Chicago Cubs: Dillon Maples could be undervalued bullpen weapon

There’s one problem the Chicago Cubs’ don’t have: depth. Both in the bullpen and with position players, Joe Maddon’s club boasts all kinds of possibilities.

Almost anyone who follows the Chicago Cubs feel they need one more starting pitching. Maybe another proven back-end arm. In essence, they’re close, but not quite done with what we’d all consider a very successful offseason.

To be clear, this team has already done quite a bit. In the rotation, Theo Epstein brought in Tyler Chatwood and Drew Smyly. As Smyly works back from Tommy John, he represents a longer-term asset for the club. Hence, another immediate asset makes a ton of sense.

In the bullpen, the Cubs made serious moves. Stealing an arm from the rival Dodgers, Chicago brought in right-hander Brandon Morrow. They complimented him with the likes of Steve Cishek, Dario Alvarez and Randy Rosario. That alone forms a solid bullpen core.

Add in the returning relievers from 2017 in Carl Edwards, Mike Montgomery, Pedro Strop, Justin Wilson and Justin Grimm and you see the inherent depth heading into Spring Training.

So who becomes the odd man out? The list above includes nine bullpen arms. Add in five starter and you have 14 pitchers. The Cubs won’t carry 14 arms out of camp – and they have another young arm looking for a chance in Dillon Maples.

Chicago Cubs: Maples showed promise in brief sample size

What Maples accomplished last year is nothing short of impressive. He opened the season at High-A Myrtle Beach before stopping in Tennessee and Iowa. In early September, he got the call and made his big-league debut against the Atlanta Braves.

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Between his Minor League stops, Maples put up a 2.27 ERA across 52 appearances. His swing-and-miss stuff spoke for itself as the right-hander notched more than 14 strikeouts per nine. That being said, he demonstrated a penchant for the base-on-balls, as well, walking more than five batters per nine. To say that’s an isolated instance in the Cubs’ pitching ranks would hardly be fair.

Mostly good – a little bad

Maples made just a half-dozen appearances with the Cubs late in the season and his numbers are skewed from a horrendous relief outing against Pittsburgh. In that game alone, he allowed five earned runs – recording just one out.

All told, he struck out 11 men in just over five innings of work. Not bad for a guy who started the year in the low levels of the Minors. It’s clear he’s got the potential to be a shutdown arm in The Show. But he’ll have to blow the doors off Sloan Park to get it done out of Spring Training.