Chicago Cubs: Luke Farrell has done everything asked of him

Back in Triple-A Iowa for the time being, right-hander Luke Farrell‘s work with the Chicago Cubs this year cannot and should not go unnoticed.

From multiple inning outings, recording key outs late in games and stepping up in extras, he’s done everything to help this team. If the Chicago Cubs made a request of Luke Farrell, he has done so – no questions asked.

He turned in five scoreless innings against the Mets earlier this season, keeping the game tied well into extra innings before the Cubs finally broke through. The week before the All-Star Break, Farrell pitched two scoreless innings against the Giants, keeping the game tied and getting some big key outs in the process.

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One of the numbers that jumps off the page for Farrell is his 11.89 K/9, which is a 30.3 percent strikeout rate. The .277 BABIP indicates he’s been a little lucky, but outs are outs. For the season, in 19 appearances, Farrell has a 3.86 ERA and 4.79 FIP. He does have a bit of a home run problem, giving up a home run on 18.2 percent of his flyballs, a fairly high portion.

While Farrell has been lucky, the work that he has done with the bullpen should still be appreciated. The Cubs’ pen has been ravaged by injuries throughout the season, and Farrell has stepped up.

The son of former Red Sox manager John Farrell, he was claimed off waivers by the Cubs in October of 2017. Back in 2017, he made his major league debut with the Royals, starting a game before being designated for assignment. The Reds picked him up, and he appeared in nine games, posting a 2.61 ERA in 10 1/3 innings. It seems that Farrell might have a career as a relief man.

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Farrell certainly will not make the playoff roster for the Cubs, but there will be other times this year when he is called upon to take the ball and he will. Major League rosters expand to 40 players on September 1. Expect him to get a lot of work to put a rest on the big arms in the bullpen and eat some innings. If the Cubs keep playing how they are, they may have the division wrapped up by September anyway.