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6 homegrown pitchers on the Chicago Cubs active roster
The Chicago Cubs are finally seeing multiple home-grown pitchers contribute at the big-league level, with three of them in the rotation and one closing ballgames.
The Chicago Cubs have been propped up by a wave of young pitchers this season as the front office's efforts to prioritize pitching development are starting to pay off in a big way at the major league level.
Back in 2019, the Cubs found themselves struggling to replicate the magic of the 2016 season and the team's general strategy was to develop hitters and buy pitching on the market. Things started changing with a handful of shrewd hires like Vice President of pitching Craig Breslow, General Manager Carter Hawkins, and pitching coach Tommy Hottovy to name a few. This top-down shift toward developing pitching has become the main strength of the Chicago Cubs, who are seeing young home-grown pitchers starting to trickle into the active roster. As things currently stand, 3/5 of the Cubs' starting rotation is home-grown pitchers who are taking major steps forward in 2023.
1. Jordan Wicks
The most recent example is no. 10 prospect Jordan Wicks, who got the call last week and twirled a marvelous five inning-outing against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday. Wicks became the first Cubs first-round pick to strike out at least 9 hitters in his MLB debut since Mark Prior in 2002. Wicks was drafted 21st overall by the Cubs in 2021 out of Kansas State University. He was unanimously voted the Big 12's preseason pitcher of the year before striking out 118 batters with a 3.70 ERA in 92 1/3 innings that year.
Wicks has been highly touted since joining the organization and his maturity showed in Pittsburgh. Starting your first major league game on the road is not easy, but matters get worse when the opposing leadoff hitter sends the second pitch you've ever thrown in the majors into the seats. But Wicks was able to make that home run an afterthought after he hunkered down and found his rhythm. With Drew Smyly returning to the bullpen, Wicks is poised to hold this rotation spot for the foreseeable future so hopefully, he can continue to succeed and help stabilize the staff.
2. Javier Assad
Another recent contributor is Javier Assad, who has mostly been deployed as a longer reliever out of the bullpen this year but recently became a permanent fixture in the rotation after Marcus Stroman's probable season-ending rib injury. In five starts in August, Assad has a 2.48 ERA with 20 strikeouts in 29 innings. He first signed with the team as an international free agent from Mexico in 2015. After six seasons in the minors, the right-hander got the major league call in 2022.
Although he had success last year, Assad got major attention in the World Baseball Classic. Assad went into the year as an intriguing relief option, but I don't think anyone was expecting him to be throwing 7-inning starts against the Toronto Blue Jays and Pirates in August. His command and the movement on his breaking pitches makes him a formidable starter and with Stroman's injury and Smyly's struggles, Assad will be a major factor in September and possibly the playoffs.
3. Justin Steele
The third home-grown starter is Justin Steele, who is having a Cy Young-caliber season in his first full year in the majors. The 28-year-old has a 2.80 ERA in 138 innings pitched, which is the second lowest in the league behind only San Diego Padres hurler Blake Snell. Steele is the uncontested ace of the Cubs' pitching staff and his performance is extremely welcome considering the lack of quality starting pitchers in recent years. Again, this kind of performance hasn't been seen in a Cubs pitcher since the Mark Prior and Kerry Wood days.
4. Adbert Alzolay
Not only are three starting pitchers currently home-grown, but closer Adbert Alzolay is as well. Not only is Alzolay finally finding success in his role, he's doing it at a very high level. Since becoming the designated closer earlier this year, Alzolay has converted 21 saves in 22 attempts and he has led the league in the category since July 1st. Even though he failed as a starter, Alzolay is turning into one of the most reliable closers in the game. The Cubs still have three more years of club control over the 28-year-old so he has the opportunity to collect a hefty amount of saves for Chicago.
5. Daniel Palencia
23-year-old Daniel Palencia is about to be one of the most important arms in the Cubs bullpen. Michael Fulmer recently went down with an injury and landed on the 15-day IL. This means Palencia will be called on in higher leverage situations, where he will have to prove why he is thought of as one of the best arms in the system. The velocity is certainly there as the flamethrower regularly touches 98-100 mph on his fastball.
Control is what Palencia lacks at times as he's walked 12 batters in 15.1 innings this year. However, he's also struck out 14 and held opponents to a .173 batting average. Palencia's 4.11 ERA is also deceiving as he's only given up earned runs in three of his 16 outings this year. I foresee this guy being around for a long time and it's really great to see more than one high-velocity guy out of the bullpen. Julian Merryweather's fastball sits in a similar high 90s range and Alzolay can also reach 97mph at times but other than that, the pen lacks Palencia's type of velocity.
6. Keegan Thompson
Going into 2023, Keegan Thompson was a no-doubt main contributor to the pitching staff in my mind. Although he had little success as a starter last year, he was more than capable out of the bullpen with a 1.47 ERA in 36.2 innings. But early season struggles this year saw Thompson take a Triple-A demotion back in May and he just made it back over this past weekend.
Although the sample size is very small, Thompson's lone outing since returning to the big-league roster was encouraging. In 2 innings of low-leverage work, Thompson gave up 1 hit and set down 5 hitters via strikeout with is velocity noticeably higher than it had been earlier in the year. If he can get back to the guy he was last year, the bullpen will be much better with Julian Merryweather, Mark Leiter Jr, and Alzolay in front of him.
7. Luke Little
I think the most logical bullpen call-up for September is Luke Little. The 22-year-old was taken by the Cubs in the 4th round of the 2020 draft and he is currently dealing in Iowa. In 9.2 innings, Little is sporting a 1.86 ERA with 18 strikeouts. After starting the year in South Bend, Little now finds himself on the precipice of a call-up.
The fact that Little is a lefty is sort of an afterthought thanks to the guys' intimidating frame. At 6'8 and 2020 pounds, Little is a force to be reckoned with and his fastball sits at 93-97 mph while a plus slider acts as his secondary pitch. With Brandon Hughes still injured and Anthony Kay sent back down to Triple-A, the only lefty in the bullpen is Drew Smyly. Little would be a nice complement and bring a bit more velocity to the equation.
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