gage Workman with a 2-run opposite field HR off a lefty.

A great spring training debut for Workman.

The Cubs picked up the third baseman in the Rule 5 Draft back in November from the Detroit Tigers. Workman had an excellent season at Double-A in 2024, in what was his third stint at that level.

Being a Rule 5 pick, the Cubs have to keep Workman on their active 26-man roster from the get go. If not, the Cubs could end up returning Workman back to the Tigers. There’s also a scenario in which the Cubs work out a trade with the Tigers for Workman, which would then give them the ability to retain his full rights and enable them to option Workman to the minors.

As of now, Workman is in camp competing for one of the bench spots, but there’s also the likelihood that if he impresses the Cubs enough, then they’ll want to keep him and thus approach the Tigers to make a trade so that they can keep Workman without needing to carry him on the active roster.

The other infield depth on the 40-man roster currently includes Jon Berti, Justin Turner, who are locks to make the Opening Day roster, while Vidal Bruján, who is out of minor league options, now has a better chance to stay after Alexander Canario was DFA’d. Bruján can backup in the infield and outfield.