MESA, Ariz. -- The Cubs trimmed the spring roster to 49 players on Friday, assigning top prospects Adbert Alzolay, Oscar De La Cruz and Duane Underwood Jr. to Double-A Tennessee.
The three pitchers ranked No. 1, 3 and 30, respectively, on MLB Pipeline's top 30 Cubs prospects list.
Thomas Hatch, the Cubs' top Draft pick in 2016 and ranked seventh on MLB Pipeline's list, also was assigned to Minor League camp. Neither he nor Alzolay appeared in any of the Cubs' Cactus League games but that was by design.
"That was part of the plan coming in to be protective," manager Joe Maddon said Friday. "[Alzolay's] got a great arm. I'm talking to the kid in there -- I had the meeting before never having seen him pitch, I had the meeting after and never saw him pitch. I'm eager to watch him. I've heard nothing but accolades.
"[Alzolay and Hatch] both handled it well and they understood it," Maddon said. "They approached this camp as we asked them to approach the camp."
In addition to Hatch, the Cubs also assigned nine non-roster invitees to Minor League camp, including right-handed pitchers Craig Brooks and David Garner; left-handed pitchers Alberto Baldonado, Daniel Camarena and Michael Roth; infielder Jason Vosler; outfielders Charcer Burks and Bijan Rademacher; and catcher Ian Rice.