Chicago Cubs: Which pitchers might we see once rosters expand?

Chicago Cubs: From the brink to bat-breaking badness

Dillon Maples is the best prospect of the pitchers the Cubs have been shuttling back and forth between Iowa and Chicago this season. He almost quit baseball a couple of years ago. But last year he converted from a starter to a reliever. He picked up some velocity on his fastball. And he focused on just two pitches (fastball and slider).

Maples’ slider is one of the most devastating pitches in the Cubs entire organization. One of the biggest problems with Maples has always been control. If he can leverage his two pitches, he can be a high-leverage relief pitcher. If he can’t, then his future won’t much matter.

It would be great if the Cubs could develop one of their own late inning relief pitchers instead of paying the high prospect price to trade for the Aroldis Chapman, Wade Davis and Justin Wilson arms of the world. Maples is the Cubs best hope for that in the short term. So he’s sure to get called up in September.

Maples is still on the 40-man roster. As a matter of fact he was just up with the big club for one day last week.