Cubs may finally be seeing Ryan Zeferjahn isn't the trade deadline bust fans feared

Ryan Zeferjahn might be on the cusp of figuring things out. The Chicago Cubs' trade deadline acquisition has had very disappointing early returns through his first 12 appearances with Chicago (6.55 ERA). But the reliever has undeniable potential thanks to his high velocity and the movement on his pitches, and his last outing marked a positive change in his pitch mix.

Zeferjahn turned in a rare scoreless outing last Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers, allowing no baserunners in a clean, 10-pitch inning. More importantly, it was a one-run game where Zeferjahn couldn't afford to make a mistake.

CHGO's Brendan Miller pointed out that Zeferjahn relied more on his sinker against the Brewers, and it worked wonders paired with his slider.

This trend continued against the Marlins on Saturday, when Zeferjahn secured a five-out save in a one-run game. Entering in the eighth inning with the tying run on second, he escaped the jam by inducing two groundouts with his sinker—a pitch he relied on for 12 of his 19 deliveries.

This is a deliberate adjustment to Zeferjahn's arsenal since he had only used his sinker roughly 15 percent of the time before these two outings. If he can continue to find success like this, Zeferjahn could be the most vital reliver for the Cubs down the stretch.

Cubs' bullpen needs Ryan Zeferjahn to be at his best down the stretch

This could be a pivotal development for not only Zeferjahn, but also the entire Cubs bullpen. The team needs Zeferjahn to carve out a setup role and even close games on occasion. Jacob Webb can't pitch in every scenario where the game is on the line, and he recently took a 100+ mph line drive off his forearm.

Although Webb won't need an injured list stint, the team needs as many other trustworthy options as they can get at this point. Zeferjahn and Ryan Rollison are virtually the only guys who fit the bill, unless Daniel Palencia can return to form.

This crew is what the Cubs have to work with until reinforcements come off the injured list. Gavin Hollowell, Justin Steele, Shelby Miller, and Edward Cabrera could all be in the mix in the final weeks of the regular season and potentially the playoffs.

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