Rowan Wick was the highlight yesterday, so let’s do a little Rowan-Wick’s-future stuff.
It’s hard with relievers. It’s hard especially with relievers with injury histories, a designation that applies to Wick. The guy did throw 68.1 innings across AAA and MLB in 2019, but he missed so much time this year, and I have no idea what the trajectory is on that as far as probability of it recurring.
That said, Wick’s good. Good good. There are 598 pitchers who’ve thrown at least 70 MLB innings since the start of 2018, and Wick has the 13th-best FIP of all of them. Yes, that’s a small sample over such a long stretch. But it isn’t a small sample in and of itself, so there’s a lot of reason to put some hope behind Wick’s 2.70 career FIP, which—as that number demonstrates—is quite good.
That said, Wick’s projected by FanGraphs to be a 3.82-FIP guy the rest of this year, implying that pitchers with similar numbers to him historically have not maintained this success. So, we’ll see. But keep him at the top of mind when considering the Cubs’ bullpen, at least in 2022.
Other highlights yesterday:
- David Bote hit that ball so freaking hard. 115.0 miles per hour. Only 47 guys have hit a ball that hard this year. One is Bote, who hit one 115.6 mph earlier this year. He’s at a .310 xwOBA now and a .261 wOBA. Baffling.
- Justin Steele wasn’t as bad as the runs scored indicated, but he did give up much harder contact than we’d seen the last two times out. He’s more likely than not a bullpen guy, but he should still be a candidate for a swingman/piggyback-style role next year. As, frankly, should Adbert Alzolay, just from the other side of the starter/bullpen divide.
- Ian Happ is at a 100 wRC+ after adding another home run.
- Rafael Ortega tripled.
***
The Diaspora:
Craig Kimbrel had a rough outing yesterday, allowing a double and walking two to blow a save in a game the White Sox ended up winning. Kris Bryant had two hits for the Giants.
Around the Division:
The Cardinals beat the Reds to move within a game of the playoffs, where the Wild Card picture looks like this:
2. San Diego: 74-68
3. Cincinnati: 75-69
4. St. Louis: 73-69
5. Philadelphia: 72-71
6. New York: 72-72
The Reds DFA’d Brad Brach.
Up Next:
Three in Philadelphia, but not until tomorrow.
Cubs News:
Brennen Davis is getting the call up to Iowa, which puts him on track to potentially be a late-season addition next year if all goes well.
