Chicago Cubs: Rowan Wick quickly entering Maddon’s Circle of Trust

Chicago Cubs Joe Maddon has always had trusted, high-leverage guys during his tenure. With recent struggles and heavy use in the bullpen, the right-hander finds himself on the cusp of a larger role.

At 26 years old, Chicago Cubs Rowan Wick is hardly a spring chicken or Can’t-miss prospect. However, the hard-throwing right-hander has recently made the most of his opportunities riding the Iowa shuttle.

During this most recent nightmare of a road trip, Wick has been the best Cubs’ reliever with four scoreless appearances between San Francisco and Milwaukee. With the struggles of heavily-used stalwarts Pedro Strop and Steve Cishek, it couldn’t come at a better time for Wick or the team.

Wick, a Canadian by birth, has made nine appearances throughout the season for the big league Cubs this season, in several stints. Other than two appearances against the Pirates and Phillies, Wick has been lights out.

He has 11 strikeouts in nine appearances (spanning 10 innings) and has only allowed eight hits. The one cause for concern could be his walks, as he has seven, but it hasn’t hurt him against teams located outside of Pennsylvania.

In addition to his 2.70 ERA in the big leagues in 2019, Wick also owns some jaw-dropping numbers while pitching for Triple-A Iowa. In 35 innings, spanning 27 appearances, Wick has 44 strikeouts against only nine walks.

That seems to show that Wick’s MLB walk rate may just be a bit of an aberration or small sample size at the moment. He also owns a stingy1.80 ERA in Triple-A Iowa, having given up a measly 25 hits and seven earned runs this season in the minors.

While Wick hasn’t been scored upon in four straight appearances at the big league level, he also has a bit of a streak going in the minors. Currently sitting at 13 games dating back to May 30, hasn’t given up a run at all since July 1. Those two runs he gave up in a blowout loss to the Pirates are the only runs he’s given up in any kind of game at all since May 26 in Iowa.

What do all these stats and streaks mean for the Cubs now that the team is in another miserable road trip? For starters, it means Cubs’ skipper Joe Maddon has started to feel more comfortable riding Wick’s hot right hand, leveraging him in some tighter spots over the past week on the road.

Maddon has always been a manager with an inner “circle of trust” for certain guys in the pen. Sometimes leading to overuse and blind loyalty when guys are banged up or struggling (see Pedro Strop of late). If Wick can wriggle (or bust) into that circle, what a boon it would be for a bullpen that seems to be taking on water of late.

With the struggles of just about every reliever in the pen of late, it may not even be out of the question to see Wick out there in a save situation or locking down the 9th inning of a tight game to give big-name closer Craig Kimbrel a day off.