Cubs News: Brailyn Marquez makes 40-man postseason roster

Brailyn Marquez is on the Cubs postseason roster. But will he see the mound?

The Cubs have had a left-handed reliever problem pretty much all season. But to this point, they haven’t turned to flamethrowing prospect Brailyn Marquez. That could change next week, with the inclusion of the southpaw on the team’s 40-man postseason roster.

Marquez threw in front of the Cubs coaching staff Friday, giving manager David Ross a fresh look at his 21-year-old hurler ahead of next week’s opening round of the postseason.

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"“He continues to get better,” Ross said. “You try to think about how the environment would affect him. You try to think about the pitch characteristics. Can he follow a scouting report, or do you let him just come in and be himself with the stuff? We talk daily about all those things.”"

At the end of the day, we’re still talking about a guy who is yet to throw a pitch above High-A ball. That’s a dramatic jump – both in terms of the environment and the competition. But last week, we saw the rival White Sox promote Garrett Crochet, their 2020 first-rounder. Since joining the big league club, he’s turned in four scoreless innings, striking out five.

Will Ross and the Chicago front office roll the dice with Marquez? We don’t yet know. But we’re talking about this potentially being the ‘Last Dance’ for this core – so not pulling out all the stops in hopes of winning one more championship would be remiss.

"“I just rely on our player development group and front office,” Ross said, “to let me know when a guy might be ready. I know in a lot of peoples’ minds, he’s getting close. And so, you just continue to talk about that and watch the outings and try to assess.”"

Last year in a very limited five-game sample size with High-A Myrtle Beach, Marquez struck out 26 and walked seven, working to a sterling 1.71 ERA. That’s when he really started to turn heads – and this year, almost every prospect ranking was high on the southpaw.

This might wind up being the perfect opportunity to get a look at the young hurler. Sure, it’s dropping him into the big league game in the postseason. But there’s no 40,000-plus fans screaming at him. The atmosphere will be remarkably different than in years past.

If the Cubs host the first-round series, giving Marquez a familiar environment in Wrigley Field could be an easy way to see what they have – and give the bullpen a major shot in the arm from the left side.