Papelbon, a Cubs pitching prospect and younger brother of Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon, recently joined his twin brother, Josh, for a shark adventure at North Shore in Oahu. He had some free time from playing for the Waikiki BeachBoys of the Hawaiian Winter League. What better way to spend it than in a cage, mere inches away from some of the Pacific's predators?

"In the cage, I know nothing can really go wrong, there were a lot of safety things to prevent anything from going wrong," Papelbon said. "There's a lot more things that can go wrong pitching in the ninth."

Things have gone pretty smooth so far. Papelbon, a self-described utility pitcher since being drafted in the 19th round in 2006, recently dived into the closer's role for Waikiki. He has picked up three saves among eight appearances, compiling a 3.48 ERA and striking out 15 in 10 1/3 innings of winter ball.

Papelbon, 25, is turning into one of Chicago's more promising prospects after amassing 35 2/3 straight scoreless innings for Class A Daytona to end the 2008 season.

His year was cut short in August by a blister on his pitching hand, which led to his first Winter League assignment to make up for the lost innings.

"Missing those last couple weeks in the season, I didn't really get a chance to finish what I started," said Papelbon, who compiled a 2.57 ERA while spending all of 2008 in Daytona. "I only got like 70 innings over the season. I can really handle over 100, which is what I did the year before [107 innings with Class A Peoria]."

Papelbon made four starts down the stretch for Daytona because the club lacked rotation arms. With Waikiki, he's back in the 'pen -- for now. The Cubs told Papelbon to come to Spring Training ready for rotation work in the Minors. The University of North Florida product saved eight games and started 12 more in three Minor League seasons, so he's ready for anything.

"They told me to be prepared as a starter because they don't know exactly what they want me to do," Papelbon said. "Coming in as a starter, it would be easier to adjust to relief [than the other way around]."

Papelbon wouldn't mind staying in the family business of closing games. Even though he's a finesse lefty and his older brother is a power righty, Jeremy might ask Jonathan for some pointers.

"That's actually a good idea," Papelbon said. "I didn't know that this was a situation I would be going into [in winter ball]. I definitely could talk to him and pick his brain."

Other Cubs prospects in Hawaii include right-hander Blake Parker (1-1, 5.19 ERA in 8 2/3 innings), second baseman Tony Thomas (.214, five triples in 18 games) and third baseman Marquez Smith (.162, two home runs in 21 games).

In the Arizona Fall League, outfielder Tyler Colvin remains out with a sore elbow that has sidelined him for two weeks. The 2006 first-round pick sported a .176 average through five games. Left-hander Donnie Veal has given up five earned runs in four innings for an 11.25 ERA.

Left-hander J.R. Mathes has dominated in Venezuela, going 2-0 with a 0.87 ERA in 10 1/3 innings. Rich Hill, who is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two outings, walked four in 3 2/3 in his second start. Among the position players, Henry Blanco is hitting .267 (4-for-15) with two home runs for Margarita and Sam Fuld has a .250 average (7-for-28) with Aragua. Outfielder Josh Kroeger is among the league's top five in every Triple Crown category with a .441 average, four home runs and 11 RBIs for Caracas.