3 takeaways from Chicago Cubs camp, including Nick Madrigal’s 1st Cactus League test at 3rd base

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Exhibition games early in the Cactus League schedule often provide prospects and minor-leaguers their most playing time in camp.

Chicago Cubs prospect Matt Mervis is making a good impression two games in. Mervis walked twice in the Cubs’ 9-4 loss Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers after tallying a hit and a walk as a midgame substitute in their spring training opener Saturday.

“He asks a lot of the right questions,” manager David Ross said of the first baseman. “He’s got a really nice way about how he thinks about the game. He thinks about his team. He’s a worker and a guy that is very focused and committed to his craft.”

Here are three takeaways from Sunday’s game.

The baseball quickly found Madrigal on Sunday at Camelback Ranch.

Madrigal made his first start at third base — at the high school, college or professional levels — and the first two Dodgers batters, Miguel Rojas and Freddie Freeman, tested him to lead off the bottom of the first.

Madrigal handled both ground balls with ease to throw out the runners at first. Rojas’ grounder forced him to his left, while Freeman’s was a more challenging, softly hit ball that Madrigal charged in on.

Madrigal admitted he felt some jitters before the game, but once he handled the first ball hit to him, he settled in.

“It was nice to put to use all the hard work I’ve done in the offseason,” Madrigal said. “I felt comfortable over there. We’ve worked extremely hard to prepare for the game. … I’ve definitely worked a ton charging with one hand and throwing off balance. I feel like I let my instincts take over.”

Madrigal also used for the first time an adjusted pre-pitch preparation with his shift from second base.

In the offseason someone sent him a video of Hall of Fame third baseman Scott Rolen talking on MLB Network about the difference between playing the middle infield and third, where there isn’t time from that angle to track the ball out of the pitcher’s hand and all the way to the batter. A third baseman’s vision instead needs to be focused on the hitter.

“You’ve got to look to the front of the zone, and that’s helped me a ton because you don’t really think of those things being new to the position,” said Madrigal, who hit an RBI single in the loss. “It sounds like something small, but initially right when I did that, I felt way more comfortable.”

Assad originally wasn’t supposed to start Sunday, but Justin Steele’s arm fatigue caused the Cubs to scratch him as a precaution, prompting Assad’s first spring showcase for the final rotation spot.

Assad impressed, throwing two perfect innings against projected Dodgers regular-season starters. He struck out Chris Taylor and Max Muncy.

Assad earned praise from catcher Tucker Barnhart for his fastball playing up in the zone and the action of his slider, especially down in the zone.

“He threw all pitches for strikes,” Barnhart said. “He’s definitely a strike thrower. He has a really good feel to pitch. It was really fun to catch. It’s early in spring, sure, but there’s things that you can see they’re just going to continue to translate.

“Our job (as a catcher) is to continue to tell guys that their good is plenty fine. We just want guys to be great at what they’re good at, and Assad’s a strike thrower and his fastball is really good. … I expect him to continue to pitch well and throw a lot of strikes and continue to impress.”

The Cubs are getting an early look at the different types of games that would have dragged out in past spring trainings.

After their win Saturday versus the San Francisco Giants featured 18 runs, 25 hits and six errors in just a 3-hour, 6-minute game, the Cubs went to the other extreme Sunday. They needed 10 pitchers and three mid-inning pitching changes to complete eight innings against the Dodgers, walking 11 batters in the process.

Despite the the pitching struggles over the final three innings, the game finished in 2 hours, 54 minutes.

“I didn’t feel sped up at the plate necessarily, but behind the plate, I felt like things are moving really fast,” Barnhart said. “I looked up a few times and we were throwing pitches with seven or eight seconds left (on the pitch clock), so there’s obviously room for some time to slow down, but it’s a good thing to be in a position where you have the ability to slow down rather than have to speed up.”