Chicago Cubs: Carl Edwards, Jr. promoted to Triple-A Iowa

Reinforcements could be on the way to Wrigley Field by midsummer. The Chicago Cubs have reportedly promoted Carl (formerly C.J. Edwards) Edwards, Jr. to Triple-A Iowa. The organization made the decision to move him to the bullpen this season to help fast-track him to the majors. They haven’t given up that he can be a starter in the future, but for now his value will come from the pen.

In 13 appearances at Double-A Tennessee, Edwards has a 2.66 ERA while striking out 36 in 23 2/3 innings. That works out to a 13.7 K/9 ratio, the highest of his career thus far. while having made the move to the pen, the Cubs have continued to use him for multiple inning appearances, possibly to keep him stretched out possible spot starts.

He’s been working the eight and ninth innings as of late and has recorded three two-inning saves in his last five games as well as picking up a win. In that five-game stretch, he’s struck out 16 in just 9 innings of work. And opponents are batting a weak .037 against him. Needless to say, the bullpen experiment is working so far.

There’s never been a question to Edwards stuff who entered this season as a top 50 prospect by Baseball America (No. 38) and MLB.com (No. 47). It’s been his size and durability that have been the question. At 6-foot-3 and just 170 pounds, some scouts wonder if he can handle a starter’s workload at the Major League level.

For now, the Cubs aren’t worried about that. Edwards continues to impress and get results. The move to the bullpen was a strategic one, and with the current team’s inconsistencies someone like Edwards would be welcome. Add to that the return of Neil Ramirez hopefully sometime in the next month and the Cubs bullpen would get an immediate boost from these two.

You’ve also got recently acquired Yoervis Medina who will start in Triple-A for the time being. Some Cubs scouts have compared his stuff to Pedro Strop when he was in Baltimore before he finally put it all together. All of this will be critical developments as the Cubs look to stay in the hunt this summer.

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