Chicago Cubs: Someone needs to step up before its too late
By Ryan Sanders
The Chicago Cubs Bullpen
Pedro Strop
Pedro Strop arrived in Chicago as the other piece in the Scott Feldman for Jake Arrieta trade, one that I can emphatically say the Cubs won. He has been a solid yet unheralded reliever for the Cubs throughout his tenure.
His time to shine came last season after Brandon Morrow went down and Strop assumed the closer role, Strop flourished and rarely bowed to the pressure of the 9th. Between injuries and underperformance, he hasn’t hit his stride yet in 2019.
The good news for Strop is that he does the things you want a reliever to do. He strikes out nearly 26% of the batters he faces and he generates ground balls 55% of the time.
With Kimbrel on board, he doesn’t have to be a 9th inning guy, just a bridge to get there. If Strop can avoid the long ball and manage some hard contact, he will be an impact guy in a bullpen and we can get back to seeing more of this.
That brings me to:
Rowan Wick
For the past few seasons, the slot for a guy in the minors with plus stuff has been reserved for Carl Edwards Jr. or more recently Dillon Maples but they’ve lost Joe Maddon‘s confidence.
Enter Roman Wick, who was acquired by the Padres. He boasts a fastball that clocks in at 95.6 MPH and features curveball and slider as out pitches.
Like the other relievers, Wick has struggled with walks in his short time in the big leagues but has shown previous promise in the minors. The good news is Wick has prime time stuff and has struck out 25% of the hitters he’s faced. Relief pitching is volatile in both directions and if Wick gets hot, he could become a critical bridge piece to get the ball to Kimbrel.