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

Chicago Cubs: Two mid-level guys who are on the brink

Luke Farrell has pitched a lot for the Cubs this season. He’s started two games and appeared in a total of 20 contests. His early results were good when the Cubs weren’t counting on him that much. He also pitched five scoreless extra innings that led to a Cubs win back in June.

But neither one of those two starts were any good. He took the loss in both starts. Farrell gave up a combined nine runs in cumulative six innings. He’s not a starting pitcher. The question is if he is still worth a spot on the 40-man roster September? He might be one of the players the Cubs waive to make room for others.

Another shuttle-bound Iowa reliever

Cory Mazzoni has a 1.04 ERA. So why have the Cubs only used him for 8 2/3 innings? Because he isn’t as good as his 1.04 ERA indicates. Before this season Mazzoni had a 20.77 ERA in 2015 and a 13.50 ERA in 2017. His FIP this season is 3.27. In a perfect world FIP and ERA would be about the same. When FIP significantly is higher than ERA it is an indication that a pitcher is getting better results than he really should.

Still the Cubs might choose to call him back up to the Major Leagues in September. However, it also wouldn’t surprise me if he is waived to make room on the roster.