Alex Maestri

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Chicago Cubs #29 prospect in 2009
  The Cubs spotted Maestri at MLB's inaugural European Baseball Academy in Tirrenia, Italy, in the summer of 2005 and made him the first Italian pitcher ever signed by a major league club. He's a legitimate prospect, not just a curiousity, with surprising stuff and pitchability given his background. Maestri showed a lot of promise as a reliever in 2007, but didn't fare as well when he moved to the rotation in 2008. The Cubs made the move because he has a deep enough repertoire, but the result was diminished stuff, not to mention a tender shoulder that caused him to be shut down in July. His fastball went from 87-90 mph when he signed to 90-94 when he came out of the bullpen in 2007, but it dropped back down to the upper-80s last year. His slider, which is one of the best in the system and devastates righthanders, also wasn't as sharp. Maestri has the potential for an average changeup, and he needs an offspeed pitch to keep hitters honest. He's athletic and repeats his delivery well, allowing him to throw strikes. Chicago will return Maestri to the bullpen in 2009, and it's not inconceivable that he could climb from Double-A to the majors this year.
• 
  Ranked Chicago Cubs #23 prospect in 2008
  The first Italian pitcher ever signed by a major league organization, Maestri has pitched for his nation at the World Baseball Classic (where he gave up a homer to Moises Alou) and most recently at the World Cup in Taiwan in November. The Cubs first noticed Maestri at MLB's inaugural European Baseball Academy in Tirrenia, Italy, in the summer of 2005 and signed him in January 2006. He's more than a novelty act, as he has a legitimate chance to reach the big leagues. Maestri has surprising feel for pitching considering his background, and his fastball has risen from 87-90 mph when he signed to 90-94 last season. His out pitch is a hard slider that ranks as the best in the system and is death on righthanders, who hit just .139 with 62 strikeouts in 187 at-bats against him in 2007. He's athletic, repeats his delivery well and throws strikes. Maestri even has the potential for an average changeup, so Chicago decided to try him as a starter last May. The move didn't work well, as he went 0-3, 7.04 in four outings before returning to the bullpen. He's more comfortable in that role and led Midwest League relievers in opponent average (.156) and baserunners per nine innings (6.9). He pitches almost exclusively with hard stuff, so he needs to refine his changeup or learn to subtract from his fastball in order to give hitters an offspeed look. Because he's handled everything the Cubs have thrown at him so far, not to mention that he'll turn 23 in June, he may skip a level and jump to Double-A in 2008.