This overlooked pitching prospect has a wide open path at Cubs spring training

Credit where credit is due, Jed Hoyer has proven really good at building strong bullpens from nothing but a box of scraps (in a cave) over the past few years.

Unfortunately, one of the plights of such a strategy means that you're bound to lose the relievers who do break out, as was the case this offseason when Brad Keller and Drew Pomeranz found new teams in free agency. At least the Chicago Cubs were able to retain Caleb Thielbar, right?

The Cubs have gone out and gotten Phil Maton, Hunter Harvey, Jacob Webb, and Hoby Millner, not to mention non-roster invitees like Collin Snider and Corbin Martin. Still, there figures to be a bullpen battle in camp for at least one or two spots on the Opening Day roster, giving a prospect a chance to make a name for himself in spring training.

Enter, stage right: Jack Neely.

Jack Neely needs to emerge as a legitimate bullpen weapon forthe Cubs in spring training

Neely, a 2021 11th-round pick whom the Cubs originally acquired in the Mark Leiter Jr. trade, already made his MLB debut in 2024, shortly after that trade deadline deal. He wasn't particularly effective — he surrendered two home runs and a 9.00 ERA in six innings — but the sample was extremely small and he boasted a 25.0 percent strikeout rate.

More telling was his first full season in Triple-A Iowa last year, which was also a mixed bag. The 25-year-old handled 30 1/3 innings and struck out more than a quarter of the hitters he faced, but his ERA ballooned to 6.23 as he lost complete feel for the strike zone, walking 8.01 batters per nine innings.

Now, a good chunk of those struggles can likely be attributed to the mysterious lower-body injury he suffered in June — free passes have never been a disastrous issue for him before — but that does mean that Neely will have to prove both healthy and effective in spring training. He's got healthy fastball velocity and a slider that generates a lot of whiffs, but if his command fails him again in the spring exhibition slate, there's no telling what may come next in his development.

Still, it's a positive sign that the Cubs held onto Neely, who is on the 40-man roster, throughout the offseason. He may not win a job in the Opening Day bullpen, but we all know how volatile relievers are; it could take just one injury or a bout of underperformance for the right-hander to hear his name called to Wrigley once again.

Expect to see Neely early and often in spring training this year as the Cubs evaluate his future. Like all other pitchers within the organization, he'll report to camp on Feb. 11.